Google let me down. Help!

[Troutscout07]

Anyone know what a skipjack is? Ive been searching google for several hours now and I can not find a picture of one. Its a measuring device. My grandpas was made out of tobacco sticks. Any help greatly appreciated.

 

[1948jr]

its a fish

 

[kcm.MN]

What you describe reminds me of something called a "Story Stick", "Story Pole", "Layout Stick", etc.

Story sticks were mostly used in woodworking, but could have been used in most any practice that required repeated measuring.

Let's say that there's a piece of furniture that gets built a lot. A story stick would often be a scrap piece of wood with every needed measurement for that project. Each project would commonly have its own story stick.

You mention that your Grandpa's story stick was made from tobacco sticks? What was it used for?

There's a lot of history out there, and quite a myriad of ways that a story stick could be made or used.

Here's some examples from Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9CSp0b1BfA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o1MBaqQXhY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa7bA7YIvLU

 

[coshoo]

Slipstick is slang for a measuring tape. And I agree, skipjack is a fish.

 

[Troutscout07]

(quoted from post at 21:19:58 10/09/18) Anyone know what a skipjack is? Ive been searching google for several hours now and I can not find a picture of one. Its a measuring device. My grandpas was made out of tobacco sticks. Any help greatly appreciated.

I have searched so long that I misspoke. Its called a step jack not a skipjack. My apologies I am quite frustrated with this task. It is a land measuring tool that measures by the yard. It is triangular but the bottom is open and you alternate the the two feet in order to measure the length of a field.

Picture an A but with a hand hold at the apex and you would put one leg in front of the other.

Hope this helps.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

I googled "skipjack wikipedia". It's a fish, a place, ships, a submarine. No mention of a measuring
device.

 

[kcm.MN]

So something like this?
https://www.ebth.com/items/3065239-vintage-land-measuring-tool

I've heard of using simple A-frames to measure distances, but have never seen it done. Would only be somewhat accurate on flat ground. Lots of room for errors.

 

[Troutscout07]

Yes that is the correct design. The one my grand pa used was made of 3 old tobacco sticks and it measured about in about 36 inch segments. Thank you all for the input

 

[OldFarmTractor]

When I was in college, a Slipstick was another name for our Sliderule.
Sliderule Slipstick

 

[MartyinVa]

What was it used to measure? Logs, lumber etc

 

[Determined]

(quoted from post at 07:13:09 10/10/18) Yes that is the correct design. The one my grand pa used was made of 3 old tobacco sticks and it measured about in about 36 inch segments. Thank you all for the input

Never knew that was the name for them.

I have a few I have made for marking spacing when planting the garden, 3 foot and 4 foot.

Scratch the dirt with one end then with that end stationary flip the other end forward, scratch and repeat.

Mine are crudely made from a few scraps of wood and deck screws sure are handy though.

 

[Russ from MN]

In N MN a skipjack is a low quality minnow for fish bait.

 

[Roger Tomfohrde]

Early measuring devices were called a chain here, The chain is a unit of length equal to 66 feet (22 yards). It is subdivided into 100 links[1][2] or 4 rods. There are 10 chains in a furlong, and 80 chains
in one statute mile.[2]From Wikipedia. They probably made there own to measure acres.

 

[Stephen Newell]

Google is getting awful. It doesn't matter what you are searching for it takes you to their advertisers. Last week I was looking for a shop to hot dip an engine and the first hits were Home Depot and Walmart.

 

[dr sportster]

Those are noted as ads -- skip over them.

 

[Stephen Newell]

Not this time, these were below the ads.

 

[in-too-deep]

Not to be confused with a stickleback.