Weird Measuring Tools You May Not Have Heard Of

Although expensive Power tools are nice to see in any shop or workshop, the most fundamental components are the Measuring tools. All Skilled carpenters depend on Micro fractions, so the quality can capabilities of the measuring tools you have in your workshop can ultimately be the difference between frustration or beautiful furniture or any woodwork project.

Traditionally, most woodworkers are aware of all the available woodworking measuring tools currently available on the market. We have explored many of theses in our Measuring Series. There are, however, a few odd measuring tools that you may have never heard of but always needed.

Milescraft Center Finder

Quickly and accurately mark centerlines on boards up to 2-1/2″ thick. The Milescraft® Center Finder straddles your board to mark a perfectly centered line along the face or edge of boards. Insert the pencil into the center hole, rotate the tool so the guide posts contact the material, then scribe. For marking offsets, use the center finder on one the flat sides and select your offset. Use the pencil in the offset notches to mark or draw your line.

Shinwa Sliding Bevel

Quickly and accurately measure angles between 20° and 135° using this unique Japanese sliding bevel. With its large size and lockable slide, this tool is great for accurate layout work. The adjacent leg of the bevel is calibrated on whole degree increments, along with a 45cm metric scale.

WoodRiver Digital Thickness Gauge

Milling wood properly and to the correct thickness can be a timely and tedious task – unless you are using our WoodRiver® Digital Thickness Gauge that reduces milling time while ensuring your wood’s thickness is exact. Most other thickness gauges only go to 1/2″, but the WoodRiver gauge goes to a full 1″, which is perfect for boards thicker than 1/2″. Unlike other gauges, the resolution on the WoodRiver gauge is phenomenal, reading out to 0.001mm/ 0.00005″. The digital LCD screen readout is 20mm x 40mm and can be switched from decimal inch to metric with the push of a button. With the WoodRiver Thickness Gauge there is no need to lock in the lever – just slide the wood onto the measuring surface and run it down the board

KAPRO 816 – 314 Set & Match Laser Accessory

Who doesn’t love lasers? They are not only great for making straight lines, but they can give you hours of excitement. The 314 laser attachment is the perfect accessory for an already great tool. With the laser you can mark your line 20 feet. The laser comes with a magnetic base, which you place into the slide and lock center of your 314 Set and Match. Once locked into place, the laser glides up and down the ruler. Want to lay a laser line without using the ruler? Not a problem with the laser attachment. You can remove it from the base and place it wherever you want.