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Folding Rules

A

Andy Kev.

Nordic Pine
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Having just noted some upper end second hand prices e.g. https://www.jimbodetools.com/collection ... sior-96419

I wonder if any enterprising small manufacturer will take up the making of four fold rules again. I've got half a dozen of them in various sizes and they are extremely useful tools IMO. They need not necessarily be made of wood: I could imagine a good metal one.

They wouldn't be cheap of course but a metal one would last for life.
 
Jim bode is reknown for daft prices, but I assume his market are folks with too much money.

I quite like folding rules though.
 
It's an interesting question Andy but I very much doubt that it would be feasible for anyone to revive the old style folding rules.
Jim Bode does indeed have the knack of attracting very free spending collectors. (That example of a 3 ft rule is already rarer than any 2 ft rule, which are far commoner.)

I'm no expert on rule collecting, but afaik the attraction is that back in the day there were thousands of variants, some very common but others extremely rare, all made mostly by hand, with great skill.

If you want a rule for practical use, you can find a basic 19th or 20th century 2ft four-fold for a couple of quid, just as you can find basic common wooden bench planes for very little. There are so many around that most of us who want one to use will be easily satisfied. Providing that we don't mind working in inches that is, which I expect skews the market to Americans and us woodworkers of riper years.

The other barriers to a revival include the difficulty of getting suitable boxwood or similar, and the obscurity of the manufacturing process. (This is documented, but not much, and relied on fly presses to cut the brass components, plus a good variety of special saws, planes and jigs.)

I noticed that the nice Italian metric rule is actually all brass and only a two-fold, so avoids some of the complexities. I'd guess there's some CNC and laser engraving there too.

The zigzag rules (like PeteW's) are still popular in Europe and available in metric. I have a nice one that came with some Swedish hardwood flooring. Also a nice Chesterman example in steel.
 
They must still be made in Germany I’ve half a dozen stacking type rules from different German tool companies given free as merchandise, I’ve also got a folding one from Dictum somewhere which was a gift from a mate.
 
Thanks for the replies which are interesting.

The posh brass one is one of those things that would be great to get for Christmas but it somehow doesn't look very "woodwork" for which IMO it would have to be four fold.

I had no idea (having looked but obviously inadequately) that four folds were still being made. I've got about half a dozen of boxwood second hand ones which include the following lengths: 1 foot, 2 foot and 3 foot.

The 2 foot is the one I use the most with, perhaps surprisingly, the 1 foot being the second most used. It's one of those things that when you need it, it is the perfect thing for the job. It lives in my bench tin along with things like pencils, marking knives and other small tools which you need a lot.

I used to do a bit of work for a German medical tool supplies firm and had one of the 2 foot rules in my rucksack once (as you do) and showed it to one of the managers. I suggested to him that if his firm were to make one with a boxwood centre with titanium edging, he might make a killing on the woodwork market. (The idea I had in mind was the boxwood centre being about 1 cm wide, bevelling down into 1/2 cm wide titanium housings which continued the bevel and which bore the markings.)

His view was that if he suggested that to the big bosses, they would fear for his sanity. This surprised me as he had never seen one before and was instantly captivated by the design. As far as I can tell, they are largely unknown in Germany and possibly on the wider continent.

BTW I dislike the stepped ones, although I was given one as a freebie. I would use it only for the most coarse of measurements and for that it's not as good as a retractable measure. They do however, seem to be the standard amongst German craftsmen.
 
The only metal one I have ever handled was my Grandfather's, many years ago. He was a blacksmith and said that he couldn't have a wooden one because of all the sparks from the forge and welding. I think it was steel, not brass, because again, he said brass would expand in the heat.
 
Doug":1wejj6q5 said:
This company just came up on my instagram feed https://thegood.nz/ a very modern take on the folding rule
Click to expand...

That is interesting, Doug and obviously somebody in NZ had similar thoughts to mine.

I hope they make the sold out aluminium one again because I'd be certainly up for one.

Thanks for letting everyone know about it.
 
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