Measuring up
How do you measure things in your woodshop? Your results depend on how you do it.
How do you measure things in your woodshop? Your results depend on how you do it.
You have to measure twice, cut once. We all know that. But depending on how you measure length, distance and time makes all the difference in how things turn out. For your enlightenment, I’ll illustrate several types of measurements.
- Imperial – Easy enough for first-graders, easy enough for you.
- Metric – Good news: divisible by 10. Bad news: really tiny marks on a rule.
- Story stick – Cut the stick just so, and the actual measurement doesn’t matter.
- Geometric – Those little triangles or diamonds on your tape are where the studs go.
- Rough carpentry – Use the last digit of your thumb.
- Dog years – “Yes, ma’am, I can have those cabinets ready for you in one week.”
A.J. HamlerAuthor
A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.