DIY Measuring Sticks Make Accurate Inside Measurements

I made a set of measuring sticks from a pair of 6" steel rules and a shop-made clamp. The clamp starts with two pieces of hardwood. I cut a shallow dado in the bottom portion of the clamp with a depth equal to the thickness of the rules stacked.

The top portion of the clamp contains a #8-32 nylon knurled-head thumbscrew, wing nut, and brass threaded insert as shown. With these in place, I glued the two wood parts together.

The nylon screw clamps the rules together without marring them. The wing nut locks the screw in place. These measuring sticks proved so useful for tasks like taking internal measurements, transferring lengths of project parts, and squaring boxes and cases that I made others using 12" and 18" steel rules.

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