GoodWood Posted April 13, 2007 Report Share Posted April 13, 2007 Ive been lookin around but no go yet. Ive seen certain new Starrett straits but at 350+. Anyone know were to get this type if strait edge? Thanks http://www.cumpiano.com/Home/Newsletters/I...ewsletter2.html A USEFUL DIGRESSION You have to have a machinists' yardstick to do this. If you are going to do any kind of bridge work or intonation diagnosis, you just have to have one. If you don't and if you don't want to spend the $50 - $75 it'll cost for a good one, skip this section. It is a metal ruler, 30 - 36 inches long, finely engraved with markings in English Standard and something called "Ford" measurements (actually very few people know that it's called that). Ford rule measurements (yes, first conceived by ol' Henry Ford) are inches divided into tenths. And each tenth is divided up in ten divisions, yielding 100ths (and a headache trying to read them), or (easier for my fifty-year-old eyes) in five divisions, yielding or 50ths (that is, with four engraved ticks that are read .02", .04", .06" and .08" . Of course the measurements in between the ticks are .01", .03", .05" and .09"). The advantage of the Ford rule is that you can measure off, to .01" accuracy, the results of a mathematical division involving inches. It like the next best thing to metric. I know, I know, we should all be using metric, but hey! Give me a break: life is changing too fast as it is.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Mailloux Posted April 13, 2007 Report Share Posted April 13, 2007 An easy solution would be to buy a metric straightedge from Canada. They usually have both Imperial and Metric scales on them. Lee Valley's site is something you could look into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanb Posted April 13, 2007 Report Share Posted April 13, 2007 http://www.garrettwade.com/shopping/produc...roductID=107414 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted April 14, 2007 Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 Any industrial supply (MSC, Garret Wade, McMaster-Carr) should have decimal inch rulers/machinists rules. Drop the yardstick and you should find it. Me, I stick with my metric/imperial mix. Markings to half a mm, and you can interpolate .25mm with relative accuracy, which is more than close enough when working with wood, since a few degrees temperature shift will move things around more than that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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