Modular Bar Gauge System and Trammel Head Set

The Modular Bar Gauge System starts with two precision machined blocks, two stainless rods that slide through the blocks and two clamping knobs to lock it all up once both ends are touching the walls of your assembly.  To add versatility, we designed four different tips for the ends of the bars, including the “Mushroom” Tips which convert an ideal inside measurement tool to one that works just as well for outside dimensions. We also wanted you to be able to use the Modular Bar Gauge System for even your largest projects, so we threaded the ends of bar sections, allowing you to use as many or as few as you need for the job at hand, from as little as 8-1/4" all the way up to 96-5/8". Let’s take a closer look, starting with the different tip options.

The Blunt-End Tips gauge the distance between two parallel surfaces…the sides of a cabinet for instance. They’re perfect for determining the length of shelves or the width of door and drawer openings. When making built-ins, they are indispensable when taking measurements between walls. Use them anywhere you need an exact physical replication of the distance between two flat planes.

The Pin Tips reach down inside the bottom of dadoes and grooves. Don’t rely on math to figure out how big to cut your drawer bottoms…use the Pin Tips to measure the groove-to-groove distance precisely.

Now comes the clever part…once you have the dimension you need, using either the Blunt-End Tips or the Pin Tips, don’t measure the bar gauge (although, you could if you wanted to), just take it to your table saw or miter saw and use this exact physical reference to do your set up. No math, no tiny graduations, just perfect fits.

The Arrow-Shaped Tips have 60° points allowing them to reach into inside corners. The surest way to check an assembly for square is to measure the diagonals and confirm that they’re equal. The Modular Bar Gauge with the Arrow-Shaped Tips makes this a simple check, compared to trying to eyeball a square-ended measuring device shoved into the corner.

Now comes the cleverER part…the Mushroom Tips. Once you start measuring with a physical reference instead of reading a scale, you’ll start looking for other ways to use the idea. The Mushroom Tips expand the bar gauge to handle outside measurements as well as it does inside measurements. Once you’ve adjusted the Mushroom Tips to an outside dimension, replace them with the Blunt-End Tips and transfer your measurement. In other words, the inside of the Mushroom Tip is exactly the same distance from the end of the stainless bar as the “business-end” of the Blunt Tip. By simply switching tips, you can now transfer that perfect outside dimension to your table or miter saw. (Note: If you already own our bar gauge, Mushroom Tips can be ordered separately.)

The optional Trammel Head Set draws large arcs. It consists of (2) Trammel Heads that can be locked anywhere along the rod’s length. Each Trammel Head can hold a pencil or a carbide-tipped scribe. Use the scribe as a pivot or to strike a physical groove along your arc. Two scribes and two pencils are included.

The Modular Bar Gauge System comes in two different set configurations. One with and one without the Trammel Head Set accessory. Each set includes all (8) Tips, (2) End Bars, (6) 12" Long Extension Bars, (2) 6" Long Extension Bars and (2) Clamp Bodies with knurled knobs. You can get either set in a molded, American made, protective case or in a stackable Systainer.

Like all OneTIME Tools, The Modular Bar Gauge System is only made to order, precisely machined and carefully inspected in our Strongsville, Ohio factory (just south of Cleveland). The deadline to order yours is Monday, November 25, 2019. Once orders are filled, these tools will be retired from our product line. Delivery is scheduled for March, 2020

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