what kind of tools do you guys use for taking measurements, i assume calipers and to a degree, a tape measure, but what about for stuff like angles, or anything else

i'm just getting into fab and i'm halfassing with alot of trial and error, i expect that, but when it comes time to reproduce something, i'd like to know what i'm doing a little more accurate then guessing at 32nds on the tape, and finagling my calipers into odd spots to get a measurement

like for instance right now i'm finishing up my traction bars, i hade one tab set up and needed to find out where i needed to drill the hole in the other tab, since its not straight and the tabs are angled to the main bar, the hole has to be closer to the bar, so would the best way be to use geometry and find out with measurements i can find easier, or is there a tool better suited for taking a measurement like this

but really, any tools for measuring is what i want, just gathering info right now

 

these seem to come in handy a lot

 

Few handy things are Set squares, Carpenter squares, Protractor, Angle finder like shown, Machinist ruler, sewing tape, dividers, scribes, Knowing simple maths, and most important a flat clean bench or top of some sort to work from.

 

One of your best measuring tools is going to be your own creativity. Many things that need to be measured are not symetrical for side to side on a car. Years ago things were very symetrical but now frame rails , floor pans and things are usually different left to right. Basic tools like machinest square, digital caliper , small steel rule, some various dividers, tramel points, either a cloth tape (as mentioned) or just a 1/4 wide tape measure for its size and flexibility, I also use 2 different laser plumbobs. With the vehicle on a lift it is easy to take measurments using these transfering the measurements either to the floor or a large piece of paper or cardboard. These are very accurate although will be some of your more expensive tools. A standard plumbob works very well also but I hate how long it takes to stop swinging. The laser sits on the floor and shoots up and is self leveling.

Your question about locating holes. If your mounting something in double shear and the brackets are not symetrical then get your first brackets made to mount everything correctly and use a good piece of poster board (about 1/16 thick not cardboard) to make te pattern for the second. I either use this method or make the adjustments in my drawings.

I have been using cad since 96 and have been drafting since the 70's. I do 99+% of all my brackets using the cad program. I can draw brackets much faster then anyone can lay them out on a piece of steel or aluminum. Once drawn they can be saved tweaked or duplicated very easily. Once finished I print them out and glue them to the metal using simple glue sticks. This is the fastest and very accurate way to do this. It works for tiny brackets and very large to the max size of the printer or plotter. My limit is 13x19 in a single sheet or using multiple sheets you can do almost anything. On the large printouts I use small lines at angles to help line things up and you may also have to mess with the scaling some so the prinout measures correctly. I don't have to mess with this for single sheet stuff though. This has been one of the biggest time savers there is. The program
made by ASHLAR called drawing board back in 95 is no longer available in the 1995 version but is avaiable as "Graphite" The Ashlar software is the easiest software going. IMHO. 2D is all you need to do. Don't worry about making solid model or 3d drawings. For anything your going to fab using a saw torch plasma cutter or simlar there waste of time.

 

wow, i never thought of doing it like that, that helps alot, i can ball-park it pretty well and then just do it that way, thanks alot, that really helps

i'm just starting out, so at this point everything is done with a 4" grinder, and old hole shooter drill, and a bench grinder, so its alot of trial and error, granted my time is cheap/free, but i don't want to be doing it this way for the rest of my life, as i'd like to make this a business

i'll definately need to expand my tools though, my old fabrication job was top notch, so i had top of the line plasma cutters, drill press, professional welders, etc. but everything was put out on a blue-print and i just had to make what was already engineered.. if i had those tools it wouldn't be so bad, because it would cut down on alot of time making it, but for right now its either an cut-off wheel or a hacksaw, so i'm trying to cut down on my trial and error time

i'm looking into the tools mentioned here, but it seems like alot are pretty specialty, i'll have to stop by the welding store i guess

again, thanks alot for the input

 

most of the tools mentioned you woldn't find at a welding supply. Some stuff is available at home depot sears mscdirect.com mcmaster.com for starters try to look thru catalogs the websites are good when you know what you want but suck for browsing IMHO The yellow angle tool shown (that style) works and I have a high end one but my favorite tools for angles is a SMART LEVEL insert. about 7-8 inches long digital and you can reset zero anywhere Sears has a unit also that is allot cheaper but larger in size and I beleive 1/2 degree instead of 1/10 resolution