Crucible Pinch Rods

Crucible Pinch Rods

Note: Wood is NOT included.

This elegantly crafted set of brass hardware will let you create a useful and clever old timers measuring device called a pinch rod (also known as a bar gauge or a telescoping story pole). Two sticks of wood (supplied by you) are housed within the brass fittings and slide by one another, extending in length to "pickup" or record a distance. Without having to read or rely on a numerical measurement, this manner of measuring avoids any induced error and is extremely useful in determining if a carcase assembly or drawer is square by checking its diagonals. Pinch rods are also handy for precisely transferring an inside dimension from one part of a project to another or to set tooling for a cut and for transferring dimensions from full scale drawings to your work piece.

When cinched down, the custom-milled thumbscrew applies focused holding power onto your wood bars to lock in the setting. Chris Schwarz based this design on a pair of classic pinch rods from Roy Underhill's shop.

You'll need two sticks of straight, clear, dry wood that are 3/8" thick x 3/4" wide and cut to any length you like. 32" is a useful size and will handle projects from about 32" to 58". Consider milling up a second set of shorter sticks to have on hand to install into the brass bodies for use on smaller projects. Includes two #6 screws for attaching to the wood.

Made in USA

We do not sell Crucible tools to resellers.
We reserve the right to cancel any order we believe to be from a reseller.