Woodworker's Story Stick

Overview

I was taught to use a scrap piece of wood to make a template for measurements that could be repeated easily when laying out a project that required assembly of similarly sized parts. My instructors always called them story sticks. It's much faster than measuring with a tape measure for quick layout. Typically the scrap piece is tossed after the project is completed. I wanted to create a reusable story stick. 

There are a couple of commercial examples, and I was inspired by the Rockler version. I had some 3/4" x 3/4" Aluminum Angle laying around, and I though that would make a great base for the story stick. 

Sorry to all the Metric folks, all the wood working here in the US is done with imperial units. Maybe someday we'll make the switch to logical units. If there is a product that is the metric equivalent to a 3/4" x 3/4" Aluminum Angle, I'm happy to create a metric version.

Thanks to @elothan for the idea for the knob. I designed mine from scratch, but it leans heavily on the idea found in https://www.printables.com/model/272115-knurled-m3-m8-thumbscrews.

I hope this proves to be helpful for someone out there. Happy printing!

Additional Materials

• Any length of 3/4" x 3/4" x 1/16" Aluminum Angle
• For each block:
  • 1 x M3 heat set insert
  • 1 x M3 * 20 socket head cap screw
  • 1 x M3 hex nut

Printing

You'll need to print at least one of the Stop Blocks, one of the Marking Blocks, and two of the knobs. You'll likely want to print several of the marking blocks. These are designed to be printed without supports. You can up the infill if you want, but I found 15% is strong enough.

Nozzle: 0.4mm

Layer Height: 0.2mm

Supports: No

Infill: 15%

Fitting the hex nut into the knob will be very tight, so thread the screw and pull it into place by tightening it with an Allen key.

The heat set insert goes into the block on the side hole. It should not need to be set very deep, and you may need to clear some plastic once it is set. I found that the screw was a little tight the first time, but loosed after repeated uses. 

Future Improvements

I plan on working with the marking block a bit more to get the wings a bit stronger. This might be a good spot for some higher percentage infill.

I also want to design some different marking blocks for specific scenarios like small patterns that are less than an inch apart.