Meterstick

A yardstick is a straightedge used to physically measure lengths of up to one yard (3.0 feet or 0.9144 meters long) high. Yardsticks are flat boards with markings at regular intervals. In the metric system, a similar device measuring up to one meter is called a meter-stick.

Construction

Yardsticks are often thin and rectangular, and made of wood or metal. Metal ones are often backed with a 'grippy' material, such as cork, to improve friction. They are relatively cheap, with most wood models costing under 5 US dollars.

Measurements

Folding carpenter's ruler with centimetre divisions

Yardsticks are most often marked with a scale in inches. Sometimes they also feature marks for foot increments.

In countries in which the metric system is used (such as Canada and France), yardsticks bearing imperial units markings on one side (three feet ​3 3⁄8 in with inch and fractional inch) and metric units on the other (one metre with 100 centimetres and 1000 millimetres) are common, and are sometimes referred to as "metre-sticks" or "metre rulers". The spelling metre vs meter varies by country. Sometimes the imperial units are not included.

Although not used as often, meter sticks can be found in the United States. For example, they are common in schools where there is a desire for students to become familiar with metric units.[1] They may also be used in American science labs.

The folding carpenters' rulers used in Scandinavia are sometimes equipped with double measurements, metric and imperial on both sides, also functioning as a handy conversion table, accounting for its Scandinavian term: Tommestokk/tumstock (thumb (inch) stick),[2] a term with the same meaning that is also used in Dutch: duimstok. Metric only carpenter's rulers are however common.

Application

The yardstick is usually employed for work on a medium scale; larger than desktop work on paper, yet smaller than large scale infrastructure work, where tape measures or longer measuring rods are used. Typical applications of yardsticks are for building furniture, vehicles and houses. Modern carpenters' yardsticks are usually made to be folded for ease of transport.

Yardsticks may be used as pointing devices for posters and projections. Yardsticks are also used as spars to make wings for Remote Controlled model aircraft that are made from corrugated plastic.

References

  1. ↑ Education, Kansas City (Mo ) Board of (1894). Lesson IV; Report of the Superintendent of Schools of the School District Of Kansas City, Missouri. The Board. p. 142.
  2. ↑ NRK: Teknologi og design: Verktøyskapet (website in Norwegian)
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