I've got a slide rule that belonged to my great grandfather, who was an architec...

opyate · on July 14, 2023

My grandad had a tape measure which he regularly oiled and took very good care off.

On the flip side of that, today's tradesmen usually just leave their tape measures out in the rain and mud. Seen it twice now just in my own garden (garden office built in January, and home extensions now in July). Disposable culture!

flipbrad · on July 14, 2023

Tape measures become inaccurate over time, especially if you let them snap shut, so holding onto them for too long may not be a great idea.

coldtea · on July 14, 2023

If you're building a spaceship maybe.

For anything else it's trivial to check if there's any discrepancy, and for casual use it might not even matter.

mikewarot · on July 17, 2023

I have a giant teaching slide-ruler I got from my father in-law's estate. It's missing the slider, and needs a good cleaning. Oddly enough, if you look closely, 2 *3 <> 6, the scale is slightly off. ;-)

Slide rulers are pretty easy to use, and make.

This Illustrated Self-Guided Course On How To Use The Slide Rule [1] seems reasonable.

[1] https://sliderulemuseum.com/SR_Course.htm