Where do I buy or how do I make a slipstick?

[Teejay]

Hello there, I want to get the dimensions of an alcove in several places mm accurate and was hoping I would be able to find premade slipsticks or someone would know an easy way to make one (I have a diagram from a book which says it is a pair of matched tongue and groove sticks).

I just don't know what tongue and groove sticks are out there which look like the image?

 

[marcros]

i would think that the easiest way to make one is to take a piece of flooring, and cut the tongue and groove off.

An alternative would be to just take 2 lengths of timber, and some masking tape and hey presto!

 

[Paul Chapman]

These Veritas bar gauge heads are very effective http://www.brimarc.com/products/Veritas ... -22795.htm

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[mickthetree]

Those Veritas ones are nice, but really you only need something very simple from scraps for this.

I've tried numerous methods and the best and most accurate I've found is to get four scrap lengths (thin stock is good) place them around the edges of the alcove and hot glue the corners together. You end up with a very accurate template that you can use to trace onto whatever you are fitting.
Hope this helps

 

[AndyT]

I use an offcut of plastic mini trunking.
It costs nothing. You can get a tiny adjustment by flexing the lid part against the box part, but it locks solid so does not lose the setting.

 

[Jacob]

Neat idea the bit of trunking

i would think that the easiest way to make one is to take a piece of flooring, and cut the tongue and groove off.

An alternative would be to just take 2 lengths of timber, and some masking tape and hey presto!

Or elastic bands.

Difficult one this!

There's a thing called a tape measure.

 

[bugbear]

They're normally called either "pinch rods" or "pinch bars".

Slipstick is (or was...) the normal nickname for a slide rule.

Whatever they're called, they're excellent for taking accurate
internal measurements.

BugBear

 

[Paul Chapman]

There's a thing called a tape measure.

Probably the worst option for taking internal measurements.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Racers]

You could make a super dooper wedge locking one like this






Pete

 

[bugbear]

You could make a super dooper wedge locking one like this






Pete

Does one wedge hold both bars, and (if so) how?

BugBear

 

[RogerP]

There's a thing called a tape measure.

Probably the worst option for taking internal measurements.
Cheers :wink:
Paul

Not if you use a tape with a sight window that directly reads internal measurement.

Like this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Richter-3m-10ft-Pocket-Tape-Measure-with-Sight-Window-/220419129433

They come cheaper.

 

[Paul Chapman]

There's a thing called a tape measure.

Probably the worst option for taking internal measurements.
Cheers :wink:
Paul

Not if you use a tape with a sight window that directly reads internal measurement.

Like this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Richter-3m-10ft-Pocket-Tape-Measure-with-Sight-Window-/220419129433

They come cheaper.

Still not as accurate or versatile as pinch rods.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[mickthetree]

ah ha!! I knew I had posted a picture somewhere.

http://forums.ukworkshop.co.uk/viewtopi ... 2&p=923523

This was a bench I installed into an uneven alcove at home. Glued the scrap wood together with a bracing piece in the middle. Transferred to the bench, cut and planned to size and it fitted like a glove.

Hope this helps

 

[AndyT]

Another option is shown in Roy Underhill's video here:

http://video.unctv.org/video/2365309184/

 

[mickthetree]

Scroll down that thread for pictures.

Sorry, I hadnt given a full explaination of the technique above really. You scribe each batten into each wall, then hot glue them together. This then gives you a perfectly fitted template.

 

[Teejay]

Those Veritas ones are nice, but really you only need something very simple from scraps for this.

I've tried numerous methods and the best and most accurate I've found is to get four scrap lengths (thin stock is good) place them around the edges of the alcove and hot glue the corners together. You end up with a very accurate template that you can use to trace onto whatever you are fitting.
Hope this helps

This is a useful technique for shelves but I need to check the dimensions from top to bottom in several places so would be impractical for this purpose. A sliding wooden tongue and groove set would be best.

I use an offcut of plastic mini trunking.
It costs nothing. You can get a tiny adjustment by flexing the lid part against the box part, but it locks solid so does not lose the setting.

This is a good suggestion presuming the gap isn't too large to cause the plastic to flex, leading to inaccuracies.

I am hoping someone knows where this tongue and groove design comes from (the image suggests this would be readily available)?

 

[AndyT]

I am hoping someone knows where this tongue and groove design comes from (the image suggests this would be readily available)?

I've never seen one listed in a catalogue, or indeed in a book, so I don't think it was ever a commercial tool.
It would only take a few minutes to make for youself though, assuming you have a pair of T&G planes or a combined one.

What was the book?

 

[Teejay]

Bob Syvanen Carpentry and Interior Finish Second Edition

 

[dickm]

They're normally called either "pinch rods" or "pinch bars".

Slipstick is (or was...) the normal nickname for a slide rule.

Whatever they're called,
BugBear

Up here a pinch bar is what I'd always known as a crowbar.
But surely everyone's sliderule was a guessing stick?

 

[lurker]

These Veritas bar gauge heads are very effective http://www.brimarc.com/products/Veritas ... -22795.htm

Cheers :wink:

Paul

That's a solution looking for a problem if I ever saw one!

If I couldn't make something as simple as this, I think I just pack it up and find myself another hobby