Ancient Tools - The Stringline

[Stanley Covington]

Make a loop around a finger...spin the loop about 10 turns...slip the loop over the pin/nail/stake. Pull as tightly as you can. wrap the rest of the line around the loop in a figure 8 fashion. Line will stay tight, yet release when needed...takes about 30 seconds to tie.

Hook end went under a square of 3/4" plywood scrap. Nail that to one end of the top plate of a wall. go to the other end of the wall, pull line tight and add to another such block. Use a ladder and a third block to straighten the wall. Block to check the "gap", turnbuckle braces to adjust in or out.

Thanks Steve. Great explanation. That's the same knot my Dad taught me. Of course, you know that if you push the looped string back towards the nail after stretching the stringline, the string it will usually knot itself automatically. It works perfectly.

And your explanation for checking/straightening a wall is excellent. Thanks.

[Mike Holbrook]

Love this post Stan. I will be rereading it many times to make sure I find all it has to offer. Great methods to use when working from logs or rough lumber, which have a tendency to not be exactly straight, yet challenge a "straightedge". Conventional wisdom suggests using "chalk lines". In my experience these are less accurate than what you describe. You should write this up in greater detail and send it to Lost Art Press. They may turn it into something similar to "By Hound & Eye". Love simpler, older methods, especially when they work better than more conventional methods.

Now all I have to do is figure out how to make or buy the pieces to use these methods. Oddly a search on Lee Valley on "Stringline" finds nothing and an Amazon search finds lots of incorrect items. Do they sell similar devices somewhere? Is there a more detailed design somewhere? I can think of lots of ways to make something similar, but rather than debugging my own idea...

[Stanley Covington]

Love this post Stan. I will be rereading it many times to make sure I find all it has to offer. Great methods to use when working from logs or rough lumber, which have a tendency to not be exactly straight, yet challenge a "straightedge". Conventional wisdom suggests using "chalk lines". In my experience these are less accurate than what you describe. You should write this up in greater detail and send it to Lost Art Press. They may turn it into something similar to "By Hound & Eye". Love simpler, older methods, especially when they work better than more conventional methods.

Now all I have to do is figure out how to make or buy the pieces to use these methods. Oddly a search on Lee Valley on "Stringline" finds nothing and an Amazon search finds lots of incorrect items. Do they sell similar devices somewhere? Is there a more detailed design somewhere? I can think of lots of ways to make something similar, but rather than debugging my own idea...

Re the stringline, I have not bought one in the States for many years. They used to sell mason's lines of various thicknesses, and the finest was close to what I can get here in Japan.

Hooks are easy to make from wire or sheet metal.

The pins I learned to use in the States were made by carpenters. A sharpened finish nail glued into a hole in a rounded bit of wood works fine. The Japanese wooden "karuko" in the picture attached to my first post is a refinement of the same idea. The tips are hardened, fearfully sharp, and easy to push into the wood. If I was going to make one in the States, I think I would start with those hardened steel skinny nails used to hang pictures, and grind/polish to the right shape and finish.

I have no doubt you could make a version of the combo-tool with hook, pin, and self-centering hole for a nail from wood and sheet metal. The cap is a nice feature since it keeps the pins from poking hole in your hide. Not sure how to make a cap....

[steven c newman]

Go out and buy a new chalk line...do NOT add any chalk to the box. This is now your dry line box. The "tab" on the end ( of the better boxes) is a hook, you can either use the hook part of the tab, or use a small nail into the end of the board. Use a chisel to make a small notch at the other end of the board, pull the line tight and into the notch...you can then add thin scraps under the line at each end. The third can be used along the length of the board....

[Rush Paul]

Excellent! Another thank you for this post.

[Pat Barry]

Great idea with the string for door installation. I really could have used this a little while back. Door hanging is one of my least favorite things to do. This seems like it would have solved many problems for me. I will have the opportunity to use it though, in the not too distant future.

[Mike Holbrook]

Thanks Stan and Steven. I will work from those ideas. I am thinking two stringline/chalkboxes (less the chalk), one with the tab/hook on the end and a second, like James shows above, with a plumb bob attached, to get started. I will make more formal pins at some point too. The issue for me currently is making things round without a lathe. Although I guess something that small could be done on a drill press, hand drill...

[Stanley Covington]

Thanks Stan and Steven. I will work from those ideas. I am thinking two stringline/chalkboxes (less the chalk), one with the tab/hook on the end and a second, like James shows above, with a plumb bob attached, to get started. I will make more formal pins at some point too. The issue for me currently is making things round without a lathe. Although I guess something that small could be done on a drill press, hand drill...

Handcarve it octagonal. Down with the machines!

[James Pallas]

They used to make small wood blocks for masons to tie the line and act as a standoff for the line. Very handy things. I'm would guess they are plastic now. I think I have some somewhere. If I find them later I will post.
Jim

[Mike Holbrook]

I have been working on "carving" octagonal chair/table/stool legs Stan, so I can do that. "Tajima" makes what looks like a decent Chalk Line and a Plumb Bob line too. The plastic box store ones I have used tend to break easily. The Tajima offerings are at least aluminum, with sturdy looking gears that may last.

Great Jim, although those should be easy to make to acceptable accuracy.

[Jim Koepke]

Great thread, thanks for starting it Stanley and thank to others for their additions.

Jim's shot of the chalk line with a plumb bob makes me think another old chalk line will find its way home with me soon.

jtk

[James Pallas]

For those of you who like the chalk box idea. Look for an old Stanley like the one pictured. It was made to be used as a plumb bob, hence the shape. It is also a little heavier than a Straight Line box. It is good sometimes to have a bob on both ends to kee the string tight.
Jim

[James Pallas]

I like Stanley's pins a lot. I will definitely make some to add to my kit. This is another great thread.
Jim

[steven c newman]

Strait Line.jpg
Can't have mine...LOL

[Patrick Chase]

Make a loop around a finger...spin the loop about 10 turns...slip the loop over the pin/nail/stake. Pull as tightly as you can. wrap the rest of the line around the loop in a figure 8 fashion. Line will stay tight, yet release when needed...takes about 30 seconds to tie.

Ah, the magic of wrap angle.

The mechanical advantage of a capstan (ratio of load to required holding force) is exponential in the wrap angle. That's why winches work so well. 10 turns is probably massive overkill though.