Measuring Up: Collecting and Using Antique Rulers

December 4, 2011 by authenticboats

In 1996/7, I built a St. Lawrence Skiff at the shop of my friend Peter the Boatbuilder. He was the boatman at the Argonaut Rowing Club in Toronto, and in exchange for looking after the club’s boats, he ran his boatbuilding shop out of the club. I shared the space with him while we built two traditional skiffs, one for me and one for him. He’s still building boats, most recently with Youth Boatworks Canada, and just finished a Bantry Bay Gig for the Atlantic Challenge competition.

Here's Peter at work lofting the skiff.

And here I am, laying out the keel line on the same lofting.

I even got my wife involved. Here's Wendy bevelling a lap on our skiff, which we would eventually name for her mother, Isabel.

And here's the skiff planked up and off the moulds, ready for ribs.

Lovely pictures, but what’s this got to do with antique rulers? Well, one day not long after this picture was taken, I came into the shop and there was a present waiting for me on the workbench from Peter. He studied traditional boatbuilding at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Townsend, WA, and it was probably there that he got introduced to traditional folding wooden rulers. Sometimes these get called “Blindman’s Rules,” although strictly speaking, that name only refers to one particular kind with especially large numbers. Peter had one that he used a lot on the skiff project, and I guess he had seen me admiring it while we worked. On the workbench that day was a package made from masking tape and a Country Style Doughnuts box (takes a lot of doughnuts to build a traditional wooden boat, so there were always plenty of boxes around the shop). Inside was a folding wooden ruler of my own, my “graduation” present for having gotten my skiff planked up and off the moulds. I still have the ruler, and I used it often while I was building the Fiddlehead this summer.

This is the ruler that started it all for me, a Stanley #61 boxwood two-foot, four-fold, square-joint ruler with middle plates, manufactured between 1855 and 1957. This particular one could be pre-1949.

Even a quick glance through Alvin Sellen’s book encyclopedic book Stanley Folding Rules will give you a sense of the vast variety of these that were manufactured from the mid 19th to late 20th century by Stanley, Lufkin, Rabone and other tool companies. Carpenters, shipwrights, surveyors, blacksmiths, patternmakers and a host of other trades all had their own rulers with features suited to their particular work. In case you don’t already waste enough time on line, take a moment to hop on eBay and search for “folding rulers” to see how many of these are still around and just waiting for you to buy them. The wooden ones are nice, but in the mid 19th century they were also made from ivory and oxbone with German silver mounts, and those are really lovely (with a price to match).

No question, then, that they make great collectibles, but are they really useful in the shop? For me, at least, the answer would be an enthusiastic “yes.” One of the things we’re blessed with in the 21st century is choice–just think of how many things there are to eat for breakfast in the average grocery store, for instance. It’s no different in the workshop. Need to cut something? If you have any kind of workshop at all, I bet there’s at least 6 different ways to accomplish the same purpose ready to hand (I took a moment to count my own stuff: compound mitre saw; tablesaw; bandsaw; 2 different sizes of Skilsaw; several japanese saws; several western hand saws). Obviously if I have to measure off a 6′ piece of stock I’m not going to use my four-fold, two-foot folding ruler three times in a row. But for smaller measurements around a traditional boatbuilding project, these folding rulers work very well. As an added benefit, and here’s where the choice comes in, I find them just plain enjoyable to use (which I suppose is the same thing that someone else might say about their LED-equipped digital laser tape measure), and so use them I do. It’s a pleasure to have something in your hand that offers a connection to people who used to do what you’re doing now. Folding rulers also look very official sticking out of your back pocket or apron, and if you’re working in public, they’re great conversation starters.

Here's my Stanley #61 in use, checking the progress of a lap bevel at the midships frame.

Did I mention that these kinds of rulers are available on eBay? and from antique tool websites, antique tool shows, flea markets and garage sales? I still have and use the Stanley #61 that Peter gave me more than 15 years ago, but that hasn’t stopped me picking up a few more over the years. Here’s some favourites from the “measuring” drawer of my tool chest. These are all tools that I’ve collected to actually use, so I tend not to go for the pristine examples, or pay extra for an original box, but concentrate instead on pieces that are straight, solid and ready to work.

Here's a sentimental favourite. It's a four-fold, arch-joint caliper ruler with no visible maker's mark. The outside is very worn from years of travelling in someone's pocket, but the inside markings are still clear and usable. Two higher-end features are the arch-shaped joints at the hinge and the brass binding on the edges. I carry this in my pocket nearly every day just for the pleasure of having it around.

Here's one I couldn't resist. It's a tiny Stanley 65 1/2, one-foot four-fold, brass bound with a square joint. This type was manufactured from 1855 to 1934, and this particular one dates from some time after 1867.

A Lufkin #42 boxwood Shipwright's Bevel. Competition was fierce in the ruler business, and Stanley offered an identical piece, also a #42, albeit with square ends on the brass bevel arms.

Here's a kind of Swiss Army Knife folding ruler. This big, chuncky four-fold two-foot Rabone # 1190, possibly from the 1930s, has an arch-joint and engraved hinge marked with degrees for use as a bevel gauge, as well as a brass level.

A Stanley #136, manufactured between 1932 and 1983, incorporating an inside/outside caliper as well as a ruler on the other side.

A Lufkin #41 3-fold, one-foot steel ruler with case. The leatherette case for this model was often embossed with a company's name so it could be used as a promotional item.

Some great sources for rulers like this include eBay; Jim Bode Antique Tools; Vintage Tools and Bob Kaune Antique & Used Tools.

Until next time. . .

Posted in Antique Rulers, Antique Tools, Boat Building, Boats, Folding Rulers, Uncategorized | Tagged boat building, lapstrake construction, St. Lawrence Skiff | 8 Comments

8 Responses

on April 11, 2012 at 12:16 pm | Reply Dan

Beautiful rulers! I just cleaned out my grandparents garage and found one very similar to the stanley 61, amazing condition. Thanks for sharing the images and descriptions.
on March 13, 2016 at 10:18 pm | Reply Judith Ammar

I have two mysterious antique rulers, both boxwood and brass folding models.
the first may be the simplest, since i know the manufacturer and number – a Stanley No.32 (4 fold 1ft rule with caliper).
I have 2 of these (as well as two of the 32 1/2 with full brass edges), and have looked at literally dozens of these for sale. But on my most worn (and favorite) 32, the two parts of the center brass hinge are *reversed* – the larger shape – the one including the circle -is on the *left* as you look at the non-caliper side. All the others, both the 32’s and the 32 1/2’s, hinge from the right.

The second mystery is much more frustrating, and i have looked everywhere and every way I can think of. The rule is a 4 fold 2ft identified “No70″ next to the number 10 on both sides. Each section is a hair wider than 5/8″ ( as opposed to the more common 1/2”). The brass at the center hinge, excluding the full radius of the circular part, takes up an inch, so that half of “11” and “13” are obscured on both sides, tho someone at some point used a metal stamp to impress “1” and “3” on both sides.

Yeah, this is hard to describe. The problem is that there is NO MANUFACTURER inscribed or printed anywhere. So far I am absolutely sure it is not a Lufkin (761), a Stanley (61), a Rabone (1377), or another unidentified model 268. Tho the proportions are the same, the numbers are placed differently, the folding brass hinges are spaced differently and/or are shorter, and of course there is no name ;->

I’ve searched every iteration of “ruler” with the number 70 – if i include the size, i am directed to a Stanley 61. I have found *one* item that fits my description – even looks the same with the same numeral style, and is marked No70. Except it says “Stanley”, the center brass is shorter, so no numbers are obscured, and the rotating hinge is like all the other Stanleys… Like my quirky lil 32, my anonymous No70 hinges from the left.

Thanks for listening. I have never tried to describe this to anyone.
For the record, that Stanley 70 was described as very rare and priced at $200.
- on March 27, 2016 at 4:45 pm | Reply authenticboats
  
  Thanks for sharing your story. It’s the thrilll of the chase in unravelling these little mysteries that’s as much fun as anything else, I find.
on July 8, 2016 at 12:40 pm | Reply Bob

Hello:
I have a very early Carpenter’s Ruler marked Charlton Bros. Do you have any information about this ruler or maker? I cannot find anything. Look forward to your reply. Regards, Bob
- on July 9, 2016 at 5:37 pm | Reply authenticboats
  
  Hi, Bob:
  
  The only references I have at the house are for Stanley folding rulers. I did find a listing for a mid 19th century leatherworker’s draw gauge made by Charlton in New Jersey: http://www.sydnassloot.com/r15.htm? Perhaps one and the same?
  
  J
on July 10, 2016 at 7:30 pm | Reply D.

HI. I have a huge collection of these vintage Rulers. They are in a custom designed cabinet and mostly from Germany. I am looking for an enthusiastic collector to sell them to. Any recommendations would be appreciated. You can see a few photos of the collection here:http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/197906-huge-collegian-of-vintage-measuring-tape
- on July 10, 2016 at 7:58 pm | Reply authenticboats
  
  You might want to try Jim Bode at Jim Bode Antique Tools: http://www.jimbodetools.com
  
  J
  - on July 10, 2016 at 8:01 pm D.
    
    Thank you! I am near Toronto, Ontario, in case that spurs any contacts!