As Phil Davy finds, these pocket rules, inspired by professional woodworker Greg Paolini, offer a thoughtful calibration scale layout and simple add-on rule-stop.
The Woodworker & Good Woodworking
Woodpeckers tools are relatively new to Britain, though they’ve been available in the USA for more than 30 years. Each product from their huge range of woodworking kit is made in America, which reflects the relatively high prices. Many of these items are designed for measuring or marking, though with unique features that tend to make them slightly out of the ordinary. These Paolini pocket rules are no exception, available in 150mm, 200mm and 300mm sizes and both metric and imperial versions.
Each tool consists of a neatly machined rule with laser-etched metric graduations. The shorter version tested is aluminium and about 3mm thick, while the longer rule is from stainless steel and less than 2mm thick. Both rules are 25mm wide and feature graduations on either face, as well as across one end. This allows you to measure with the tool on edge, so ideal for checking router cutter projection, saw blade height, rebate depth or similar tasks.
What makes both rules unusual is that they’re equipped with sliding stops. Locked with a pair of knurled thumbscrews, this turns either tool into a small pencil gauge. This is particularly useful when you need to mark a line parallel to an edge, where the pin of a conventional marking gauge would damage the timber surface. A tiny notch at one end of the rule is designed to accept a fine pencil tip and ensures it stays put during marking, unlike a regular combination square blade.
What’s clever is that you can slide the stock off the rule, then insert it through the shaped slot so that the tool stands upright. This leaves both hands free to make cutter adjustments, for example. A hole at the far end allows you to hang the rule from a hook.
In use
If you’re used to a small combination square for marking pencil lines, you may find these rules a tad awkward. Stocks on both tools are only 33mm wide, so there’s not a great deal of meat riding against the timber edge. Unless you have a heavy board you’ll need to anchor the workpiece first to stop it sliding about. That said, the smaller size would be ideal for precision woodwork such as box-making, for example. Graduations on both are very easy to read.
Conclusion
Some woodworkers may prefer a rule marked with both metric and imperial graduations, though I’d see this as a minor disadvantage. And, unlike a combination square, there’s no 45° mitre function; however, as pencil gauges, both pocket rules are impressive tools and beautifully engineered, and whichever one you choose, it’s not going to rust.
The Verdict
- Pros: Clever multi-purpose marking tool
- Cons: No mitre function
- Performance Rating: 4.5 out of 5
- Value Rating: 3.5 out of 5
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Shop Woodpeckers Paolini Pocket Rule 150mm - Stainless Steel
Shop Woodpeckers Paolini Pocket Rule 200mm - Stainless Steel