Most people call these “Carpenters Rulers”, or a “Folding Carpenter Ruler”, either way they fold and work great in most applications where a sturdy tape measure is called for. What is steel ruler used for? Steel rules come in rigid and flexible versions.
When was the first folding ruler invented?
Anton Ullrich invented the folding ruler in 1851. Frank Hunt later made the flexible ruler in 1902. The equivalent of a ruler for drawing or reproducing a smooth curve, where it takes the form of a rigid template, is known as a French curve.
What are the benefits of a folding ruler?
George Vondriska teaches you the benefit of keeping a folding ruler around when you’re completing a woodworking project in your workshop. Folding rulers are ideal for measuring the dimensions of the interior of a project like a cabinet or desk.
What is a curved ruler called?
Curved and flexible rulers The equivalent of a ruler for drawing or reproducing a smooth curve, where it takes the form of a rigid template, is known as a French curve. A flexible device that can be bent to the desired shape is known as a flat spline, or (in its more modern incarnation) a flexible curve.
What is another name for a screen ruler?
These programs are also known as screen rulers. In geometry, a ruler without any marks on it (a straightedge) may be used only for drawing straight lines between points. A straightedge is also used to help draw accurate graphs and tables.
What is a folding ruler best used for?
Like a tape measure, the folding rule is also handy for measuring shorter and longer distances. If you need to measure something small, just unfold one section of the ruler. A couple of other things the folding rule can do is it can help measure angles of buildings and other things in the world.
What is a Carpenters ruler called?
Carpenter's square In carpentry, a square is a guide for establishing right angles (90° angles) or mitre angles, usually made of metal.
What is a Lufkin ruler?
This four-fold boxwood rule has a brass round joint at the center and two brass hinges. It is two feet long when unfolded. One side has a scale of inches divided to 1/8" and numbered by ones from 23 to 1. One arm is marked: No 651B LUFKIN RULE CO.
How do you use a folding carpenters ruler?
0:062:35Find Out What Carpenters Used Before Tape Measures Were InventedYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThere. Nice right on the money. So they are that they I checked it I measured everything and theMoreThere. Nice right on the money. So they are that they I checked it I measured everything and the only thing I could see is from tip to tip. There. Was I think some rulers were 7 inches.
What measuring tool is a folded measuring tool?
Folding rules are considered to be predecessors of modern tape measures, which are long flexible strips with measurements marked on them which are coiled inside a case. They can be extended out or retracted into a coil inside the case. The tape measure has replaced the folding rule for many uses.
What are folding rules?
0:035:55So What the Heck is a Folding Rule??? - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipLike I am or can appreciate some old-style woodworking tools you might have seen one of these thingsMoreLike I am or can appreciate some old-style woodworking tools you might have seen one of these things okay. This is called a folding rule folding ruler folding tip measure all right something like that
Is Lufkin rule still in business?
A year later, the Lufkin company was acquired by Cooper Industries, Inc. Since 2010, the brand has been owned by the Apex Tool Group, LLC.
Where are Lufkin folding rulers made?
Lufkin product line of flatwood rules, lip rules, and “L” squares as industrial items and offered them through their catalogue only to industrial distributors and users. By 1998, Cooper had moved the printing, assembly and packaging of folding rules to its main facility in Apex, North Carolina.
How much is a Lufkin?
Compare with similar itemsThis item Lufkin Handy Pocket Tape, 1/4" x 6'Crescent Lufkin 1/4" x 6' Executive® Diameter Yellow Clad A19 Blade Pocket Tape Measure - W606PDCustomer Rating4.5 out of 5 stars (32)4.5 out of 5 stars (1059)Price$1293$21.03$21.03Sold ByMaxWarehouseAmazon.comBrand NameLufkinLufkin4 more rows
How do you use the Lufkin ruler?
3:066:08Lufkin Engineer's Folding Rule Review - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipHandy things one is they do allow you to match angles you can measure an angle and then leave itMoreHandy things one is they do allow you to match angles you can measure an angle and then leave it there. And go and do your cut or do a trace. And you have the exact measurement.
What is a zigzag rule?
noun. a rule composed of light strips of wood joined by rivets so as to be foldable, all the opening and closing parts being in parallel planes.
How accurate is a folding ruler?
The plastic folding rules also come with plastic folding rule with hidden hinges. The glass fiber reinforced plastic is waterproof, the scales are deeply edged. The accuracy is according to EC-class III, = +-1 mm per 1 m and +-1.4 mm per 2 m.
Top 8 Best Folding Ruler for Woodworking Reviews
Below are brief yet informative reviews about 8 of the most efficient folding rulers available in the present market. Continue reading to find out their details, features, and decide which one will fit your needs the most.
Folding Rule Vs. Tape Measure
If you’re new to the carpentry, then it is perfectly normal to be confused between selecting a folding rule or a tape measure.
Buying Guide: How to Find the Perfect Folding Ruler for your Carpentry Projects
It can be extremely difficult and confusing to find the perfect folding ruler due to the availability of so many options with eerily similar qualities. However, if you keep an eye out for the following basic qualities, you will easily be able to determine the ideal choice for yourself.
Final Words
Carpentry can be a trying hobby that requires a lot of patience to master properly. However, now that you know how to find the best folding ruler for woodworking, your journey into woodworking is off to the right start. Therefore, now you will be able to make basic and advanced projects from your home with ease and perfect accuracy.

Overview
Variants
Rulers have long been made from different materials and in multiple sizes. Some are wooden. Plastics have also been used since they were invented; they can be molded with length markings instead of being scribed. Metal is used for more durable rulers for use in the workshop; sometimes a metal edge is embedded into a wooden desk ruler to preserve the edge when used for straig…
Ruler applications in geometry
In geometry, a ruler without any marks on it (a straightedge) may be used only for drawing straight lines between points. A straightedge is also used to help draw accurate graphs and tables.
A ruler and compass construction refers to constructions using an unmarked ruler and a compass. It is possible to bisect an angle into two equal parts with a ruler and compass. It can be proved, though, that it is impossible to divide an angle into three equal parts using only a compass and s…
History
In the history of measurement many distance units have been used which were based on human body parts such as the cubit, hand and foot and these units varied in length by era and location. In the late 18th century the metric system came into use and has been adopted to varying degrees in almost all countries in the world.
Curved and flexible rulers
The equivalent of a ruler for drawing or reproducing a smooth curve, where it takes the form of a rigid template, is known as a French curve. A flexible device that can be bent to the desired shape is known as a flat spline, or (in its more modern incarnation) a flexible curve. Historically, a flexible lead rule used by masons that could be bent to the curves of a molding was known as a lesbian rule.
Philosophy
Ludwig Wittgenstein famously used rulers as an example in his discussion of language games in the Philosophical Investigations. He pointed out that the standard meter bar in Paris was the criterion against which all other rulers were determined to be one meter long, but that there was no analytical way to demonstrate that the standard meter bar itself was one meter long. It could only be asserted as one meter as part of a language game.
See also
• Accuracy and precision – Characterization of measurement error
• Dividing engine
• Golomb ruler – Set of marks at integer positions along an imaginary ruler such that no two pairs of marks are the same distance apart
Bibliography
• Cherry, Dan. "Collector's guide to rules", Furniture & Cabinetmaking, no. 259, July 2017, ISSN 1365-4292, pp. 52–6
• Rees, Jane and Mark (2010). The Rule Book: Measuring for the Trades. Lakeville, MN: Astragal Press ISBN 978-1-931626-26-2 OCLC 907853704
• Russell, David R.; with photography by James Austin and foreword by David Linley (2010). Antique Woodworking Tools: Their Craftsmanship from the Earliest Times to the Twentieth Cent…
• Cherry, Dan. "Collector's guide to rules", Furniture & Cabinetmaking, no. 259, July 2017, ISSN 1365-4292, pp. 52–6
• Rees, Jane and Mark (2010). The Rule Book: Measuring for the Trades. Lakeville, MN: Astragal Press ISBN 978-1-931626-26-2 OCLC 907853704
• Russell, David R.; with photography by James Austin and foreword by David Linley (2010). Antique Woodworking Tools: Their Craftsmanship from the Earliest Times to the Twentieth Century, Cambridge: John Adamson ISBN 978 …