This invention pertains to gauging tools used in building construction trades, and more particularly it pertains to carpenter tools for spacing pieces of lumber such as deck boards.
Many carpenters use nails to space the boards on a deck during the construction of the deck. This is inconvenient because the nails must be held against one board until the next board is set in place. Once the board is affixed to the deck joists, the nails must be removed. Often, they are jammed between the boards and of course the heads are flush with the boards and are hard to lift up.
Other gauging tools have been developed and used in the past with varying degrees of success. Some of these tools comprise pegs or blades which are inserted between the boards and are used as substitute for the aforesaid nails. Other known tools are mounted astride a board or a stud and have guide edges which are used to set an adjacent piece of lumber. These latter tools have a standard dimension between the guide edges, or are adjustable to a standard dimension, to set pieces of lumber according to a standard spacing. Some known carpentry tools used for spacing boards, studs or other pieces of lumber are disclosed in the following documents:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,744,334 issued on May 8, 1956 to S. C. Jondole;
U.S. Pat. No. 3,201,874 issued on Aug. 24, 1965 to D. F. Christy;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,614 issued on Dec. 9, 1980 to J. R. Williams;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,921 issued on Dec. 20, 1983 to I. H. Hardin;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,114 issued on Jul. 25, 1989 to D. H. Vockins;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,225 issued on Jun. 5, 1990 to C. N. Phillips;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,142 issued on Sep. 11, 1990 to K. J. Rieck;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,233 issued on Nov. 17, 1992 to S. G. Benson;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,266 issued on Mar. 2, 1993 to J. Barrera;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,334 issued on Feb. 13, 1996 to D. Payne;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,117 issued on Oct. 1, 1996 to B. Tallman;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,119 issued on May 13, 1997 to G. A. Bingham et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,336 issued on Jun. 6, 2000 to R. D. Rodgers;
A common drawback with some of the board spacing tools of the prior art is that the standard dimensions thereof are made for use on standard lumber widths and thicknesses. However, it is known that graded lumber can vary in dimensions from one batch to another and from one sawmill to another. Width variations in nominal 2xe2x80x3xc3x976xe2x80x3 lumber for example may be as much as xe2x85x9 of an inch or more. Dimension variations can be attributed to sawmill machinery wear and condition, lumber dryness when planed, or other reasons. Therefore a spacing tool of the prior art which is made to mount astride a piece of lumber having a nominal width or thickness is unusable on a board which is slightly wider than the nominal width or thickness, and has a loose fit over a board which is narrower than the nominal width or thickness, thereby providing improper spacing between the boards.
As such, it may be appreciated that there continues to be a need for a new and improved board spacing tool which can be used with different batches of lumber.
The present invention provides a tool for spacing separable objects in which there is incorporated a sample of the object to be spaced. This sample is used as a reference gauge block for gauging the spacing between the separable objects during the installation of these objects.
Broadly, in accordance with one embodiment and one feature of the present invention, there is provided a board spacing tool comprising two spacer blades each having a hole therein and a handle movably mounted in these holes. A gauge block is mounted to and between the spacer blades adjacent the handle. The board spacing tool also has screws or other fasteners to removably retain the spacer blades to the gauge block. The gauge block consists of a piece of lumber from the same load or bundle of lumber as the deck boards being installed. Accurate fit of the tool over a board, and accurate board spacing is therefore obtained on every project.
Other advantages of the board spacing tool are numerous and include the facts that the tool is easy to assemble and use, and it is self-supporting once set in place. The spacer blades are retained to the handle using tube clamps which are movable along the handle for easy and quick adjustment, to suit different board widths. The handle is convenient for removing the tool from over an installed board.
Still another feature of the tool according to the present invention is that it is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labour, and which accordingly is then susceptible of a low price of sale to the consumer, thereby making such tool economically available to the public.
Other advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment.