Stair Gauge Presentation
My dad served in the U.S. Navy during WWII as a carpenters mate. That may seem odd in an era of steel ships, but the Navy listed this rating until 1948 when it was taken over by the recently created Navy Construction Battalion, or Seabees. In 1942, and while at his basic school at Great Lakes Naval Base, he was issued necessary hand tools for his craft. Included in that issue were two pair of stair gauges made by L. S. Starrett Co. in Athol, Mass. If you are not familiar with the stair gauge, they are a specialized accessory which clamp to the tongue and blade of a carpenters steel square, enabling the repetitive, rapid, and accurate layout of multiple wood rafters, stair horses, etc. My dad had given me one set when I had joined The International Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners (whew) in the middle 70’s. The other set I acquired from my mom after my dad passed on. I intended to give that set to my son, Gabriel, who has been my most faithful companion in many building adventures. It took a while, probably because it was early in my case making career.
