Object Details
Description
This 12" clear plastic rolling parallel rule is combined with a scale of inches that is divided to 1/16"; a centimeter scale divided to millimeters; and a protractor divided to 5° and numbered by 30s from 0 to 90 to 0. Holes in the scales at every 1/2-inch and centimeter help the user align the instrument on a drawing. The holes may also be used with a pencil to produce parallel lines. The instrument is marked with a small centimeter-inch conversion table and the words: MADE IN TAIWAN.
The white roller is also marked with various useful mathematical formulas, a small table of sines and cosines of various angles between 1° and 45°, and comparative centimeter and inch scales that function as a line spacing guide for measuring evenly spaced lines.
The rule appears to be model 1205 of Hua Ching Manufacturing Co., Ltd., which has been making plastic and wooden drafting supplies in Taichung, Taiwan, since 1978. Several firms currently distribute the rule in the United States for a price of about $10.25.
Reference: Hua Ching Manufacturing Co., Ltd., "About Us," http://www.taiwantrade.com.tw/huaching/home/en_US.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Gift of Tony Brooks
date made
1978–2012
ID Number
2013.0016.01
catalog number
2013.0016.01
accession number
2013.0016
Object Name
parallel rule
Physical Description
plastic (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 2.5 cm x 31.3 cm x 6 cm; 31/32 in x 12 5/16 in x 2 3/8 in
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Mathematics
Science & Mathematics
Parallel Rules
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Subject
Mathematics
Rule, Measuring
Protractor
Drawing Instruments
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_1439925