Stanley Odd Jobs No. 1
There are lots of cool and unusual hand tools made for specific purposes. One of my favorites is the Stanley Odd Jobs No. 1.
Stanley made this tool between 1888 and the 1930’s. It was designed to perform a variety of functions, while fitting conveniently into ones apron pocket. I found an old one at a garage sale a while back. It was painted green and had a metal replacement rule instead of the original wooden one. I was intrigued and decided to do some research on it.
Here’s a better photo of one without the green paint. It’s an odd looking device and can be used by itself or combined with a ruler that was normally included with it. This one was complete with box and ruler.
Below are some of the common uses for the Odd Jobs No. 1. Click on the image for a larger readable version.
I liked the Odd Jobs No. 1 so much that I eventually got a nicely-made reproduction and functional ruler for my own woodworking and carpentry projects. This one was done in precision-machined brass and looks and works great. I got the “Standard” size with a 12″ ruler. Note that all of the rulers have brass-bound edges for greater durability.
Hi,
My son recently picked one of these up from a chap selling tools at the road side, which is quite a common thing here in South Africa!!
Having never seen one before, Google came to the rescue.
I don’t have the original wooden rule but my 50 year old steel rule from my days as an apprentice, graduated in both metric and imperial fits the bill nicely.
How have I managed to all these years without one???
Extremely useful, now with pride of place in the workshop.
I’m glad that you are enjoying yours. I keep mine handy and find all sorts of uses for it.
i bought one years ago through garret-wade online. they offered a metric version, so i ordered one. imagine my surprise when i saw centimeters divided into 1/8s. lol. i contacted the manufacturer and they offered to make me a real metric rule to real metric increments (millimeters). true to their word, the rule arrived a few weeks later foc. i now have a metric odd job. great service!
I have a nice Odd Job without the ruler. I want to make a replacement rule but don’t understand the pin at the 12″ line works. Could you provide a picture (front and back) and also a short description how it works? Thanks