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Straight linear distances are often measured with rules, tapes, poles and scales
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On this page of our site we deal with Measuring Poles, Measuring Tapes, Straight Rules, Glass Micro-rule, Electronic Linear
Scale, Plan Scale
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Measuring Poles:
Measure "floor to ceiling" distances of ceilings, roofs, tree limbs, storage bays with the
telescoping scale. The range is 5 to 26 feet to the nearest 1/8 inch. Cost is around $350.
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Measuring Tapes:
Long distance (up to 300 feet) are available in closed and open reel configurations. The open reel is
good for outside or dirty environments. Calibrations are in feet and inches or meters, some have dual readings. Cost range from about$15 for closed reel 50 foot tape
to $200 for open reel 300 foot tape. The open reel tapes are about twice the cost of closed reel models.
Hand tapes are available in nearly any imaginable scale. They don't typically go
beyond a 30 foot range. There's inch, inch/metric, digital, voice recording, center-finding and diameter finding configurations.
The costs range from just a few dollars for a 6 foot standard rule to around $40 for a digital model. There is even a tape rule
that is certified and traceable to NIST (National Institute for Standards and Technology) for about $50 for a 25 foot model
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Straight Rules:
Straight rules available in a large variety of materials, scales and graduations.  Lengths typically don't exceed 144 inches.  Some of the varieties and costs include; Wood Folding 6 foot
around $15, Transparent 12 inch about $5, Stainless Steel 48 inch in 1/32 inch aprox. $35, NIST traceable 6 inch $20, Adhesive backed Mylar/Paper/Steel
around $15 for 12 foot, 6" Chrome Finish in 10ths and 100ths of inch about $15.
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Glass Micro-rule:
A high precision inch/metric precision microrule is an option for calibrating optical equipment. This
high precision glass scale allows traceabiltiy to NIST. A 6 inch model calibrated in .001inch/.025mm and accurate to within 1 micron (.00025 inch). The cost
for a 6 inch rule is about $500, while a 40 inch rule would be about $1500.
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Electronic Linear Scale:
These are fitted to a reference surface and the moving member attached to the electronic scale module.
They are used when relatively close precision is needed. Precisions range from +/-.002" for a 12 inch unit to +/- .008" for a 144 inch scale. A 12
inch range model costs approximately $400 while a 144 inch scale runs around $1100.
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Plan Scales:
These useful gadgets are great for working with plan drawings.  They are primarily suited for estimating linear, square and volume. Set the unit to the
scale of the drawing and “walk” the roller around the drawing elements of intrest. A real timesaver if you do not have
access to CAD drawing files and need to work directly from prints and drawings.
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Manufacturer Sources:
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Cooper Tools
Fowler
MahrFederal
Mitutoyo
Starrett
Heidenhain
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