2/25/2020 Update: Finally, the tool is revealed! Check it out here: https://www.makerneer.com/post/new-old-tool-finally-revealed

1/19/19 Update: Still working out the details, I can't share what it is yet. Please stay tuned!

An interesting measuring tool I'd never seen came across my desk this week.

There's a picture of the back of it below, no it's not what happens when an engineer tries to draw an elephant... or a woolly mammoth. Bonus points to anyone who can guess what it is. Maybe we'll even do a prize for best guess if it's good enough (good enough will be a subjective interpretation by me)!? Impress me with your wit o internet!

The client had used the tool for many years but it was now worn out and he wasn't able to find new ones anywhere to buy. This seemed odd since it's used to measure something very common. Seeing an opportunity to re-introduce a useful product, he decided to look into getting a few new version of the old tool made. There appears to be more to the story that I'm not privy to, all I know is my time frame was short and nobody else was designing them.

Awesome, lets get to Makerneer-ing!

I measured the tool and made a basic model of what I wanted. Within a day I had a laser cut cardboard sample that I was able to show the client to make sure we were both on the same page. A few tweaks, and a few additional features were added. Then it was onto the internet to verify dimensions of the holes.

The internet does not appear to acknowledge the existence of this thing. Huh, that's unusual. The only other time I've run across this was trying to identify "The Sphere-Disk of Mystery" that we found while moving Grandma to a new house.

More futzing around... random microfiche in Latin was found that contained the secret measurements (not really). However, oddly enough I was able to find the metric measurements for the tool to verify.

Polish the model up, laser some new prototypes (acrylic and dense cardstock), make a professional write up, deliver a couple hours early! Client is happy and will be displaying them next week at a conference! If things go well, I should be able to show the front of the card before the end of the year.