Paul Chapman
Established Member
lurker":rr3uwuzb said:
Don't know why you're so dismissive of them, lurker. They are superbly made and work very well. I've used them so often that they have more than paid for themselves.
Cheers :wink:
Paul
Where do I buy or how do I make a slipstick?
- Thread starter Teejay
- Start date
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Don't know why you're so dismissive of them, lurker. They are superbly made and work very well. I've used them so often that they have more than paid for themselves.
Cheers :wink:
Paul
Sheffield Tony
Ghost of the disenchanted
I was thinking that sourcing a pig's bladder might be hard, but then I read it again with my glasses on.
Can't you just rip a strip of either side of a piece of T&G floorboard ?
[Sorry. I see someone already suggested the obvious !]
Can't you just rip a strip of either side of a piece of T&G floorboard ?
[Sorry. I see someone already suggested the obvious !]
Paul Chapman
Established Member
Sheepdisease":2zagxdwy said:
Lengths of tongued and grooved wood (in the form of cladding or floor boards) are readily available from DIY sheds or timber yards, which you could cut down and make up your own pinch rods if you want to use the T&G option.
Cheers :wink:
Paul
Sgian Dubh
Established Member
I've never needed to make 'slipsticks' that engage together with a tongue and groove as shown in the illustration. If I'm building something to go in a large alcove I simply cut four sticks, two for the horizontal dimensions, and two for the vertical dimensions. The sticks are usually plywood or MDF, about 2"+ wide by 3/4" thick. In each case the sticks are a foot or three shorter than the space. For example, if the width is roughly 10', two sticks each about 7' - 8' long work well.
I go on-site with the sticks, masking tape, and clamps of some sort- spring clamps are good, but small F clamps or small G clamps work too, a camera and a profile gauge for cornices and skirting boards. I put the two 'horizontal' sticks together, grip them so they form a straight pair, find the widest point and the narrowest point, marking each across the face of one stick from the end of the other. Clamp or tape the two sticks together at their shortest (narrowest) length and then go up the space marking off significant points on the sticks such as electrical outlets, air vents, etc. Then do the same with the vertical dimensions using the other pair of sticks. It's also important to know which way the sticks fit together - a mark to clearly identify this is easily done. A few photographs complete the survey. Later, when planning the build, use the sticks reassembled to plot out the job, much the same as map grid references I suppose.
The advantage of sticks like this is that they are cheap, and specific to the job. On complex jobs there are quite a few marks on each pair of sticks, and it can be useful to reassemble them in the right order to double check something. Being specific to a particular job means they stay with that job until it's finished, after which they can be recycled or even tossed out.
Alternatively, you can go digital and buy multi-line lasers, distance finders, etc, that do a similar surveying job, as long as you've got batteries or power of some sort. ha, ha. Slainte.
I go on-site with the sticks, masking tape, and clamps of some sort- spring clamps are good, but small F clamps or small G clamps work too, a camera and a profile gauge for cornices and skirting boards. I put the two 'horizontal' sticks together, grip them so they form a straight pair, find the widest point and the narrowest point, marking each across the face of one stick from the end of the other. Clamp or tape the two sticks together at their shortest (narrowest) length and then go up the space marking off significant points on the sticks such as electrical outlets, air vents, etc. Then do the same with the vertical dimensions using the other pair of sticks. It's also important to know which way the sticks fit together - a mark to clearly identify this is easily done. A few photographs complete the survey. Later, when planning the build, use the sticks reassembled to plot out the job, much the same as map grid references I suppose.
The advantage of sticks like this is that they are cheap, and specific to the job. On complex jobs there are quite a few marks on each pair of sticks, and it can be useful to reassemble them in the right order to double check something. Being specific to a particular job means they stay with that job until it's finished, after which they can be recycled or even tossed out.
Alternatively, you can go digital and buy multi-line lasers, distance finders, etc, that do a similar surveying job, as long as you've got batteries or power of some sort. ha, ha. Slainte.
bugbear
Established Member
Sheepdisease":3ljydiut said:
I think you would be well served by concentrating on the principle of the measuring device shown, but the detail of its construction.
BugBear
bugbear":1jpeq6fh said:
The trouble with a thin strip of tongue and groove is that if the gap to measure is large, it will cause the wood to flex, leading to inaccuracies.
Racers":1jpeq6fh said:
Sheepdisease":1jpeq6fh said:
mseries
Established Member
you don't need a T&G router cutter. A simple 3/8" straight cutter will suffice. easier in a router table than without - but not much. As it happens I have a spare Trend Professional 3/8" cutter that I'll sell for £10 inc P&P .
David C
In Memorium
The man who taught me would make a custom diagonal stick from a thin scrap offcut.
A sloped end made a subtle kind of relative measuring device.
I use two scraps with specially shaped ends, held together with a medical tube clamp, which is cheap light and small.
best wishes,
David
A sloped end made a subtle kind of relative measuring device.
I use two scraps with specially shaped ends, held together with a medical tube clamp, which is cheap light and small.
best wishes,
David
I got carried away last Christmas and made a couple of fancy slipsticks, with from alloy tubes, turned brass ends and set screws, and what not, one for the Secret Santa. Heavily over engineered but it's my time! I have not had any feed back but the one I made for me works fine.
Having thought about this a bit more, the whole thing can I think, be very much simpler.
Go to B&Q, Wilkes or whoever, and buy one of their aluminium rods, mine is about 5mm diameter, usually sold in about 1 metre lengths. Sort through the aluminium tubes to find the corresponding close internal fit on the rod. Should cost no more than £5.
For the rod, cut one end to a wedge shape, then file to a point. Ditto for the tube. Cut a slot in the middle of the tube, probably less than half the diameter, and wide enough to allow a small rubber band to grip on both the tube and the rod. Off to the workshop later to check this out, but as long as you keep the respective pointy ends in the same plane, (and at opposite ends) should make internal measuring straightforward. Can obviously be made to any length, depending on what you do, and being alloy, might be easier to see in the tool box.
Regards Mike
Having thought about this a bit more, the whole thing can I think, be very much simpler.
Go to B&Q, Wilkes or whoever, and buy one of their aluminium rods, mine is about 5mm diameter, usually sold in about 1 metre lengths. Sort through the aluminium tubes to find the corresponding close internal fit on the rod. Should cost no more than £5.
For the rod, cut one end to a wedge shape, then file to a point. Ditto for the tube. Cut a slot in the middle of the tube, probably less than half the diameter, and wide enough to allow a small rubber band to grip on both the tube and the rod. Off to the workshop later to check this out, but as long as you keep the respective pointy ends in the same plane, (and at opposite ends) should make internal measuring straightforward. Can obviously be made to any length, depending on what you do, and being alloy, might be easier to see in the tool box.
Regards Mike
Jacob
New Luddism. Awake and resist!
The trouble with any off the shelf measuring stick is that it is likely to be too long or too short for a lot of jobs. You could end up needing a whole set of them. And socks to keep them in. :lol:
This is where the tape measure comes into it's own.
On the other hand ad hoc sticks is normal practice - just offcuts as Dave suggests above. The one I use a lot is a lath with a nail near one end to rest in the corner of a frame, then a pencil mark near the other to measure the diagonal. If the two diagonals are out the marks are apart so you cramp to bring them together in the middle. Much easier than trying to do the same thing with a tape.
This is where the tape measure comes into it's own.
On the other hand ad hoc sticks is normal practice - just offcuts as Dave suggests above. The one I use a lot is a lath with a nail near one end to rest in the corner of a frame, then a pencil mark near the other to measure the diagonal. If the two diagonals are out the marks are apart so you cramp to bring them together in the middle. Much easier than trying to do the same thing with a tape.
Sheffield Tony
Ghost of the disenchanted
RogerP":leajw2vt said:
A quick thanks for that pointer. I lost a tape measure the other day so was going to buy a new one - I don't know how accurate these are for internal measurements, but for a rough measure it looks useful. I bought the almost identical (but for colour) Festool badged version, which strangely de-values it by a few pounds !
Sheffield Tony
Ghost of the disenchanted
Jacob":1mrlpvg5 said:
I think we might have found a use for an old car radio aerial.
Never felt the need for these. Get a set of steel rules 1000, 600mm, 300mm and 150mm you can use them like a slipstick if need be but so much more versatile. If you have an exceptionally wide gap cut a 25mm X 25mm offcut to a known length that easily fits in the gap and use a rule to measure the remaining gap.
Jacob
New Luddism. Awake and resist!
+ brass knobs?Sheffield Tony":1f8aersa said:
