Angle Layout and Assembly Tool

thingiverse

Here is a handy tool for use when you need to transfer or compare an angle. Most of the time this type of tool is used for measuring, transfering and comparing 90 degrees. This version will go from 53 degrees (acute) to 306 degrees (obtuse). A full size commerical layout tool I have is about 130mm per leg, this one is 100mm. Close enough with the added benefit of fitting into some locations where a shorter tool works better. For woodworking, you could print up 4 of these, glue them fixed at 90 degrees and use them for angle squares on boxes, frames, etc. For such an application, you bar clamp (or web/band clamp) these assembly squares around your project for dry-fiting or final glue-up. Instructions Because of the layout tool's 100mm leg size, you need a HBP to print this object out. Be sure to carefully center up your platform. I had good results printing the legs without a raft. Raftless saves a lot of time in my opinion - but you need to have your HBP very level to get it to work right. Setting infill density to 0.3 in SkeinForge gives plenty of strength to the leg. The attached STL file contains the leg slanted on a 45 degree angle to fit onto a 100mm x 100mm platform. The DXF file would be useful for enlarging or shrinking the size as needed. Print out 2 of the legs and carefully sand straight the inner and outer leg sides. I used some 320A sandpaper for this. You do not need to sand the wider faces of the leg, the ends nor the inner mating surfaces where the tool legs are bolted together unless you want to for appearance. The hole in the object will accept a wide range of bolt sizes, but I used an M3 18mm with a counter sunk head (see bottom photo) so the tool would lay flat. I used a knurled brass nut with a star washer and brass flat washer next to the plastic to make setting and holding the tool jaws fast and steady.