All About Slide Rules Book (PDF)

[Egan Ford]

Stumbled on this looking for something completely unrelated:

http://www.oughtred.org/books/AllAboutSl...121001.pdf

[rprosperi]

(03-30-2015 03:35 PM)Egan Ford Wrote:  Stumbled on this looking for something completely unrelated:

http://www.oughtred.org/books/AllAboutSl...121001.pdf

Thanks for sharing.

[MarkHaysHarris777]

(03-30-2015 03:35 PM)Egan Ford Wrote:  Stumbled on this looking for something completely unrelated:

http://www.oughtred.org/books/AllAboutSl...121001.pdf

Thanks Egan. I appreciated the read, very nice. I used a slide rule for several years (for real work in high school and college) and I have a minor collection. I still have my Dual Base Log Log Rule from Pickett.

Thanks again

Cheers,
marcus

[SlideRule]

(03-30-2015 03:35 PM)Egan Ford Wrote:  Stumbled on this looking for something completely unrelated:
http://www.oughtred.org/books/AllAboutSl...121001.pdf

OOps, thought someone wrote my biography....

SlideRule

[walter b]

(03-30-2015 04:41 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  

(03-30-2015 03:35 PM)Egan Ford Wrote:  Stumbled on this looking for something completely unrelated:

http://www.oughtred.org/books/AllAboutSl...121001.pdf

Thanks for sharing.

1+

d:-)

[Sylvain Cote]

(04-08-2015 07:13 AM)walter b Wrote:  

(03-30-2015 04:41 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  Thanks for sharing.

1+

d:-)

++

[MarkMason]

(03-30-2015 03:35 PM)Egan Ford Wrote:  Stumbled on this looking for something completely unrelated:

http://www.oughtred.org/books/AllAboutSl...121001.pdf

Egan,

Thanks for the link, I enjoyed it even though it just cost me ~$200 (178.99 euros).

Now I'm looking for a nice Pickett in aluminum and a K+E and I'll have all these toys I want.

Mark

[Didier Lachieze]

(04-10-2015 08:29 PM)MarkMason mi Wrote:  Now I'm looking for a nice Pickett in aluminum and a K+E and I'll have all these toys I want.

I have a few slide rules including a nice small Pickett N600-ES, the model chosen for the Apollo missions.

[MarkHaysHarris777]

(04-10-2015 08:29 PM)MarkMason Wrote:  . . . I'm looking for a nice Pickett in aluminum and a K+E and I'll have all these toys I want.
Mark

Which K & E are you looking for? The slide rules marketed by Keuffel & Esser Co. NY & Chicago U.S.A are real antiques (if not classics). Mine is standard 4058c which was marketed as a 'beginners rule'; I used mine in middle school and early high school. In the following pic I have 'reversed' the slide to expose the trig scales. Of course the 'back' of the rule has the standard K&E conversion factors and equivalents from the U.S. Bureau of Standards Circular no. 47. Back in the day its 'cursor' was just a finger slider made from a note card. The rule is wooden of course.



My aluminum Pickett is the 1959 model N4-T Vector Type Log Log Dual Base Speed Rule. I used this rule in late high school (even after the HP35 came out in 1972), and I continued to use it in college. Picture a skinny kid in a white shirt, with a pocket protector holding about 7 pens|pencils, a piece of tape around the center of a dark pair of horn-rimmed glasses... and this Pickett hanging off his belt; heck, I almost looked like a Jedi knight/

OK... let's talk price... my Pickett goes for $35,989 U.S., and my K&E will get me $12,298 U.S./ I take payments through paypal.

B-)

[MarkMason]

(04-11-2015 03:45 AM)MarkHaysHarris777 Wrote:  Which K & E are you looking for?

Picture a skinny kid in a white shirt, with a pocket protector holding about 7 pens|pencils, a piece of tape around the center of a dark pair of horn-rimmed glasses... and this Pickett hanging off his belt; heck, I almost looked like a Jedi knight/

Marcus,

I am thinking about starting with a K+E Deci-Lon (model 68-1100) since it is plastic and with 26 scales looks to have a pretty high nurd value. When looking on TAS, many of the wooden models show mis-alignment of the slide with the body in one way or another. I guess after 40 to 70 years of storage humidity would not be too kind.

Picket is something different: Aluminum construction, yellow versions, and a different scale layout. I see one in my future.

In school I didn't need to wear glasses, and had a HP-29C instead of a rule, but otherwise you pretty much described me. As far as skinny, I remember when my waist size was shorter than my inseam !!! Now that was a long time ago.

I remember when pocket protectors were treasured, not just in school, but at work as well. Even now, when I go out I prefer shirts with a pocket and take a pen and 3x5 index cards in a 'pocket briefcase' by by Levenger.** Most of the time I just consider this compensation for a greatly diminishing memory, but just yesterday I thought what a nurd I still am. The thought process goes something like this: "this is really nurdly, should this bother me? I guess I should review my appearance, rethink all these accessories......after some reflection, it doesn't bother me at all. It probably should, but doesn't, oh well"...(walking out the door)

And as if that's wasn't enough, now most of my pants are cargo pants. I guess that Boy Scout 'be prepaired' thing doesn't wear off either.

Mark

footnote: I didn't pay $39.00 for this. I picked it up at the Levenger outlet store for less than $10. When they make an embossing mistake with someone's initials, the pieces with the wrong initials end up at the outlet. I bought all my brothers one and in the package I pointed out that they now had new initials and suggested some names to match. It didn't bother anyone a bit (3 of the 4 of us are engineers). That was 2007, since then I have found something like this in a synthetic material (feels like silicone) at the Office Depot. Have one in the truck.

So, both nurd and meiser, they kinda go together, no? (Scotish blood on mom's side, so I have an excuse).

[rprosperi]

(04-14-2015 02:59 PM)MarkMason Wrote:  Even now, when I go out I prefer shirts with a pocket and take a pen and 3x5 index cards in a 'pocket briefcase' by by Levenger.**

These Pocket Briefcases from Levenger are excellent, I carry one whenever I wear a shirt with a pocket. Good to know I'm not the only one... And you can get them with the correct initials for much less than $39 ($19?) from time to time as they frequently are on sale.

[Derek W]

(04-10-2015 08:29 PM)MarkMason Wrote:  Now I'm looking for a nice Pickett in aluminum and a K+E and I'll have all these toys I want.

Mark

Have you tried Sphere Research in Canada? They currently list New-in-Box (actually new-in-bag) Pickett N500ES rules in aluminium from C$69 (I bought two a little while ago). They sometimes have NIB K+E rules as well.

I have no connection with them other than as a customer. Prices are not cheap but new slide rules are not exactly common.

[Mark]

Hello,

Speaking about NIB slide rules (and wondering if it wasn't already told somewhere else on the forum) : especially for some of you who live in Europe, Faber-Castell still has some NOS silde rules. As a collector, 2014 was my "slide rules year" after 35 years of electronic and mechanical calculators. The first slide rules I got were from Faber-Castell. Problem, the prices are high ! Next I got a big stroke of luck, the best I can wish to other collectors : getting in touch with a (French) collector who began selling away everything he had. One month later I was (and still am) happy with slide rules from Europe, Japan, US.... And learning their use was a pure joy ! I couldn't help sharing all that with you :-)

Marc

Faber-Castell's shop (German only) : http://service.de.faber-castell-shop.com...chenstaebe

[Derek W]

(04-15-2015 04:52 PM)Mark Wrote:  Hello,

Speaking about NIB slide rules (and wondering if it wasn't already told somewhere else on the forum) : especially for some of you who live in Europe, Faber-Castell still has some NOS silde rules. As a collector, 2014 was my "slide rules year" after 35 years of electronic and mechanical calculators. The first slide rules I got were from Faber-Castell. Problem, the prices are high ! Next I got a big stroke of luck, the best I can wish to other collectors : getting in touch with a (French) collector who began selling away everything he had. One month later I was (and still am) happy with slide rules from Europe, Japan, US.... And learning their use was a pure joy ! I couldn't help sharing all that with you :-)

Marc

Faber-Castell's shop (German only) : http://service.de.faber-castell-shop.com...chenstaebe

Surprising that a mainstream manufacturer / supplier is still selling unsold stock forty-plus years after it was made!

Some of the rules are quite temptingly priced (especially as in UK I wouldn't have to pay the duty and handling charges that shipments from US / Canada incur) but I really can't justify buying any more. As well as buying around a dozen NOS rules from web sellers in recent years, I have acquired a few from colleagues retiring and emptying their desk drawers.

But the satisfaction in using them is a little like that of listening to vinyl instead of CDs (or even worse, MP3s), and that is making a comeback, at least in UK, with mainstream shops now stocking vinyl LPs again. Who would have thought that ten years ago?

[MarkMason]

(04-15-2015 03:12 PM)Derek W Wrote:  Have you tried Sphere Research in Canada? They currently list New-in-Box (actually new-in-bag) Pickett N500ES rules in aluminium from C$69 (I bought two a little while ago). They sometimes have NIB K+E rules as well.

I have no connection with them other than as a customer. Prices are not cheap but new slide rules are not exactly common.

Derek,

Yes, I've found Sphere and have been considering the N500ES. Susan replied to my e-mail and she still has some of these left. How do you like yours? (and what rules have you compared it to?). How do you find the weight and size (height)?

I have my eye on their biggest, the N4ES, for the Log(Log(x)) implementation of the LL scales. Seems that all other Log Log rules are actually have Log Ln scales, i.e. Log(Ln(x)). But the N4ES is also quite tall and may not handle as well as a more typically sized rule. Dick Rose has these in stock at Rose Vintage Instruments, again the prices are a little more than flea market, but dealing with them is better than launching a campaign on TAS.

Thanks for the input.

Mark

[MarkMason]

(04-15-2015 04:52 PM)Mark Wrote:  Hello,

Speaking about NIB slide rules (and wondering if it wasn't already told somewhere else on the forum) : especially for some of you who live in Europe, Faber-Castell still has some NOS silde rules. As a collector, 2014 was my "slide rules year" after 35 years of electronic and mechanical calculators. The first slide rules I got were from Faber-Castell. Problem, the prices are high ! Next I got a big stroke of luck, the best I can wish to other collectors : getting in touch with a (French) collector who began selling away everything he had. One month later I was (and still am) happy with slide rules from Europe, Japan, US.... And learning their use was a pure joy ! I couldn't help sharing all that with you :-)

Marc

Faber-Castell's shop (German only) : http://service.de.faber-castell-shop.com...chenstaebe

Marc,

This Faber-Castell shop is where my first $200 went !!!! and yes, I ran across the link on this forum also. As you mention, the site is only in the German language, so ordering was a little adventure for me, but quite positive. Google Translate worked just fine. I was able to contain my urges to just 3 rules, they shipped from Germany this past monday, and only charged 8.40 euros ($ 9.07 currently) for international shipping. Also, since the shipment is to the US, the VAT is waived, reducing the prices by 16%.

One can appreciate the mentality of an organization that, when faced with a dead market 40 years ago, decided to keep it's inventory and keep selling slowly!!! In today's climate of short term business thinking, I find Faber-Castell's approach quite refreshing.

In my post 6 days ago I said that one K+E and one Pickett was all I want. Well, that didn't last long. Since then I've added both Post and Dietzgen to my wish list. Both offered rules in Bamboo sourced from Japan, and this material has some intriguing qualities in this application. A lot of the German rules look really good from the photos on the internet. With so many different approaches of high quality from around the world I echo your enthusiasum.

Thanks for sharing,

Mark

[Mark]

Hello Mark,

I'd like to add one more pleasant fact about Faber-Castell's "refreshing approach", which makes them even more remarkable by today's business standards :

One of the slide rules I ordered never found its way to my home. About 2 weeks later, I told them about that. They answered me that a new one was to be sent 24 hours later with a better packaging (related to the French Post Office not able to track the previous one, I presume).

The new one arrived smoothly to me, with kind words of apologies for the inconvenience. Gentlemen spirit, you said ?

By the way, I just checked their offer, it has significantly reduced in one year ! The nice model I got (back side fitted with a "Troncet" adder) doesn't show up anymore...

A last word about bamboo slide rules : to me, those made by Hemmi before 1970 (sold under "Post" brand also) are really fine technical objects, even the best plastic-made ones cannot compare when you operate them.

I wish you'll have as much fun as me,

Best regards,
Marc

[Jim Horn]

Thank you all for a fun topic. It reminded me of my Post 1461 Pocket Versalog II that got me through college. It was given to students who helped at the American Power Conference in Chicago in 1973 by Professor Budenholzer, chair of the conference.

As it's been in storage for years, and I always admired the full-sized Post 1460, this discussion prompted me to find and get one off e**y for US$20. It just arrived - along with finding the Teledyne Post "Versalog II Slide Rule Instructions" book as a .pdf download. Which was co-written by Dr. Budenholzer! What a small world.

It will be fun to reacquaint myself with an old friend...

[Bill (Smithville NJ)]

(04-17-2015 06:37 AM)Mark Wrote:  A last word about bamboo slide rules : to me, those made by Hemmi before 1970 (sold under "Post" brand also) are really fine technical objects, even the best plastic-made ones cannot compare when you operate them.

I agree. I still have my Hemmi Post Versalog 1460 from my 1967 college days.

I remember that there was a big debate among students on which slide rule was best and the reasons why. They debated it the same way we now debate which calculator is best.

Bill
Smithville, NJ

[Derek W]

(04-16-2015 03:26 PM)MarkMason Wrote:  Derek,

Yes, I've found Sphere and have been considering the N500ES. Susan replied to my e-mail and she still has some of these left. How do you like yours? (and what rules have you compared it to?). How do you find the weight and size (height)?

I have my eye on their biggest, the N4ES, for the Log(Log(x)) implementation of the LL scales. Seems that all other Log Log rules are actually have Log Ln scales, i.e. Log(Ln(x)). But the N4ES is also quite tall and may not handle as well as a more typically sized rule. Dick Rose has these in stock at Rose Vintage Instruments, again the prices are a little more than flea market, but dealing with them is better than launching a campaign on TAS.

Thanks for the input.

Mark

Mark,

My apologies for a very delayed response - not enough quiet periods at work to have time to browse the Forum recently :-(

The N500ES is quite a compact size - 308mm long x 38mm wide (12 & 1/8" by 1 & 1/2") and not noticeably heavier than a similar size plastic rule. The slide and cursor move smoothly but somehow I find it a little harder to read than others - I'm not sure whether this is because the printed markings are less clear than engraved or whether it's just that the scales seem a little more crowded together, with 5 scales on the 14mm (9/16") wide slide. The scale layout seems a little unusual too, with LL1 and -LL1 on one side, and LL2/-2 and LL3/-3 at opposite edges of the other face. My others are all engraved plastic, from a variety of mostly European makers, mainly Thornton and Blundell Harling in the UK, and Aristo and Faber Castell in Germany.

I had never come across aluminium slide rules until recently, AFAIK they were unknown in the UK in the 1960s and 70s when I used them in earnest. So I am quite happy that I bought these for the variety they bring, even though one wouldn't be my first choice for ease of use.

During my first year of university (1971) I paid GBP5 for a top of the range Thornton P221 slide rule, compared with GBP30 a couple of years later for a CBM/Commodore 4-function calculator. Now slide rules are expensive collectors items while my local discount shop sells low quality (but functioning) scientific calculators for GBP1!

Derek