Hi all:
Very interesting thread
What I used for quite a number of years was a variety of lengths of measuring poles, not storey poles.
These were 1" square oak poles with metal tipped ends blacksmith made. These ends fit on the ends of the poles snuggly, and were drew out to a very sharp square end almost like the edge of an axe blade.
These poles were of varying lengths and fit the measurements of a popular frame in multiples for instance 10 foot, 12 foot, and 16 foot.
I also had short ones that matched the run of the braces exactly usually 24 and 36 inch which were the popular measurements.
Exact repeated measurements could be done as you worked along on each timber and eliminated errors, some notations could be made on the sides of the poles for referrence during repeat measurements.
I wouldn't be without these poles and they were guarded against breakage.
Inches and feet became a thing of the past really, the poles became the standard for a frame
A good timberframer didn't need figures on all sides of the poles, I felt that that would compound errors.
food for thought
NH
