# Folding rulers?



## Smile_n_Nod

Has anyone used a folding ruler for woodworking? There are two kinds of folding rulers that I'm familiar with:

1)










and 2)










My dad had a folding ruler like the one in the lower picture when I was a kid, and I thought it was fascinating, but it seems to me that a tape measure would always be more accurate than either folding ruler. Anybody have good experiences with them?


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## Murdock

I find folding rules like the 2nd one are good for measuring the inside of things like drawers.

With a tape measure you either have the body of it getting in the way, or if you bend the tape up you have that little curve caused by the bending tape that doesn't let you get an exact reading.

I still use the tape measure if the exact number doesn't matter and I just need a rough idea, but the folding ruler works great.


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## whit

I have one of each of these types of rulers that I inherited from my Dad but really prefer to use a tape measure. If I need an inside measurement, two aluminum strips with a c-clamp make a really good (and really accurate) substitute.

Whit


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## longgone

I have a Starrett folding rule and find it very useful in many situations. All rulers have their place. 
I Use Incra and Woodpecker measuring devices for some shorter situations, the folding rule for others and my tape measure for longer measurements. My dial calipers come in handy for precise thickness measurements and small measurements under 6".


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## Murdock

Good call on the 2 strips clamped together.

I should add that I do not own one of these, but the one I have used belongs to my father and is not the wood type pictured. It is a very nice all metal number with embossed markings.


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## sbryan55

I have a 6 and 8 foot rule (#2) that I routinely use for any measurements under 8'. I am much more comfortable with these than I am a tape largely for the same reasons that Murdock mentioned.


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## crank49

I used to think my dad was being stuborn for not using a tape instead of the folding rule (#2), but now that I advanced above all that metal working stuff I see the rule as very handy, especially for inside measurements. And besides, there is a pocket on carpenters overalls made especially for those rulers.


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## Smile_n_Nod

It would be interesting to compare an inside measurement of a drawer made using the #2-type ruler above with the same inside measurement made with two strips clamped together and then measured with a tape measure. The purist in me wonders about the accuracy of the #2 ruler because of its "step-like" folding mechanism. I may have to pick one up cheap somewhere and give it a try.


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## Tedstor

I have the four-fold model (top pic). I ordered it from Garret Wade and thought it looked like a classy tool that I'd use often. While it is a classy tool, I've found it doesn't really suit me particularly well. I can't point to any particular design flaw…...It simply didn't grow on me. Combo squares, metal yardsticks, and tapes seem to work better for me.


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## jamesicus

I have used Stanley two foot boxwood folding rulers such as this No. 61 and No. 62 ….......










.......... for the past 65 years-I love the large, clear numbers and graduations.

James


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## Howie

#2 is considered a Carpenters rule in my circles(retired pipefitter) I used a Lufkin Red End for years and years(not the same one) reads right to left or flip it over and reads left to right. I still use one in my shop on a regular basis.
If I have to get down to the nitty gritty I use an Incra 12" rule.


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## jeepturner

I use the wood rule. I have two of them, but both are intentionally snapped off at just over seven inches. The two inches on the folding leg makes a nice clip for the pocket. I use it mainly for setting distance on my rip fence on the band saw. I picked up the habit, of breaking them, when I was working in the elevator trade, stacking rails in the hoist way. The two I have are remnants of my trade tools, but I haven't done that kind of work for over twenty-five years. 
Both of mine are like the one in the second picture, but without the depth gauge.


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## yrob

I use the first kind. It is perfect for laying out dovetails without doing any math. Like this:

1) draw a line the thickness of the other board across your tail board.
2) Pick a chisel roughly half the thickness of the tail board, say 3/8 for a 3/4 board.
3) on the line and on each side of the board, mark with the chisel. That is the location of your half pins.
4) from the middle of each half pin location. lay that folding rule in diagonal until you hit a number you can easily divide by the number of tails you want, for example 6" for 3 tails.
5) if you want 3 tails, make a mark every 6/3=2 inches.
6) with a try square carry the marks up the face of the board by drawing vertical lines. These will be at the center of each pin.
7) with your chisel, mark on the line each pin centering them on the vertical lines you've drawn.
8) finally, use your bevel and draw the slopes on each side of the chisel marks.

This guarantees a proper layout and that you will have the right amount of room at the bottom of the pins for your chisel.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop

I have a number of 2' folding rules and, despite trying real hard, haven't found them to be the 'reach for' tool that my grandfather made them out to be. I've not given up, but use a 2' less than I use a tape measure at the workbench.

If you're choosing #2, it's important to consider that Lufkin (the kind my dad uses and thus, I do too) makes many styles. The one we prefer also happens to make the most sense, and that is one with the first inches on the inside of the rule… in other words, opposite of what you have in the OP pic above. Then it sits flat to the surface for measuring. Need to watch for them, because the other style seems much more common. The Lufkin rule is the measuring tool I reach for first.


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## TopamaxSurvivor

I have some and tried them, but I haven't ever found them to be as handy as a tape. For inside measurements, the body is 2 inches, east to add to the measurement.


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## Sylvain

I have never seen the first one in Belgium.
The second model is popular in 2 m long (about 6ft) and of course graduated in cm; although, I have never seen them with the depth gauge here.
The folding rule is nice particularly if you have to measure vertically, lets say the height of a window. The tape would fold and fall on your face ;-)
The tape is easily put in a normal pocket and rolls automatically but if you can not hook the extremity, it is often irritating because it twist and bends. 
Folding rules are available here in wood, in aluminium or in nylon. Wooden ones break easily. Nylon ones don't break easely and are safer if you are an electrician as their are non conductive.
I have a nylon one and various tapes also.


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## Bertha

I like them but really only for looking at, rather than using. I've got a few old Stanleys myself.


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## Grandpa

I have one of the first styles shown above. It is *VERY* old. It belonged to my wife's great grandfather. We handle it very easily and don't use it. Just look at it. The second style has its place. I like them for inside measurements. They break too easily and cost too much. That is the reason the standard rolling tape measures have replaced them.


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## Racer2007

I have one like the 2nd picture that was my grandfathers and then my fathers and now me and it hasent broke yet, but then grandpa and dad both would have used what was left on my back side if I had broke it , so I always took very good care of it. And it is still working good today and I also tell my grandson what is it going to be used for if he breaks it, so he dosen't touch it since he breaks almost everything.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop

Yep, zig zags are very durable in my experience. Used them until the numbers were hard to read, haven't broken one. A touch of 3in1 every once in awhile helps. And a slight notch in each brass end gives your pencil a place to ride when striking cut lines, too. Hard to do that with flimsy tape.


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## Grandpa

Come to think of it I believe the last one I had my 4 or 5 year old daughter broke it. She watched me fold it and put it in the box then she got it and tried to unfold it….the wrong way…LOL


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## Grandpa

That is the reason the folding rule with the slider in the end is so good. Use it just like a story stick and those work best on inside measurements.


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## RGtools

Story sticks here too.

I like my two foot rule not for the general work I do. I tend to build one piece of a project and then fit the other pieces to it over time, completely oblivious of any numerical measurement they might carry. I love my 24" ruler (a 62) because it helps me get an idea of the scope of my project during the design phase, it light it's fits in a pocket and is easy to take to an antique store to get an idea of the size of components that I am trying to copy. My tape measure is handy too but I use that more at the lumberyard when I am breaking stock down to get it home.


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## TopamaxSurvivor

I love rulers when planning because I find too many parts just a tad over standard sized lumber;-((


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## saddletramp

I think that they (folding rules and tapes and rulers/yard sticks and story sticks) all have their place. Just be sure to use the same device through out any one project (i.e. don't take your measurement with one tape and mark your cut with another tape or with a folding rule, etc.).


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## Gary_Roberts

I use both types (and will never give up my Lufkin red tip folding rule) along with a Stanley 36 1/2 and couple of Bates National Rule flexible steel rules. And an old Union adjustable square.


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## Bluepine38

If you are looking for a flat reading folding ruler, the ruler lays flat on the work as you unfold it, Lufkin calls it
the two way ruler. Unfolding from one side reads left to right, unfolding from the other side it reads right to 
left. The ones with the sliding brass piece make you unfold the entire ruler, or bend the rule to get it to lay
flat on the piece being measured. The local Ace hardware stocks them, but you can not find them on their
web site. Do It Best Hardware also has them.


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## sikrap

I have a few of the second type and I find them very handy for many things. primarily, I use mine for setting the fence on my Uni, but they're also great for checking diagonals, inside measurements and more. I bought a bunch of them at an auction and often enclose one with a tool that I've sold. I thought they were just fro decoration until I started using one. One of the best features is that you can just cram one in your back pocket.


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## cjwillie

My dad always used a folding rule. He never liked a tape. As far as accuracy goes, it really doesn't matter. As long as you use the same measuring device throughout the whole job, and it's size does not change, the numbers on it are just a reference point.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop

Picked up a pair of Lufkins at a flea mkt over the weekend, $5 each. That's a 'buy' every time!


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## TCCcabinetmaker

I have had a folding ruler like example #2 since I was a trim carpenter's apprentice back in 98 or so, I have used it in instances where I would now use something like a fat max, but now I mostly use it as a depth gauge to make sure I have the correct depth on a stop tennon or a dado.

I bought it because the old *********************************** carpenters I was learning from had them, not because I knew if I would actually need it or not. Come to think about it though, the only thing I ever saw them doing with them was racing each other to see how fast they could fold and unfold them :/


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## Tedstor

So I can see how a folding rule could be useful on a jobsite. But in workshop, I'd think a yardstick and/or tape measure would definitely be the way to go.


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## ruel24

Don't know much about the two way Lufkin, but I'm a pipefitter/plumber and we use what we call an "inside read" stick rule from Lufkin. Everything else is useless, IMO. An inside read ruler will lay flat as you unfold it. It is what it sounds like, in that, unlike a normal ruler which reads 1" from the outside most fold, it reads 1" from the inside most fold and isn't awkward to use and the numbers are close to the work. I believe Lufkin 066F is the model I'm referring to.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop

^Exactly…


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop

A review of "#2" types from above, and there are a number of variations. The first picture shows a vintage stainless steel Lufkin Rule Co. No. 1174 EM. It's an outside measure rule for English, and inside measure for metrics. Don't know how old it is.










Another rule in the picture is the Lufkin Two Way, Model 966. Gus mentioned it above. It's an inside rule through and through, and reads from left to right and right to left as you may need it. Never read numbers upside down again! Really cool, and really hard to find.



















The next pic shows the problem of the 066F model Lufkin; it's an inside rule too, but reads upside down if you're measuring from the right end of a project.










Last up is a real outside measure ruler. The Stanley #426. Aluminum, cool looking, but very impractical.










Finally, a trick that my grandad used that has survived to this day: filing a small notch in the brass ends of stick rulers provides for a very handy nitche for the pencil tip to ride in when striking a line (like using a panel gauge).










That's all I wanted to add to this topic. Thanks for looking!


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## crank49

I have and use the Folding rule like in the lower picture.
I use tapes also, but for me the big advantage of the folding rule is its rigidity and ability to measure at a right angle.
I design a lot of machine installations and find the folder handy for measuring where I need to measure something horizontal thats 2 or 3 feet over my head, for instance.
Carpenters use these as well, but I don't think it's especially useful for fine woodworking.


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## kwhit190211

I have just one of type 1 & it was my Grandfather's you can barely see the numbers now as the wood is very dirty. But, I have used type 2 in the job that I worked for 19 years. But, it wasn't the standard 6' type of folding rule. This rule had a folding hook on the one end, where you could grab the end of a pipe to measure it. I was a Journeyman Pipefitter for 39 years. I the one mill where I worked at for 19 years we used the hook end rule. But, for the other 19 years in that trade I worked at another location & all we used then was mainly a 16' tape. After using the tape, I perfer that style now. But, I still have one 6 foot follding rule in my shop that I use occasionately. It's good for shop layout using the hook style of rule.


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