Why These Were In Every Tool Box | Pinch Rods

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Making the Cube traditional Pinch Rods: • How to Make Traditiona...
Why Were pinch rods found in every old tool chest? Today we look at the history of measuring, and why pinch rods are so valuable.
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[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

Pinch Rod Plans: www.woodbywright.com/shop Pinch Rod Kits: www.woodbywright.com/shop Making the dovetail pinch rods: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Znq5mYJsjqhonMk Making the Cube traditional Pinch Rods: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKq3l2Ovdrlgh6M

[@KeithOlson]

Fascinating info, well presented. Bravo! Some thoughts: 1. There is a flaw with that tape measure corner jig: it centers the corner on the *CENTER* of the tape, rather than the edge. That will introduce some error, as you can only measure on the edges. The whole thing needs to be shifted one side or the other for fully accurate measurement. 2. It occurred to me that a 'story tape' would be an excellent addition to your shop. It is nothing more than a blank tape measure that has a tape surface you can write on. Lee Valley sells them. As they don't cost a lot, you could keep a couple *dozen* of them in a drawer--one for each large project. Do those make sense?

[@reedplanes728]

@@KeithOlson The tape measure end is for checking diagonals to see if a box is square not for getting an accurate measurement. In use all you need to do is verify both diagonals are the same and by going off the center and using the edge of the tape to get a number it will be very accurate.

[@KeithOlson]

@@reedplanes728 My OCD screams "NOOOOO!!!!!"

[@tlange5091]

I know you like to start arguments but going into the old metric vs imperial argument and boldly declare to both sides that they are not superior is a whole new level. Thanks for the video!

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

LOL that sounds about right!

[@hisxxx2]

A storystick or a pinchrod useful are in specific cases, nowadays there are plenty of tools available that are equally (or better) accurate but overall better in quality of use. It's a fun project to make pinchrods, they're not for me.

[@1pcfred]

Everyone can use what they want. I use inches because for me it is the superior system. If I need better than 1/16" accuracy I'm going to use decimal inches anyways. So there goes the fractional argument. But I find fractions handy often too.

[@markbaker9459]

Aloha James, Lay-out Tools we're my bread and butter. They kept my going. They fed my family. When others messed up, the foremen of numerous job sites would dump their problems in my lap, and say,' Baker, can you fix this?' My use of pinch dogs, of various types, made the impossible, possible. My first boss set me on the right mind set. He was more than able to set a foundation layout without a level or Transit, just using the Horizon! In many ways, he lead me down the best path. Built in our own body there are measures that never change . Getting to know these 'measurements' makes your work steady and sure. His Story Stick for setting a slab was gauged by his standing straight and tall, holding the stick(taller than him)at arms length and sighting the Horizon. Making the Horizon's level to the location on the stick from your base measurement point of the site. Where ever you stood the Horizon told you 'plus or minus' to the grade. Horizon never changes, never gets out of whack.

[@wichitarick]

Brilliant thanks :) made me smile too ! My Dad was a master pipefitter boiler maker & was often the foreman for similar reasons :) His "cronies" were often the iron workers ,they did start ups ,meaning the foundation was still being set so always argument between the original architects scratching their heads putting things on hold for days, without permission they would use string ,stakes & conduit ,the conduit with etching of a hacksaw blade as the "story pole" :) Not much the super can say but YES after the corner or height or stairs etc, is fixed:) A few of the first jobs I had on sites refineries, hospitals, were with old school scaffold builders, who also did things the same way :) not exactly cabinet building but safety was their BIG and main focus! felt safer with those guys than the guy with the pocket protector :) thanks for the smile and the memory :) Rick

[@sheslop888]

My step-father began his carpentry apprenticeship in Germany, shortly after the end of WW2, on his 14th birthday. He worked as a carpenter till the day he died, just a few years ago. I loved listening to his stories of the years he spent as an apprentice. One of the first tasks he was entrusted with was going to the site of of a place that their shop was contracted to build some cabinetry, or whatever, and get site measurements. He would strap a bundle of sticks to his bicycle, and ride to the job site. There was typically story boards dimensioning the space that they had to work with, and story boards for each component that would make up the build. Of course, no dimension could be missed, everything had to be very precise and reliable, and it all had to be clearly and neatly labeled.

[@daveturnbull7221]

As a little kid my toolkit consisted of a ball pein hammer head, bent handsaw and an egg beater drill with one bit. I used to go round collecting scrap wood from anywhere I found it and make stuff like go-karts that were great fun. All measurements were made using reality on to a story stick (often just a tree branch). When I started doing woodwork at school my teacher commented that my joints were much better than most as I used the actual pieces of wood to mark out instead of a ruler like most of the class.

[@michaelewan8009]

The most important use of pinch rods is measuring for enclosed stair treads, where wall variations make each tread different

[@JustinShaedo]

You have two effects on me: either I'm off salvaging the old tools my grandfather used, and viewing them with a new found respect. Or you have me getting off youtube keen to try something new in the shed. Thank you. It's genuinely appreciated.

[@AhmetCnarOzuneUyans]

"Measuring is the enemy of precision" said a woodworker.

[@sgctactics]

Ha, as a quality auditor by trade, I approve that message. Everything is correct as long as you don't measure it!

[@navret1707]

Better is the enemy of good enough.

[@custos3249]

Muttered the engineer about to forget about thermal expansion

[@jungsomewhat]

Close enough for government work..

[@julienotsmith7068]

My spouse, who works in repeatable procedures and measures flaws in thousandths of an inch (he’s an industrial inspector) would break out in hives. But we’re right. 😁

[@michael.schuler]

Good concise history lesson. As a finish carpenter, I have used bar gauge heads from Lee Valley to make three sets of gauges for use in all sorts of inside measurement situations, especially wall to wall shelving or trim and crown molding. Lee Valley supplies the clamping heads; you make the pair of bars from hardwood stock, 1/4" x 3/4". My gauges are 22", 36" and 58" when contracted, which I carry in a capped 60" length of PVC pipe. This set allows me to gauge from 22" to almost 10'. I still like numeric measurements, so I applied self-stick tapes to one of the bars of each gauge. One practical advantage for solo work is that you can stand on a ladder in the middle of a span, extend and lock the gauge, then read the tape to transfer the exact size of the gauge to a work piece at the saw station. Of course, we use lasers for longer measurements, but the physical gauges are more useful for determining/comparing minimum or maximum measurements, for example, when checking overall floor to ceiling, or wall to wall measurements, at different nominally identically sized openings.

[@BradsWorkbench]

With the amount of tools u have I think showing the evolution of some tools could make for cool videos

[@MooreWoodWorks]

Thanks! Great video!! I’ve always wondered what the heck those things in my grandpa’s (edit… toolbox) were for… You are my very first “Super Thanks”.

[@ChrisWilliams-sx1jd]

Great show! Always like your approach to the craft. I once heard that measurements were based on the human body: heel to toe= one foot and tip of nose to finger tip= one yard, etc. As you said, these measures work ok if you don’t need to sell somebody measured items or pass the information to someone else who has a different sized body… So a standard measure had to be developed, it was based on the size of the king’s body, hence his foot became the standard foot length. So we used the Ruler’s foot to determine the length of our common 12 inch stick, which is why we call it a ruler today.

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

Oddly enough in America shoe sizes are still based on the size of a barley corn.

[@julienotsmith7068]

YES! I can knit like this (how big around? Let me put a string around you) and it’s only an issue when trying to pass along the pattern. Yep! I think this coloring outside the measures lines is the first step toward real mastery of a skill.

[@andrewbrimmer1797]

I can hear James Wright singing every stick tells a story

[@handcraftedbygrbroussard361]

You know what’s funny, I very rarely pick up a ruler. I use the “that’s what it is” method. I only use measurements for the basic shape. Love your videos!

[@kenniblock1206]

I always enjoy your videos. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@SuperiorEtchworx]

I had a discussion with a customer just yesterday about how story sticks would be a total game changer for them. They hang posters in shopping centres and were complaining about the hassle of measuring the hangers each time. I used story sticks a lot when making marine and automotive canvas work. I attach a story stick to one mitre gauge for my table saw

[@danielbackley9301]

Used to be that a story stick was the siding installer's best friend until the aluminum steel and vinyl siding came out.

[@bruceswanson2811]

A variation used in pattern shops and related are "Trammel Points". Like a divider, able repeat measurements within the length of a shop-made stick. A variation is a mechanism that allows micro-adjustments, enabling quick adjustment to as fine as 1/10mm, 1/128" or .005"

[@2adamast]

Indeed, more likely trammels than pinch rods. It’s also because large dividers lose precision.

[@BrownianMotionPicture]

I absolutely love eyeing up dimensions for a project, knowing the actual numbers are arbitrary. I feel like it becomes very personal. I started trying to work wood as a teenager, I really wanted to build a guitar but I could not work nearly accurately enough, and my guitar was subsequently a poor one, and I gave up trying to work wood. I later came back to hand tool wood working and built up some skills more organically without the pressure of working to the numbers. Cheers.

[@moudavis5830]

My first cabinet drawers was made into the wall and getting a tape measure was not going to work. Then I had an epiphany and i invited the story stick. When I was done the cabinet drawers fit so well I wanted to tell the world of my idea! I had never heard of a "story stick". I needed to come up with a name, Copyright, and promote my new invention! That night I was on the computer less than a half hour only to discover the "story stick" was the original ruler. I read once a philosopher had made the comment, "There is no such thing as an original idea". It was fun while it lasted. BTW ahe philosophers' name was, Mark Twain.

[@moudavis5830]

To date the best cabinet drawers I ever made!

[@RNMSC]

This video has been bouncing around in the back of my head for a while, (looks like a year now, Hurray for the post age eh?) and I've got a small job I am helping out with, closet shelves, and decided that having something like this would be handy. So I designed my own set to 3d print. Each stick is about 1 foot long, with a pair of quarter-20 carriage bolts to lock in the extension so I can take that back to where I'm doing the cutting and stuff. Also handy in this case for setting up shelf separation, but not critical for that. Once I have a set fully printed, I'll be happy to share what I created. The limit here on my design was the size of my printer bed, but I'm thinking I could extend this further by making it a 3 part system, like full extension drawer slides. I'm sure others have been here before me though, so hopefully people like the design. Another design in mind might just be to print a cam clamp for a set. Sleeves to attach to the blunt end, and a floating clamp to fit in between, and gives the user a single piont to secure the setup. We'll see.

[@nickbrutanna9973]

Pinch rods are still quite good for taking internal measurements that you can't really get the tape measure to do. You might even do best these days by taking a pair of metal rulers and using two chopped off, short bolts (i.e., maybe a half-inch or less), four washers, and a pair of wingnuts. Cut a slot down the middle of the two metal rulers, and then just use the bolts, etc, to join them in a sliding capacity.

[@Mike.DeNinno]

I had this same idea (especially for measuring for drawer bottoms). I thought it was novel until I saw an old Woodpeckers one-time tool version.

[@reedplanes728]

Loved the ruler with the sliding dovetails! I had never seen one of those before. Thanks for taking on the challenge and diving deep into no ruler woodworking.

[@fngrusty42]

Love it. We used them in Palm Beach back in the 70s. I still use them today for furniture.

[@nanettil]

Speaking as a scientist, you are *so* right about the reproducibility of measurements. No jokes here, I'm just full of admiration. Thanks.

[@tombrown9500]

Thank you for getting to the point immediately, you gained a new subscriber. Thank you

[@pettere8429]

I occasionally use my sliding caliper as a pinch rod, it has this nice little locking screw on it. Also, here in Sweden there is a special tape measure sold under the brand Talmeter (after the inventor's initials) which has another tab of very accurate length (100mm from an indicator on the top of the tape) sticking out the back. With the locking mechanism it can also be used as a pinch rod.

[@autumn5592]

That's the way calipers are intended to be used for multiple measurements. Exactly why it has the screw.

[@nikolausreinke9966]

You know what? Two years ago I made one to measure the actual space left for drawers. I felt so inventive... 😂 Had no idea the concept would be that old. Anyway. It worked. All ten drawers fit perfectly. Time to get this device out of the box again. Thank you!

[@dvianello]

I use them often for getting the exact width of drawer bottoms inside the groves. the tapered points on the traditional ones are useful for that. but in lieu of actual pinch rods I've also used chop sticks, scraps, or even straws taped together. basically whatever is closest thing to grab

[@peterdawson2403]

I remember my father had pinch rods in multiple sizes.

[@dennismadderra3916]

That’s an amazing object lesson for parametric modeling. Becoming sensitive to scale and proportion rather than numbers.

[@timort2260]

Thanks to your video James I now own a pinch rod. Always made story sticks but it's been pretty nice having a pinch rod around.

[@danhusker1413]

Thanks for your great home work. I always appreciate your vids.

[@LicheLordofUndead]

My grandfather used story sticks when making Balisters, I never understood them until now

[@tommyfred6180]

really liked this vid. nice simple explanation of the tool and its development. i still use "pinch rods". but we (in the UK) call them a "bar rule". what are being called a "story stick" in the vid. i would call a "tell". for one off work these old ways of doing stuff are very fast and convenient to work with. i really like the dovetail bar rule this guys made and am going to make one of them as a try my self.

[@reedplanes728]

It is a fun project that can be adapted to many uses. I like using them to layout drawer pulls on drawers the same size. Check out the plans for more info.

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

It's fun collecting the names for these. Even in the US. They both have a couple dozen different names. And around the world there are dozens more. It's kind of interesting to learn and see the different ways people think.

[@tommyfred6180]

@@WoodByWrightHowTo yah this kind of tool must have been around for almost as long as people have been making stuff. its nice that they are still in use. i'v never seen the dovetail bar rule you have. looks like a nice bit of work. i'm going to have a go at one in teak. i think it will run cleanly with an linseed oil dressing. :)

[@bmack8062]

I am lucky to have a folding rule with the slider, that was my grandfather's.

[@georgehodgkiss7211]

loved the information . glad somebody is passing these lost skills on to another generation

[@2adamast]

Got a 1850 woodworking book and tape/ribbon measures are there with trammels and of course dividers. Ribbons don’t stretch under tension like strings , they don’t measure precisely but can be precise when transferring lengths

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

They can also measure around curved surfaces.

[@MCsCreations]

Awesome, James! Thanks a bunch for all the tips! 😃 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@CleaveMountaineering]

very cool. I may need to make a set.

[@hunterwilliams2833]

those were some interesting schematics.

[@aaronyoung8301]

I'm a blacksmith, and then some, and I learned the a dividers is just a valid as a Verners. I do 1:1 drawings of any large or strange objects im making with inches, but out in the shop, it's "go, no go" with +/- .07mm leeway in the forge (Tolerance is the width of the mechanical pencil). Heck, any sheet metal is done off a template that's cut-to-fit, zero numbers involved.

[@adamejervall1372]

Nice, I’m going too build one of these

[@corellitube]

These are great! Especially if you don't have perfect eyesight

[@custos3249]

"And as things moved on, people became less focused on reality and more focused on the measurement." If that's not the start to a Terry Pratchett novel, I don't know what is.

[@sgctactics]

You are absolutely right about losing accuracy with each iteration. I just recently had that issue with a part for Wacker-Neuson, where we made it within tolerance to their print, but it didn't fit for their assembly. Took a couple weeks to find out the issue: the German designer designed the part using metric, sent it to their engineer in the US who converted it to imperial, who then sent it to the quality engineer who converted it back to metric for ISO standards, who then sent it to us, and our "engineers" (copy and paste artists is what I call them) turned it back to imperial. Through the rounding up and down involved in each iteration, most of the dimensions changed by almost .030", and our tolerance is .0112"

[@1pcfred]

No one's used the Imperial inch in lifetimes. Although it wasn't officially abolished until 1959. In 1896 (may have been 1898 I'm not looking it up now) I believe it was Johannsen defined the standard industrial inch as precisely 2.54 centimeters. Which makes converting between metric and inches trivial. You should never round but just use that figure as your operand. That will give you infinite precision. The old Imperial inch was slightly shorter and the US inch was a little longer. There was only 5 millionths difference between them though. But they were still not the same. So yeah your engineers really boned that one up. WTF did they think they should round? Were they doing these calculations on a napkin?

[@sgctactics]

@@1pcfred Hey, I'm just the digital crescent wrench interpreter, not the engineers, I agree completely. I think the main issue is how many decimal places they want to use on the prints, and we only get pdf files and redraw it in cad, so they don't really double check the accuracy. Backwards, I know.... You have no clue how often we get screwed by rounding. Like for example, having a .5° tolerance on a part that calls out 84°, but the reality is more like 84.45 so they rounded down and we end up confused as to why the distance dimensions aren't adding up on the finished product. And in the metal fabrication trade it's still called imperial in some circles, though we of course also use sae and inch. Depends on what flavor you want that particular day, really

[@1pcfred]

@@sgctactics I've heard the Imperial thing a lot myself. People just say it because they don't know any better and there's no penalty for being wrong either. They make a few assumptions based on what they do know. And all of that leads them to an incorrect conclusion. They know America broke away from England. They also know we call our units by the same names the English do. And they know we use the exact same inch today. All of that is true. What they don't know is neither of us use the inch we used years ago today. We both adopted the standard inch at a later date. They mistakenly assume the inch has never changed. And therein lies their error. They don't know about a guy named Carl Edvard Johansson who came up with the standard inch at the turn of the 20th century. Who was actually a Swede. So not an American or an Englishman. But when Henry Ford bought him he was compelled to become an American then. Ford was a very big fan of Carl's work. You may have heard of Jo blocks yourself. Yeah that's where they came from. Jo is short for Johansson.

[@sgctactics]

@@1pcfred that I did know, and yes, that pretty much sums up why those old terms are still used. Just like many other outdated and sometimes downright incorrect terms. Like my boss still calls a planer gauge a "height gage for the press brakes", and everyone at my work calls the pierce operation for the punch presses a punch operation when a punch is the tool used to pierce. Then again, they also think a turret punch press is in fact not a punch press, but simply a turret... And drawing a print based off an existing one is apparently "reverse engineering" (them copy and paste artists, lol). I still hear the term "spud" for linkages, and mating surfaces as bezels. Same for woodworking though. A router is now a completely different tool than it's predecessor, if you could even call it that now, and my personal favorite is the "traditional grind" bowl gouge, when hooks were used for centuries before bowl gouges even became a thing. As well as other things. For example, a cup back in the day was literally just that: a cup. Not 250ml or 8oz, but just the cup you were using. Long as you used the same cup for all your measurements, it didn't matter how big it was, since the proportions would remain consistent. Grains are still used for projectile weights instead of standardized measurements as well. We just clearly have a hard time letting go of tradition. Nothing wrong with that, considering we're watching videos of woodworking techniques that are considered by most to be antiquated.. Neat fact about units of measurement while we're at it; there was a time (can't remember exactly when at the moment) when we lost the physical global standard for a meter, due to a fire if I recall right, and it took years for a new accurate one to replace it because nobody knew with absolute certainty exactly how long it needed to be. And even then we still later revised it. Same as the imperial inch though, it only changed by a ridiculously miniscule amount

[@1pcfred]

@@sgctactics colloquial and or archaic terminology is often used. Some of that may be wrong but there's no malice intended. Many that use the term Imperial today do intend harm.

[@ehRalph]

FYI, in a pinch, tight fitting telescopic radio antennas make nice compact pinch rods. I have a small 3”-18” antenna and a large hinged double antenna 7”-60”. After planning a project and breaking down materials I usually move to patterns (cardboard or 1/4” plywood), story sticks and some version of pinch rods or a folding rule with the slide for a quick transfer. I didn’t know the history but for me working in units and fractions measurements always led me to errors. (You really don’t need any help with that)

[@ElementaryWoodworking]

I’m working through “By Hand and Eye” now. This content is great, especially for a channel with your reach. Much appreciated

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

That is an exceptionally good book.

[@Raven.flight]

A pinch rod mixed with a ticking stick would be AWESOME! And not too hard to make I don’t think.

[@philipselman2564]

👍

[@chip582002]

, I love the idea of story sticks. For small things like wooden boxes, I've used them to record a tool box that I figured I would like to record the project and it works great, It's like having a pattern set. But limited to smaller projects and just a few.

[@davidguenther8170]

I used a story pole on my last large cabinet build. Works great. And I have two sets of pinch rods. A story pole is a necessity if you want to copy an antique piece of case work, like a secretary or a side board, ect.

[@joeolejar]

Which is why I use a pocket slide rule to scale things as they are as precise as a tape measure. I never caught my grandfather using a tape measure. Pinch rods and story sticks were always handy in his workshop.

[@LiftRanger]

thank you, James

[@markgoode4109]

Very helpful video; thanks for sharing. Best wishes.

[@ryank9066]

You are not alone . The best way to lay out hinges hardware of all types. Short story paint stick or 1x duct tape scribe aka 9mm Olfa razor.

[@cliffordbaxter1992]

I have several of them and I love them 😃✝️🇺🇸

[@markhedquist9597]

Whoops, I thought I was already subscribed. I am now. Great video! Very educational. My favorite kind of video. Over the years I've acquired a number of folding rulers, and such... I have them here and there and sometimes use one. But they are not my go to measuring tool. I love this video because I can't argue that one to one measurements easily the best. Great explanation of the science and concept of these tools and methods.

[@walterrider9600]

thank you

[@triune_blades]

I purchased a couple last summer along with a bunch of other tools. I had no idea what it was until you pointed one out in that video showing that beautiful toolbox in the colonial building tour

[@MG.50]

That was GREAT. Thank you! I recently tried to find a hinged rule like I learned carpentry using when I was a young boy (60 or so years ago), and I couldn't. No hardware store I tried carried them. That reminds me that I need to search for a source for that older technology online. That seems rather ironic, using 21st century technology to find a tool from at least the 19th and 20th centuries and probably earlier.

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

ya no one makes those anymore. you and just get antiques. there are a list of online antique tool sellers on HandToolFinder.com

[@MG.50]

@@WoodByWrightHowTo Thanks. I'll check them out.

[@dpmeyer4867]

good job

[@ToeCutter454]

this! and measuring with string! if you need 1/3 or 1/4 of your overall length it was easy to get with a simple piece of string used to measure because you can fold it in to a variety of nice divisions! not to mention you can also make circles and ellipses with string as well. dummy tech that still works today is the best kind of tech there is!

[@robertkelso8024]

A piece of string can also be used to follow a road, contour, stream, etc on a map,for the same reason you give for its use in a shop, then place along the map scale to measure the distance. Learned that in the army, I wonder if they still teach that?

[@ToeCutter454]

@@robertkelso8024 probably not since they have all their fancy tech and it saves time for training lol... it's going to be the downfall when no one can use a standard map... stick to dumb tech because it just works and will never fail :)

[@MrBanzoid]

A friend of mine used to weld custom exhaust systems and he used lengths of string to measure with surprising accuracy!

[@HWCism]

Nice history lesson, thanks. I am not giving up on my folding ruler though. 😉

[@makermark67]

Excellent info! Great video. Well done.

[@spencerthompson1]

I will be making a few pinch sticks. Thank you,

[@1pcfred]

I make them as I need them. Masking tape is a wonderful thing.

[@paulmaryon9088]

Brilliant!! I remember using pinch rods when an apprentice (yes I'm that old) what a great vid, thank you, have subscribed, I also think that the measurement of time is similar just standardised for convenience!

[@Christopher_Gibbons]

But that's the beauty of using a standard instead of units. Giving people your measurements is so easy. You just give them a sketch wit the number of stick lengths. They don't need to know how long your stuck is. If the sketch says the table is 8 long you just mark out how long you want your table to be and halve it 3 times. Now you have the correct size for your stick. These days you have to pay extra if you want parametric plans for things. It used to be so simple.

[@rickschuman2926]

As a woodworker with a carpentry background, I like a folding ruler for close measurement and a tape for long stuff like framing. I worked for a fellow who insisted a tape was more accurate because the joints in my 6 foot rule moved. As we were in a millwork shop it was nearly a moot point. One fellow showed up with a "bargain" tape measure. the first project he laid out did not assemble correctly so we all came over to where he was scratching his head to see what was going on. We hooked a Stanley and his new tape to the end of a bench. His tape was anywhere from 1/2" to 6" off to the plus and minus but after 8' the were back in agreement. We didn't hear much about the bosses preference for tape over stick after that. Now, I would be interested in how far back pinch gear actually goes. There do not seem to be any documents or examples available for the 18th century.

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

There are examples of them in Egyptian work. The name doesn't go any farther back because woodworking terms change constantly.

[@grimoirworkshop6623]

I worked once at metal fabrications with acceptable tolerance of +0-1 mm to 10m (About 3/64 to minus on 32’9” of length to those who like measures complicated) and any tape measure that was “off by a little bit” was going to trash can. And yes, you can buy a tape measure that will be of more than by 4” on that distance. On construction site it equals disaster. So inches being different is solely question of how much are you ready to invest in your measurement gear. It boils down to how accurate you can mark/fabricate - you don’t need measurement device more precise than that.

[@SaintFredrocks]

If shoes are any indication, I would say an inch here does NOT equal an inch there. Thanks for all the great vids man.

[@lerom9]

Дякую! Корисні інструменти для контролю розмірів.

[@agluebottle]

Apparently ancient Greeks and Romans building temples would scratch templates on to unfinished walls with measurements for the columns and so forth for the contractors to make story sticks off of. Last step of building the temple was to polish away the templates. Only way we know this is there are a few unfinished temples lying around.

[@chippysteve4524]

I've used pinch sticks many times when scribing beams and noggins to irregular structures. You 1st get the point to point measurement,then use bevel guages to measure and reproduce the cut angles for each end.

[@Nurk0m0rath]

Huh ... it occurs to me that if you use a washer to give them something to pull against, you could fit a nail through the hole and grind that off to a tip useful for accuracy in narrow corners. Maybe even tack down the washer with a double-headed nail (the kind normally used for temporary work as they have a secondary head for easy removal) and grind away that second head to a dull point.

[@TermiteUSA]

On Seinfeld, Elaine said to George "It shrinks?".

[@mikeking7470]

I see too many people obsess over "the plans" and "the dimensions" on other forums, e.g. Facebook, I am more likely to just look at the concept of a piece and make my own dimensions with a sketch (or use a story stick), most of the time there is only one measurement that is essential, the others derive from that one dimension. I have used a pair of paint stirring sticks with a clamp as a pinch rod. Standard dimensioned plans for pinch rods are kinda retro.

[@meatcreap]

This is a good video

[@TintagelEmrys]

A broken tape measure gets replaced, a broken pinch rod gets a new piece of scrap wood put in it.

[@jons2447]

Hello, Mr. Wright; Very cool video, "THANK YOU!". I'd like to have/make a metal version of the tape measure end, that would be so useful. Have a GREAT day, Neighbor!

[@mafiacat88]

Hilariously you can actually get a "story tape" which is basically a blank tape measurer-like it's literally just a white strip. Rather than writing down however long something is, you just use a pencil to write on the ruler; and that's the length.

[@salimufari]

With the Dovetail design you could just use a flat head machine screw that is a 1/4" bolt at 1" long with a tight thread with a wing nut as the knurl knob for the hardware. Add a second one a few inches away for alignment.

[@dallen521]

How many of your “dresser” sticks are you from me? I am going to come and mix your sticks up. Might even introduce some paint stirring sticks. I shall even pinch your pinch rods. You should look at the Surveyors chain next, also use of Invar catenary wires under constant tension. Thank you for the interesting video, Dad.

[@danimalmaxasis2762]

Also would make a good "tick stick"

[@rogermiller2159]

A lot of the furniture I’ve made follow relationships between its parts. Table thickness in relation to its length. Four legs of equal length…

[@MichaelHeidweiller]

Good example are the cathedrals of Mechelen and Ulm, the design is by the same master builder. He oversighted the build in Ulm, but to Mechelen he just send his drawings and a local master builder looked after it. But the size of a feet was in that time different in those two cities, causing the cathedral in Mechelen to be taller then the one in Ulm.

[@1pcfred]

The size of a feet? The singular of feet is foot. One foot, two feet.

[@nickdannunzio7683]

The problem with wood measuring devices is, they are subject to swelling and shrinking as the humidly where you are working changes... so a steel story stick would be a better choice... you can file small v groves at each designated story mark...

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

The movement of wood along the grain is almost negligible. It does expand and contract slightly. But the tools required to measure that movement or not found in the average shop.

[@J.A.Smith2397]

Wondered about these at first

[@unionse7en]

tip: old telescoping antennas/ telescope magnetic pickup tools are useful for taking inside measurements.... especially when cutting blocking between joists.

[@lbhunter6341]

I'm a little freakin right now because I made a set of these today for a specific project I'm working on at the moment and then this showed up in my feed....kinda creepy!

[@jjanooi]

I am using it for very long and did not even knew... Usually I don't care what may calipers say and I use them as a pinch rod :D

[@andrewfrudd108]

In terms of tape measure accuracy, I don't know about your side of the pond but there are standard classes in Europe, measuring devices like rulers and tapes falll into class 1, 2, 3 or unclassified. The maximum permissible error increases with each class. As an example a class 1 30m tape is +/-3.1mm, a class 3 is +/-12.6mm over the total length (at a specified temperature and force).

[@grimoirworkshop6623]

I still use marking gauges and combination square in that paradigm. I just set it from the work or design without even bothering to look what distance It actually is. For the marking gauge, especially when dovetailing that’s the only appropriate way to use it imho. I will 100% will make myself a pair of pinch rods, even have idea of making the inside and outside at the same time.

[@timbo389]

People think folding rules are antiquated, but we use the Lufkin folding rules at work and we couldn’t be without them. Of course, my job is a rather unique being in pavement research.

[@robertweldon7909]

5/14/2023 The key word here is "standard". When using pinch rods or story sticks you are making what is called a "one off". Standardization came about because of the "industrial revolution" where the ability to make many of the same thing with INTERCHANGABLE parts came about. Prior to this everything was made once, never copied, but sometimes a look alike, and so a table of similar appearance could be a totally different size, since no interchangeable parts ever were necessary. Just imagine trying to build Fords with pinch rod measure. Even so, using pinch rods and story sticks produce very accurate results ONCE. Another very interesting video, for making ONE item. ;)

[@thomasarussellsr]

Thank you. And if you think about it, a marking gauge or panel gauge could be a pinch rod variant that marks the distance you set off your measurement from the other piece. I'm sure you follow my logic on that, as I've seen you set your marking gauge from one piece and use it to mark another, as have many other woodworkers who I won't name here, but we've all seen them do it on their videos. Yeah, sometimes they set their mortice gauge by measuring a drill bit or chisel, but same concept.

[@pholejsovsky]

"Reality vs. measurement" made me remember Sanskrit word Maya (illusion or veiling of reality). Found this citation online: "The word Maya in Sanskrit breaks down to its roots 'ma' meaning "to measure or to give form" and 'ya' which translates to an article meaning "that".

[@GNU_Linux_for_good]

03:57 But James: wood moisture has a reality of its own [shrinking / swelling.. you know]

[@nelsvantoor5159]

Making one from two tubes, fitting inside each other and a point on either end would be even more accurate, methinks...

[@knutzzl]

On big medieval construction sites, the master contractor would have a master stick (1yard). From witch all who needed to measure accordingly could copy the measure. Most crafts folk didn't need it. The master mason and master carpenter had the measure and plot a stone detail on the floor, the fellow's then made templates from this and work from those. Same

[@1pcfred]

Witch? What is this sorcery?

[@philipselman2564]

Ok now friend where did you find information like that ( may be from the supreme architect of the universe)

[@knutzzl]

@@philipselman2564 form the research team at guedelon

[@simonmorris-p7m]

A whole book about this: The Pillars of the Earth, follows characters through medieval cathedral building. The cathedrals are all still standing too. 💪