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Tape measure/T-square

If you build it I would buy.
  (+3)
(+3)
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against]

An ordinary measuring tape has a ridge along its base to align it with the suface to be marked.
From its bottom side a louvered track can extend 12 inches at 90 degrees to this ridge allowing the tape measure to double as a T-square.

A bit boring I know, but I want one.


Tape Measure Calipers http://www.bayliner...TapeMeasureCalipers
Close? [csea, Mar 21 2010]

Framing square? http://www.screwfix...20(406%20x%20609mm)
[MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 22 2010]

Adjustable square. http://www.letsfixu...justable-square.jpg
[2 fries shy of a happy meal, Mar 22 2010]

Tape Measure Square http://www.freepate...ne.com/6233789.html
This guy has also been thinking along your same lines. [jurist, Mar 23 2010]

[link]






       Not quite sure what you're getting at here, but it sounds tricky to engineer - maintaining a good right-angle in a flexible tape. You can of course get T-squares with ruled edges, but this is presumably what you're not looking for.
MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 21 2010
  

       See [link] for a similar oddity in my tool collection. It was made by Mitutoyo in Japan, but I don't see it in their current listings.
csea, Mar 21 2010
  

       Yes, I see. For measuring, say, the width of a board, straight across and not slantwise. This is extremely clever. Why doesn't it exist yet?
mouseposture, Mar 21 2010
  

       Ah! Right, I underhend now. Good idea. However, for measuring the width of a board, it's probably not needed in most situations.   

       You can easily get within 3 degrees or better just by eye (draw the angle, and you'll see - it looks huge), in which case the error is going to be less than 0.15%. This is 0.4mm on a 12-inch board, or 1.6mm on a 4ft sheet.
MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 22 2010
  

       [MB] Only if the geometry permits you a good line of sight. If you've got to squint at it from a bad angle or foreshortened perspective, then this device'd come in handy.
mouseposture, Mar 22 2010
  

       I've gotten pretty good at seeing level and square but it is not accurate enough for what I do. I admit that this would only appeal to a smallish market, but framers would like having one for marking stud placement on 2x4's with a single tool, and for my gig, marking and then making lines on tiles without having to swap tools.   

       When your trade is all piece work it gets hard to figure out new ways to shave any more seconds off of your best times to get another raise after a while.   

       Cool link csea.   

       [mouse] point taken. [2fries] sounds to me as if you could just use a regular set- square with ruler markings on the edge. I have a framing square, which is about 2ft on each arm and marked in metric on one side, imperial on the other (eg Link).   

       Or is this not what you meant?
MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 22 2010
  

       No, framing squares are good, just too bulky when working with a 12"x12" tile or 2x4's.
Normally framers mark 16" stud centers on the length of a top and bottom base plate. Then they pick up a square and draw lines for one side of the stud with a big X indicating which side of the line the stud should be placed.
Having a smallish t-square attached to the tape measure would save this step.
  

       Point taken, but it's flexible, the precision of the angle will be compromised. Would a smaller square not work - ie, similar to the framing square but smaller?
MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 22 2010
  

       [2fries], try a swanson's speed square.   

       [+] for the idea, although I would never buy one. My experiences have taught me that the more functions you pack into one tool, the less effective it becomes at said functions.
MikeD, Mar 22 2010
  

       The square, [link] I use now is fine. I just think this might shave off an hour or so from a years work.   

       //Having a smallish t-square attached to the tape measure would save this step.//   

       So, could you not construct such a tool from a try-square and the guts of a tape measure and your choice of fastener?   

       Granted, it might use up the hour you'd save, but would go a way towards reinforcing that humans are tool-builders, and you'd save the hour every year going forward?
csea, Mar 22 2010
  

       Solution: Buy a bigger tape measure (with a 12" housing) and let the casing be the perpendicular leg of your square.
jurist, Mar 23 2010
  

       Solution: draw a fine grid of lines on your glasses/contact lenses/cornea.
MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 23 2010
  

       [MB] Or, for extra fun, a target reticle.
mouseposture, Mar 24 2010
  

       I wonder if contact lenses could be weighted so that a reticle would always adjust itself to the horizon.   

       No, but eyeballs can.
MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 25 2010
  
      
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