Nelson Gadgets: Gadget No. 1 - Spacer
Kurt B. Nelson, C.O. *
We are going to run a series of short articles under the above title for any of our readers who may be "gadget-minded." Most of the gadgets we will discuss are tools used as time savers: others will be appliances. A few of these appliances are covered by our patents, but you may find them interesting. There are others that you may want to make for your own use, since they have proved themselves through long use in our shops.
The spacer (
Fig. 1
) is used to make evenly spaced marks for holes, especially for leather work. In marking a corset or laced cuff for eyelets, proceed as follows: Place awl through hole at B and into material lor first hole. Move ruler 1) to line where holes are wanted. Now swing the frame so that the proper number of holes are chosen, then mark each hole with awl at wide angle formed by upper edge of ruler 1) and each upright. When you have acquired some skill in using the spacer, you will find the time it takes to mark any lacer is practically nil, compared with old methods.
Bar A-B-C is 3/8-inch x 1/16-inch steel, heated and bent to desired angle at B. Uprights are 1/16-inch drill rod, soldered on to base B-C at 90-degree angle 3/4-inch apart, also soldered onto top bar A-B, all uprights being parallel. The last upright at A-C is bent up so ruler D moves under it.
Ruler D is 3/8-inch x 1/16-inch steel bent at B to bring the hole at B in line with upper edge. Ruler D is attached at B to move freely against frame with tubular rivet, which is drilled through to admit awl when in use. Ruler D is raised at B to lie flat over the uprights but under the last upright at A-C. We find it helpful to number the uprights from right to left on Bar A-B, the shortest being No. 2.
The spacer may be made any size. The wider the angle is at B, the longer the Bar A-B must be and the greater the difference will be between the shortest and longest spacing. We find a good size to be: Bar A-B 15% inches: A-C 13% inches; Ruler D15 1/2 inches: B-C 8 inches.
|
