Stanley Odd Jobs restoration
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- This topic has 16 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 3 months ago by Larry Geib.
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I picked up a Stanley Odd Jobs today at an antique store. I don’t have an accurate combination square, so I was hoping I might be able to use this instead of my try square. Besides, it’s a pretty funky looking tool (it looks kinda like a birdhouse). The bottom has a square that is accurate, and the top looks like a rooftop with two 45 degree angles coming to a point. They should come together at 90 degrees, but according to my calculations, it’s 89.7 degrees instead.
Does anyone have any recommendations for a fix here? I’ve thought about just filing it a bit, but I’m nervous to do that. That would also destroy the nickel plating that is mostly in good shape. In the end, having a functional tool takes priority.
23 December 2017 at 6:31 am #416349There should be a groove on the reverse side that held a rule. As such, the tool was a sort of combination square. I think the rule was beech or brass bound maple. The thumbscrew shown fixed the rule in place
Perhaps a metal 3/4” or 1” combination square rule would fit.The rule held a pencil so the tool could be a compass. There was also a scribe/ circle center supplied and held by a second thumb screw. To use that feature, you put the scribe in the hole at the apex of the 45’s.
I suppose you could make adjustments on the rule by adding a shim or filing the groove- maybe tapering the rule slightly. Any loss of nickel in the groove would not be seen.
Or you could just use whichever side that is proven to be 45°.<edit> I see Garret Wade and woodpeckers make/made or sell reproductions. Even Harbor freight made one.
@davering, that was my first though when I discovered the angle wasn’t true. Five minutes with some sand paper could potentially fix that though, but then the top wouldn’t have the plating. If I made any adjustments to the ruler track, then it would affect the square which is accurate. I know you can tap a frame square with a hammer to change the angle, so I’m wondering if something like that would work.
At the end of the day, it’s cute and I’m a woman who loves pretty tools. I really want it to work!
@lorenzojose, I was hoping harbor freight still made it so I could pick up a replacement scribe for cheap. My brother does a lot of metal work though, and he thinks help be able to make a new scribe easily. I don’t have the original ruler, but I do have one that works perfectly.
23 December 2017 at 5:44 pm #416635You’ll still have to figure out a pencil holder if you want the compass feature, or just make do with a hole in the rule.
If ywour brother doesn’t come through, get a HF combo square for a couple bucks and use the scribe from that.I know you can tap a frame square with a hammer to change the angle, so I’m wondering if something like that would work.
NO!
The odd jobs is cast iron. No tapping with a hammer allowed. Framing squares are steel or aluminum. Both are ductile.
Even if it were maleable iron here is high risk of cracking.
I’d just file it square and if it bothered me, it can be replated fairly easily. But my experience with Stanley tools is that if you polish the iron it blends pretty well with the nickel plating.
It looks like yours already has plating loss on the point end. A vinegar bath overnight followed by some metal polish would make all shiny again.
You say, “They should come together at 90 degrees, but according to my calculations, it’s 89.7 degrees instead.” I’m wondering what you’ve done that is accurate to 0.3 degrees? Can you say more? My bias (and it’s just a bias) is that the tool is probably fine and the cross check is what’s out by 0.3 degrees.
Rather than doing calculations, you should be able to do the equivalent of knifing a line, flipping, and knifing a new line to see that they overlap. In this case, you’d just clamp scrap in the vise protruding up above the bench an inch or two and press the odd jobs up against that stop. Now the “birdhouse” is making a 90 degree angle vs. the stop. Knife it, flip, knife again. If you don’t want to knife your benchtop, put down a piece of scrap.
@ed I agree my calculations are probably off. I just took measurements with my digital calipers and calculated the angle. When I put the rooftop into a square it didn’t line up though, so I know it’s off. When I use a knife to make lines, the are not parallel.
I just dug out my HF Oddjobs knockoff so I can clarify things a little bit.
The brass bound hardwood rule (same dimensions as a typical 12″ combination square rule) has a notch at one end against which you can rest either the point of a pencil or the included scribe when using the tool as a marking gauge. The hole at the apex that Larry mentioned is threaded for a pointed screw that,when extended, scribes a circle while the notch at the end of the rule is held against a nail driven into the center point of the circle. The T-shaped head of the scribe has a pointed tip on one end and a little slotted screwdriver tip on the other which is used for the aforementioned pointed screw.
BTW, John Walter’s long-obsolete (1996) value guide to Stanley tools places a value of upwards of $100 on the Oddjobs without the rule. I’d keep this in mind when considering any sort of alteration or “restoration”.
Dave
@erinweed I’m convinced!!
The hard thing here is that there’s more going on than just the apex angle. You have a 45 degree angle on each side (or 135 depending on how you look at it) plus the 90 degree angle at the top. You’d really like all of them to be right, so you need to figure out which one to change.
@ed, that’s one of my problems. And considering I don’t really have a good 45 degree reference, I’m wondering if I would need to have it machined. At that point, I might as well just get myself a good combination square instead.
@davering, I also don’t have the scribe, so I’m guessing that would reduce the value as well. It does have all the screws, including the pointy one. I was able to use it as a beam compass using the ruler I have (it has a hole in the end). -
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