Measuring Basics: Rules and Calipers
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- Опубліковано 30 тра 2022
- If you're new to guitar building and repair, taking accurate measurements is a fundamental skill. Our customer service team gets LOTS of questions about how to measure correctly and we thought a video would be helpful for all of you just starting out.
So in this video we're going to demonstrate measuring basics and show you how to read a rule and use a set of calipers.
Items used in this video include:
6" Rule
www.stewmac.com/item/4905
12" Rule
www.stewmac.com/item/6244
18" Rule
www.stewmac.com/item/6245
24" Rule
www.stewmac.com/item/6246
Luthier's Digital Caliper
www.stewmac.com/item/0447
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I have been a Machinist for 30+ years, and this video is spot-on. Accurate measurements can make the difference between a piece of junk, and a beautiful instrument
There's an easier way to get a centre-to-centre measurement using callipers. Assuming the two holes/posts are the same size, you measure left-edge to left-edge or right-edge to right-edge of the holes. That result is the same as centre-to-centre - it only requires one measurement and doesn't require zeroing the callipers or subtracting the diameter of a hole (or post depending on what you are measuring). The two holes/posts do need to be the same measurement for this to work but that is the common case. Because it involves just one measurement, it has less chance of cumulative error. It is also easy to check across a few sample measurements as it involves just one step.
If you can count to 10 on your fingers, you can use metric. I am 67 and grew up on English but made the switch to metric. Easy, peasy. Science doesn't work without it.
Agree…Imperial HAD its place …metric is the way to go.
"Science doesn't work without it"? Someone better tell Newton, Euler, Kepler, Hooke, and Boyle that all that work they did needs to be thrown away because they didn't use the correct units.
@@wbfaulk that seems a bit drastic, I’m sure Ken didn’t mean it like that. It would be simpler, not having to compare/translate data, and therefore eliminate error.. Space flight engineering comes to mind 😊
@@kasperplougjacobsen3473 Doing a lot of converting between inches and miles in spaceflight, are you?
Ok, Copernicus… 🙄
ty stewmac, you folks continue to help me out beyond just making and offering good tools.
❤️❤️❤️
If I may add a thought to your remarks about measuring in the metric system...
Lutherie for me is a second vocation, in my retirement. But for forty years I was a professional organbuilder--that's pipes, not prosthetics|! I got my training in the workshop of the late Hellmuth Wolff, in Laval, Québec, Canada. Hellmuth was Swiss, so you can bet his shop ran in nothing but metric! I, of course, was brought up on imperial units, like everybody else, so I was faced with a...learning experience, let's call it. This being Québec, Hellmuth's shop ran in French, so make that *two* learning experiences!
Why do I bring up my wrestling with French? Because learning a second language proved very pertinent to getting comfortable with metric. I finally started getting fluent in French the day I stopped trying to translate in my head, and just started *thinking in French.* And it's exactly the same with using metric. So what I want to say to the young luthier who thinks metric is a big, impossible, complicated deal is--don't even try to convert! Just think in metric--and soon you may find its beautiful simplicity has won you over to a new way of life. Bonne chance!
Well said!
Great info. Thanks for posting!
I'm so glad we use the metric system here
Thanks Stew Mac!
The "ah ha" moment at 8:40 was worth the price of admission.
Love the videos guys 💪🏼
Thank you for the reply. That makes since to me now. Have a safe weekend. jeff
Great Video!!!
Great stuff presented here. Really well-done guys.
Much appreciated!
@@stewmac It was honestly phenomenal. I learned alot. ( I'm a huge Mr. Dan Fan ) - he is a Legend. oNe LoVe from NYC
Thank you for this informational great video! God bless
This is so so good! Thank you! Just purchased a caliper from stew mac too :-)
Awesome! Thanks so much and enjoy the new caliper!
As a metric purist, That calliper is an awesome piece of work. The fractional display is GREAT!
Never noticed the fret height gauge at the other end of the callipers. Thanks!
I learned something in the first ten seconds of this video ☺️
Awesome!!!
thanks, folks ❤
Lookin' good Gene!
i like to think this video idea was thought-up in a weekly employee meeting.
Not far from the truth! 🙂
If I were a kid again, I would totally enjoy this video for math class. AND....no common core issues....
That Jazzmaster-style guitar at the beginning is awesome! Tell us more about it, please!
I think that's one of their kit guitars
That's our Offset Trem Electric Guitar Kit! Lots of opportunities for customization plus they're fun projects. www.stewmac.com/kits-and-projects/instrument-kits/electric-guitar-kits/offset-trem-electric-guitar-kit/
This video should be shown in every junior high school Math class.
Great video. Will your Featherweight Calipers be accurate enough for things like determining string gauge?
So how close do u think the nut slot should be .0001
3:59. Ahahaha🤣! I have zero idea of what you said there!
I thought for sure they would cover this but… When measuring action or pick up height, do you measure to the bottom or the top of the rule line? So if the string is at the bottom of the 3/32 line, is that 3/32 or less than that? Is the top of the 3/32 line actually 3/32?
Perfect rules will have increments spaced equally to the middle of each "line." In other words the actual 3/32nd measurement is in the middle of the 3/32nd line. But remember this is a negligible difference for the tolerances allowed so it's not going to make or break anything.
If the 32nds aren’t accurate enough, measure with 64ths :)
Assuming that you do not have a parallax view, just measure very closely to the bottom of the string. It all comes down to feel anyway. You don't need NASA level tolerances.
There are steel rules in imperial that are in 10ths and 100ths. They are usually referred to as machining rules
decimal inch is king
@@mackk123 What?
@@kkramp1984 the machining rules are decimal inch. I also have one that goes by 1/50th, .020" apart
That is really complex.
@@willb1157 its not. Dividing an inch into halves, quarters, eighths, sixteenths, thirty-seconds, and sixty-fourths, is much more complicated for people to understand especially if they are used to metric.
That pie jab was dirty. 😆
Man, love those cm's... and mm's... counting to 10 and all, and 100... and a 1000 and...
Very nice video . I clicked on it for some information that I am not sure about. String gauge. I my be having a senior moment here, I do not know how to convert "gauge" to ? Basically, with my caliper, when i measure my strings, how do I know if they are , say 10 gauge or 11's? Thanks for you time. Jeff
We use the term gauge loosely when we are referring to guitar strings. What we really mean is string diameter, which is separate from units of wire gauge like you'd find on our pickup coil wire. So, a 10 gauge string for this purpose just means a .010" diameter string, which reads as .010 on a caliper or micrometer.
I’m good with math, but I still enjoyed this breakdown
Do one on multimeter
Can you measure the height of the strings with the caliper?
I mean the action
It’s better (and more common) to measure it with a rule.
Spot the deliberate mistake: he said he measures the action at the 14th, but the rule was actually placed over the 15th and 16th frets.
Isn't it at neck to body joint? That's maybe why we see, 14-15...
@@SteveLEKORodrigue It depends. There's no hard and fast rule for measuring action other than that you're consistent in where you personally measure it so that you can build good intuitions.
I always measure at 12 because it simplifies the geometry overall. If I measure 4mm action at 12 and want it to be 2mm, I reduce the height of the saddle by 4mm. It makes for really easy calculations when setting up geometry. That's not as critical on an electric, where you can just dial the action in a bit at a time, but it really makes a difference when you're shaving the saddle on an acoustic, because that rule deals with fixed ratios in the geometry of all instruments, so you can take that adjustment straight to your sander and you know it will be on the money. The same rule also applies to the nut, though it's pretty moot as there's a better metric for setting nut height, namely clearance over the first fret. Still, it makes for building good intuitions if you think of the spot where the string passes over the 12th fret as the fulcrum of a lever. Because it's halfway between the nut and the bridge, doubling and halving your measurements makes intuitions for adjustments really simple.
A note; if you are purchasing your calipers from Stew Mac you will be fine. but if you are purchasing your calipers from anywhere else. you will have to remember that not all calipers will read in fractions.
Well it's simple division
Great video!
As an American living abroad who makes precise measurements daily at work, AND as someone who has used fractional inches extensively in the past and prides themselves in their ability to subtract 3-1/4" from 6-7/8" in their head, allow me to pose the following question...
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD CAN WE PLEASE JUST ADOPT THE METRIC SYSTEM?!
That is all...
Decimal Inch is just fine.
Most things already do. American science is all in metric, construction is becoming more and more metric, woodwork and instrument design is slowly catching up as well. It's ironic to me that instrument design has been so slow to embrace it, since *so much* of it revolves around ratios that make no sense at all when you have to interpret them through fractions.
Coming from someone who lives in a metric country this seems so ridiculous lol. As soon as you had to give a maths lesson just to measure something I was so lost. Think I'll keep the metric rule and string height measurement tool
Yeah, measuring things requires math weirdly enough
The USA is one of only 3 nations that still use Imperial units (the other two nations being little Liberia and Myanmar)
The metric unit system is far more logical and easy to convert the prefixes.
You can convert from nano to micro to kilo to mega etc by shifting the decimal point.
How many inches are there is 1.7 miles?
Or how many ounces are there in 2.56 tons?
Converting from metric tonnes to grams or microns to kilometres is simple.
OMG you must be so smart! I've literally never thought of that! I'm going to write my representative about this immediately. Your youtube comment will be the impetus of this change.
@@wintersummers3085 Tell your representative that it is imperative that the US joins the civilised world as soon as possible.
Remember it's the 100 m athletic event at the Olympics, not the 328.084 foot sprint or the 3937.01 inch dash.
I accept your apology and move on.
@@PetraKann Yes, yes, and yes! I am so sorry to have inconvenienced you by existing. Your wisdom and knowledge will guide us all out of the dark ages. Long live the youtube commenter who single-handedly saved us with his wise, original ideas. Today he will fix a system that he doesn't use that is used by people he doesn't know! Tomorrow we will watch as this armchair philosopher solves world hunger and climate change all from his keyboard.
@ winter.
Are you ok mate?
@@wintersummers3085 It appears, Ladies and gentlemen, that Mr Summers needs to submit an unconditional apology.
I sent a message to support and was never answered! Do they take calls?
Hi James! Customer support isn't taking calls at the moment, but shoot me an email at social@stewmac.com and I'll be sure we get you some help.
"Wood moves with moisture, humidity. Metal moves with temperature."
11:27 "Use the metric system!!" Yes, please. hahaha Great video, guys.
I can’t wait to go to work tomorrow and tell my cut guy. Hey I need you to cut me a 2x4 @14 and 32/64ths😁😁😁
Hahaha.
I think a lot of generation X grew up surrounded by both metric and imperial influences and can work with both. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.
Rule with mm on one side and 32's on the other side.
Oh how I love our centimeters and millimeters.. so much easier
Manager Matt can manage me anytime ☺️
It’s “length..width…and height”
Heighth is not a word!
maybe its best to use millimetres
How much to have him homeschool my kids?
First step in measuring: use the metric system. Expat here who misses Baseball, but not Imperial measures.
Easiest way to think about it is in mm 😝😝🙃
I was waiting for this to go super dark and creepy but never happened
Here in the UK of course, we embraced the dual measurement system when co-forming the EEC (former to the EU). It was curriculum in all shcools since the switch to metric measurment and decimal currency around 1970... So those who paid attention at school, should be fluent in both measurements. And in Britain generally, we use metric for currency, most weights and measures (except beer...) and in engineering and science, as the decimal/metric system is adopted within the International System of Scientific Units (SI). In distance measurement, Brits still feel more comfortable with miles, but when measuring buildings or increments of a mile, feet and meters are common, but that can be age dependant.
There's nothing wrong in using either system, it is just that once one uses metric, certainly in cabinate/guitar measurments, things become simpler and less confusing. The strange thing is, US scientists and heavy engineers use metric, like the rest of the world... But the US education system hasn't caught-up, like so many things in America... I think the sticking with the Imperial System is probably largely political.
The UK has now left the EU... But I should imagine that most people will continue to use the dual system of measuring stuff... Except when it comes to their favourite pint. 🍺 Cheers! Old boy.
Oh, and that World War II was a myth and slaves pre-Civil War were actually volunteer workers
Micrometer caliper .
Metric system is just so much simpler. Smaller dimension, smaller number.
Is our measurement expert saying "heigth"? Not an accepted English word. The word is "height" and rhymes with "flight".
This was a great video, but that stood out to me, too. :-)
@@DaveBroTube but credit where credit is due: I didn't know the difference between a rule and a ruler
@@markwarbeck2968 Neither did I! (And I have an engineering degree. :-o )
How can the same nation, who has all but abandoned the manual gear shift, still cling to a system of measurement that requires you need to calculate the actual measurement, rather than just read it off the scale.
Rule. Heighth
Trips me out how much the guy on the right (Gene) sounds like Tom Hanks…anybody else…?
I come from auto machine - it's all in thousands lol
So glad i live in a country where measuring systems are not stupid
Metric masterrace ^^
Metric ftw! Everything gets easier. And better.
I wish they had a phone number that somebody would answer
To be honest: Metric is the proper way.
It's a lot easier to use the metric system when building a guitar
Can someone tell the guy teaching that it’s “heighT” not “heighTH” 😂😂😂😂
Not rule its a scale
yeah "shop scale" is what I have always heard them be called but everything about this video is argument fuel so its a cursed post regardless
I’ve never quite been a fan of the metric system. But maybe someone who is could answer this.
Why does no one seem to use decimeters as a unit of measurement? When speaking about lengths that is. We go from millimeters to meters, ignoring the unit in between the two. That’s confuzzing to a yank.
Thanks, guys. Always good to be reminded that I need to upgrade to StewMac calipers. Mine are just about ready to give up the ghost.
Amazing… the British doesn’t even use the Imperial system anymore.🤔
You might want to tell their speed limit signs that. Or their pints of beer.
@@wbfaulk , yeah it’s kinda screwed up. Some things. It’s wishy washy
the calipers that these people "THINK" are so accurate that most machinist already know are only as accurate as your heaviest thumb, which means that the more pressure you place on the roller wheel the more inaccurate, or trying to measure out on the tips of jaws, never trust the calipers for more then plus or minus 2 or 3 thousands .002-.003
As a machinist working in aerospace, I would say that if you have nice calipers, and know what you're doing, you should be able to measure things accurately to within a half a thousandth. (.0005) Just my 2¢
@@kagenokemuri Why I'll take those 2 cents, thanks friend!
And if you have ever used any mills that aren't computer controlled you know you aren't getting THAT accurate without computer assistance anyway
"Once you learn it, the metric system makes a whole lot of sense. It's easier."
Appreciate your efforts, but one minute in a 13-minute video devoted to the system used by 95% of the world !? For that 95%, skip the first 12 minutes of the video, or feel like you've been transported back to a previous less-enlightened age. Whatever you do don't bother trying to learn 64ths, 32nds, 16ths etc. Outside the US we measure guitars in metric. America tried to change to metric in the 1970s but just gave up. Other countries made the transition successfully.
By the way 1/8" is 3.2mm. Calling it 3.175mm suggests that metric conversion is more complex than it is.
If you're using calipers to measure, that implies that you're interested in accuracies down to about 1/1000" or 1/100mm. Throwing away about 2/100mm to make a point about how metric is better seems … nonsensical.
@@wbfaulk Understanding the precision to which you should measure anything is fundamental to good measurement. Measuring to 0.01 mm is irrelevant to almost every guitar measurement for which you would use calipers. Especially measurements that would be expressed in imperial to the nearest 1/8th inch. So the point about 3.2mm is not about the superiority of metric, but having a feel for what your measurements really mean. Anyone quoting mm to 3 decimal places shows they don't have a good feel for what metric measurements really mean in the context of guitar work.
@@vw9659 I would also argue that arbitrarily converting units is dumb. It's a 1/8" truss rod nut, for example, not a 3.2mm one. And, honestly, if you're looking to buy a wrench, it seems like 3.175mm is about a common a marking as 3.2mm.
All this argument about "the metric system is better" is just nonsense. Neither is better. It's just jingoism. Personally, I like the fact that I can just keep dividing my inches by two. 1/8 is generally more intuitive to me than 0.175. (That said, my calipers measure in thous, not 1/128ths. [In addition to 0.02mms.]) But that doesn't make either more correct or accurate.
I have been and automotive technician most of my life and for you to say that America tried to convert to the metric system in the 70s but gave up on it is dead wrong because the metric system is being adopted more and more in America be it ever so slowly but finally now the automobile manufactures have the engine designation measurements in L. s from cubic inches even though it sounds less impressive to say 7.8 L than it does to say 350 c.i. and that brings up another point some numbers don't cross over from SAE to metric like for example a 350c,,,,.i. and 351c.i. both engines turn out to be 7.8 L. and
@@musicauthority3516I said the US gave up on the 1970s effort (around the time that other countries transitioned successfully). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrication_in_the_United_States#20th_century
'Congress passed the Metric Conversion Act of 1975 "to coordinate and plan the increasing use of the metric system in the United States". Voluntary conversion was initiated, and the United States Metric Board (USMB) was established for planning, coordination, and public education. The public education component led to public awareness of the metric system, but the public response included resistance, apathy, and confusion.[17] In 1981 the USMB reported to Congress that it lacked the clear Congressional mandate necessary to bring about national conversion.'
Please language Italy🇮🇹
Impara l'ingleseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
The fact that you guys are still using imperial units is gross
If you think it makes no sense, check THIS out: ua-cam.com/video/r7x-RGfd0Yk/v-deo.html 🙂
We tried that back in the 70s and it didn't work out. Get over it...🙄
"Gross." Geddit? 😂
@@champ10ns08 I can't fathom what you're talking about.
@@champ10ns08 I can't fathom what you're talking about.
There’s no ‘h’ on the end of the word ‘height’ it ends with a ‘t’ - it’s not pronounced ‘heighth’ if you’re talking about precision, perhaps be precise with language.