Been looking for a decent ruler for blacksmithing, and found this Lufkin zig-zag folder.    Model 1206, you can hold it up against something still glowing without smoke getting in your eyes.  This is the first one I've seen you can still read the numbers on.  Anyone else have one?

that should work!
I have some old hermaphrodite calipers (had to look up speeling!)  saves my inside read folding rules from scorch marks.

Don't know the model #, but I have a folding aluminum one that is good for that use!! Only reason I bought it.

Got a brass two foot and a steel two foot single joint rules.  Haven't had a problem reading either (yet).  Had a tin smith's that included lengths for forming circles, but, sadly, it seems to have disappeared.

I just did a quick count and I have at least 115 of them if you count the aluminum ones.  I buy a lot of them, and cull the collection of duplicates every now and then if anyone is ever looking for a particular one.  They look kind of lonely next to my 400+ wooden zig zags, so I guess I need some more.

One of my favorites is a blue finish aluminum one made in Italy.  Something got lost in translation and it reads Grass Plated Joints instead of Brass Plated Joints.

Quote from: wvtools on March 24, 2014, 01:44:20 PM
I just did a quick count and I have at least 115 of them if you count the aluminum ones.  I buy a lot of them, and cull the collection of duplicates every now and then if anyone is ever looking for a particular one.  They look kind of lonely next to my 400+ wooden zig zags, so I guess I need some more.

Got a spare with the tin smith's circle scale?

I think I only have one of those.  They tend to be a little pricey (I usually do not buy duplicates of the more expensive ones), and it is easy to remember that I have one.  I will look around and see if I have more than one.

I just checked my collection, and I only have the one 3 foot rule.  I checked the catalog, and they also made a 4 foot model and nickel plated versions of both.

I looked on Ebay, and the ones sold at auction went a lot higher than I thought they would (40.00 to 99.00).  A NOS one went for 219.00.

Any photos of your collections??

could we go so far as saying wvtools is the  ruler of the rule?

I took some photos of my cabinets with lots of drawers for someone who asked about tool displays, and I never posted them.  I should try to dig them up.  My tool room is super messy right now, rather than just normal messy, so taking pictures now is out of the question. 

I need to rearrange my tool catalog/reference book collection (2000+), which is taking over the room.  I use them all the time when I am listing on Ebay a lot (winter), so they are spread all over the place.

Spread all over the place, but you know where each one is right?

When they are spread all over, I spend more time looking for the right one than looking at it once I find it.  I usually keep them in semi-alphabetic order, but I keep the large ones and the smaller ones separated or they are too hard to file.  I just need to bite the bullet, and spend several hours fixing my room up. 

Been there- done that- still need to fix up my storage space... never ending process.. for me it's just relocating one hoard space to another... I need more space or less tools... ;p...