Thread: Slide Rules Anyone??

I went through school in the late 60's using a Pickett model 2. It was copy right 1947. The advantage of the Pickett's was that they were aluminum.

I was working for H-P when they brought out the 35. The model number was based on the number of keys. Ten place accuracy and it could also add and subtract. There is still an HP users group in existance. they are having their annual meeting this weekend.

Joe,
The K&E rules are really nice. been trying to snag a good example of what you have, a K&E Log Log Duplex Decitrig. I use one for basic stuff at my real job just because it raises eyebrows a little when people see it instead of the usual calculator.

Just like with razors, slide rules on eBay get bid up pretty high for nice examples. I buy mine to play with and put on display so usualy want a near mint example but without the boxes and booklets that collectors crave. There are plenty of nice, wooden/celluloid rules that still only bring $20-30 and I always enjoy finding one with some unusual scales I have not seen before.

Tony

I see them by the dozens at the Antique fairs and carboots, they are quite common in England.
If you want something specific PM me and I will keep an eye out Cost & postage only.
Tony

Originally Posted by Tony Miller

Just wanted to mention one of my other vices.....vintage slide rules. I have a small collection of them dating from the 1930's till their very end in the early 1970's. I got a few from older engineers I worked with over the years and many come from eBay, estate sales and flea markets.
I'm always looking for ones I don't have and would either buy them or trade strops, etc....
On a more modern note I also have a few old Texas Instruments red LED scientific calculators.

Anyone here ever use these in the past?

Tony

Originally Posted by Tony Miller

There are plenty of nice, wooden/celluloid rules that still only bring $20-30 and I always enjoy finding one with some unusual scales I have not seen before.

Tony

THat doesn't sound bad. I think I paid a lot more n !960s dollars.

Originally Posted by Joe Lerch

... but in real life you're an old guy, like me.

Like everyone of the day, I used my slide rule a lot in college to do the calculations we had to do... but the conversion tables insert that came with the Dietzgen has proved useful throughout my life... [pic here] ... today my slide rule is tucked away in storage, but that conversion table is in my desk drawer for handy reference.

I gotta be honest here. Figuring blade size (5/8, 6/8, etc) and the pyriamid are all the math I want to know. If we are going to have to start using slide rules to shave...I'm growing a beard!

RT

My father taught me to use a slide rule, in school we were the last class to get some training in their use. I am afraid I forgot how to use one.
I must have one somewhere but don't know where. I do even have a spare glass for it, with till receipt of 1979!

My father of 81 still uses them when he studies math. (his hobby).

Originally Posted by rtaylor61

I gotta be honest here. Figuring blade size (5/8, 6/8, etc) and the pyriamid are all the math I want to know. If we are going to have to start using slide rules to shave...I'm growing a beard!

RT

Yeah, but they have beautiful scales.

Tony,

I had a slide rule tie clip as a kid. I wonder where it is??

I've got a really nice slide rule stamped from a tech institute in Cleveland.