Vintage rulers and measuring devices

[Mike N]

Every decent flea market has a couple of tables of vintage tools. Keep your eyes out for old draftsman, carpenter and machinist rulers. Not only are they cheap and accurate, they are a really cool way to measure parts on an old reel. They just seem to go together. Pictured also are an old brass pencil sharpener in a leather case, a bubble level and a small tape measure that amazingly goes to 72”.

[Midway Tommy D]

Cool old measuring tools, Mike. Lufkin never quit making their 6' carpenter's ruler. A lot of places carry them including ACE Hardware....... and........ Home Depot That's what we used when I started as a carpenter but by the early '70s things switched to 3/4" x 16' tapes. I still have a couple of those wood Lufkins and use them now and then. They were considered the Cadillac because they have the 6" T slide end.

[Mike N]

Thanks, Tommy. I might add that if you really want to take a reel so far apart that you have to call Dr. Elder to put it back together, you need a set of jewelers screwdrivers, too.