I have this friend who likes to make furniture....fine furniture! And he uses all sorts of neat gadgets and tools to make his life easier in the making of this fine furniture!
I find a lot of them are really interesting but of no use to me.
Do NOT put your finger in this thing or.....well....there's just no telling what will happen. But this gadget is useful for him. To be honest, I'm not sure how, so don't ask me to explain it. But he extols the virtues of this thing constantly. Each to his/her own.
One day, while was admiring his work, and I do admire all of this, he picked up this little thing at Home Depot (which is unfortunately just around the corner from his shop).
A digital fractional caliper. (Sounds really technical) This looked interesting, but it only got better.
Look at what this thing does! On the bottom in measures the outside dimensions, and on the top it measures the inside dimensions.
My minded flooded with the possibilities of the use of this around my own studio! Above is just one.
I love this button and have used it on many garments - in my mind at least! But the problem with these odd shaped jewels is making the correct sized button hole and for that matter even measuring it.
Not one to do things in an inexact manner, the whole idea of this caliper (that's what they call them in the shop world), made me oooo and aaaaah with delight.
So off to Home Depot to purchase my own little jewel.
The measurements can be in fractions,which is what I prefer, or inch decimals or metric decimals, with a measuring stick (excuse my inept and un-techy language there), thingie above in case you can't read the digital layout.
I'm not sure I would recommend this as a "must have" in everyone's studio, but this sort of thing does appeal to me as there are times when I glance at the ruler and think it's 3/8ths or 5/8ths or 3/8ths and then have to start counting...1/8th, 2/8th, 3/8th, etc. This just prevents any misunderstanding between the ruler and me in the future.
And of course we all want better communication - it's just better for the relationship.
I can see this is the beginning of a long friendship already!
Love it, what a great use. Maybe I should get my husband one, he's a woodworker. We could share. Right.
Posted by: Beth Conky | June 25, 2009 at 10:51 AM
Oooh! If it's not too pricey, that would be very helpful in the sewing room! Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Meredith P | June 25, 2009 at 10:51 AM
Neat tool! I am going to check it out at the Depot.
Posted by: Bunny | June 25, 2009 at 05:27 PM
I bought one at the beginning of the year and really like it for accuracy. It was not expensive though I haven't looked at the price of replacement batteries. I've found that for many new battery operated electricals, the replacement battery cost is nearly as much as for the gadget. Do enjoy yours!!
Posted by: Juliet | June 26, 2009 at 05:04 AM
This is a cool gadget, thanks for posting about it. I too will have to check it out :)
Posted by: Ann's Fashion Studio | June 28, 2009 at 02:13 PM