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Layout and Measuring Tools Layout and measuring devices are precision tools. They are carefully machined, accurately marked and, in many cases, are made up of very delicate parts. When using these tools, be careful not to drop, bend, or scratch them. The finished product will be no more accurate than the measurements or the layout; therefore, it is very important to understand how to read, use, and care for these tools. Rules Rules are made of steel and are either rigid or flexible. The flexible steel rule will bend, but it should not be bent intentionally as it may be broken rather easily. In aircraft work, the unit of measure most commonly used is the inch. The inch may be divided into smaller parts by means of either common or decimal fraction divisions. The fractional divisions for an inch are found by dividing the inch into equal parts: halves (1/2), quarters (1/4), eighths (1/8), sixteenths (1/16), thirty-seconds (1/32), and sixty-fourths (1/64). The fractions of an inch may be expressed in decimals, called decimal equivalents of an inch; for example, 1/8 inch is expressed as 0.0125 (one hundred twenty-five ten-thousandths of an inch). Rules are manufactured in two basic styles — those divided or marked in common fractions and those divided or marked in decimals or divisions of one onehundredth of an inch. A rule may be used either as a measuring tool or as a straightedge. [Figure 9-31]
Combination Sets The combination set, as its name implies, is a tool that has several uses. It can be used for the same purposes as an ordinary tri-square, but it differs from the trisquare in that the head slides along the blade and can be clamped at any desired place. Combined with the square or stock head are a level and scriber. The head slides in a central groove on the blade or scale, which can be used separately as a rule. [Figure 9-32]
The spirit level in the stock head makes it convenient to square a piece of material with a surface and at the same time tell whether one or the other is plumb or level. The head can be used alone as a simple level. The combination of square head and blade can also be used as a marking gauge to scribe lines at a 45° angle, as a depth gauge, or as a height gauge. A convenient scriber is held frictionally in the head by a small brass bushing. The center head is used to find the center of shafts or other cylindrical work. The protractor head can be used to check angles and also may be set at any desired angle to draw lines. |
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