Who really needs this thing?

[Gene Howe]

"The author bemoaned the high precision that was coming into the WW world, specifically the use of milling machines in custom furniture. He advocated very little measuring at all, doing most things by eye and comparison and milling lumber all at the same time, story boards, etc."
I don't know who that author is but he's a man after my own heart.
I applaud him and you for putting aside those tapes and even more high tech toys in favor of the more direct methods.

[frank81]

"The author bemoaned the high precision that was coming into the WW world, specifically the use of milling machines in custom furniture. He advocated very little measuring at all, doing most things by eye and comparison and milling lumber all at the same time, story boards, etc."
I don't know who that author is but he's a man after my own heart.
I applaud him and you for putting aside those tapes and even more high tech toys in favor of the more direct methods.

That's how I learned in woodshop. Measure (twice) as best you can before cutting, then line all the pieces up to check how exact they are. When I forget that method and rely on measurements only it usually doesn't turn out as well.

That said, if you're in a production environment and not manually cutting all materials yourself...upfront precision is very important. Which is also where I would use this tool - high volume where I want to eliminate human error of adjusting and reading measuring devices.

[shipwright]

100% agreement with dcohenour. I use measuring devices (with numbers on them) as little as possible and almost never for precision. I always "fit from the work" as we called it in the shipyards.
You could drive yourself quite crazy trying to build a wooden boat to fine measured tolerances. All that the pieces have to do is fit perfectly, not be exactly the right length. IMHO .....

[terrydowning]

I have to agree with dcohenour and Paul on this.

My hobby is woodworking NOT precision measurement.

[charlese]

Well said my friends in posts 10 through 14!!:D Happy to see these words!:D

Wish every woodworker had this wisdom.

Now back to the tool we were discussing - It is made for determining the thickness of boards coming out of a planer. Here's how it works - If a board won't slide into the 3/4" slot then try the next larger one (13/16")or even 7/8". If it's sloppy there you need to run it through the planer again. A quick look at the amount of slop will quickly show the amount that needs to be planed to reach 3/4". If it fits well into the 13/16th slot, one half revolution will get you right on the money. No need for greater accuracy.

That said, I've used a caliper for this purpose forever and probably will never change. Although, as many of you know, I have been almost fanatic decrying the desire to get accuracy down to thousandth of an inch - also the tool manufacturers that market them. However it is always a good thing to start with boards of the same thickness especially when making joints.

Preferring to buy rough or unfinished lumber, I find this little tool helpfull. http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.a ... 3513,51657 The only thing I can find wrong is it is printed (engraved) only on one side. It's designed to be used by right handed folks.

[joshh]

Charlese, does that thing open beer bottles too?

[charlese]

Might work, but my teeth work good, so never tried:rolleyes: Might even cut a hole in cans, but my knife works for that.