Do you know how to use one??

[Lee Schierer]

I still have my slide rule. We were issued one at the naval Academy and I used it all 4 years. I switched to a calculator in 1972 but still did sines and cosine, etc on the slide rule it was more convenient than a book of tables. My grandkids didn't believe me when I said you could multiply and divide with it. I used to have a circular one but I don't know what happened to it.

[Paul F Franklin]

The HP scientific calculator came out while I was a JR or SR in high school, but no way I could afford one. I made it through a year or two of engineering school using my dad's slide rule. Then TI introduced a more reasonably priced scientific calculator (SR50?) and I made the leap. As I recall, there was quite a bit of controversy at the time about allowing students to use calculators on exams and such. It was seen as a fairness issue because of the cost. But once the TI model came out the concern pretty much evaporated.

[Tom Stenzel]

In my desk drawer at work I kept a few things to terrorize the apprentices with, beam power pentodes, force motors from obsolete equipment and other really obtuse things. Of course I had a slide rule in there and insisted that before they would succeed they would have to an expert with one. Well, physical abuse was out so the hazing became mental!

Still have my first calculator a Casio Fx-10. Still works and the blue fluorescent display is easy to read.

http://www.vintagecalculators.com/html/casio_fx-10.html

-Tom

[Ole Anderson]

Yep, got two. One is my dad’s from college, Michigan State class of 1933. I would be hard pressed to do much more than multiplication now. Last time used professionally about 1970.

[Matt Mattingley]

So I’m intrigued to see one of these side rule calculators too. I am must be a little bit too young. As I was growing up we used what was called as a magic square. I use A dozen or so slide rules with different information in the shop every day. Sure, Google search engine has made most of these obsolete.
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[Mike Henderson]

I went through my entire college career (electrical engineering) with a slide rule - hand held calculators were not really available. We could use the mainframe for certain calculations but, of course, not for tests. I was pretty good on the slide rule and knew how do just about all the different calculations you could do on one. I had my initials put on my slide rule so I could claim mine when we did group study and everybody had the same Post slide rule.

I still have mine but I doubt if I could remember how to do anything more than multiply on it.

Mike

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[Matt Mattingley]

I went through my entire college career (electrical engineering) with a slide rule - hand held calculators were not really available. We could use the mainframe for certain calculations but, of course, not for tests. I was pretty good on the slide rule and knew how do just about all the different calculations you could do on one. I had my initials put on my slide rule so I could claim mine when we did group study and everybody had the same Post slide rule.

I still have mine but I doubt if I could remember how to do anything more than multiply on it.

Mike

Slide Rule 004.jpg

Mike, thank you and wow! Now you’ve got me wanting one of them.

[Keith Westfall]

My dad used a slide rule, even taught me a bit on it a looonnnngggggg time ago. For many many years he carried a small 4" circular one in his pocket. He could figure almost anything on it. I think I still have his slide rule, and he used to have (and use) the pepper grinder style as well. He loved his toys...

[Jim Koepke]

One of my slide rules is actually a tie clip. It is a working 2" slide rule.

jtk

[Bruce Page]

My dad taught me how to use one when I was a kid. I doubt I could remember how to do it today.
Here’s his pre digital age Curta “pepper mill” calculator that I inherited from him. It’s an amazing piece of machinery and pretty valuable to collectors.