Spiling sticks, joggle sticks and a “digital” rule

[Philip Davies]

Thanks Phillip. It’s good when very old technology does the job. I can’t think of a modern equivalent that will do the same thing. I’ve heard of (and used) a ‘ticking’ stick before. Very similar but less elaborate in the shape of it. I wonder if they’re the same thing by different names or subtly different? Any ideas?

Thanks, Andrew. I had forgotten that it was also called a ticking stick. Whatever the name, the scribing technique is the same, but personally I think that the notches were used for measurement, which is why they were kept in a. sheath. My “digital rule”, being tapered, could be used, with dividers, to measure intervals of 1/32” across the width. But it’s entirely conjectural.