Pinch sticks are a useful tool for measuring inside a frame or a box and transferring those measurements to things that need to fit inside that box. I recently made a set of pinch sticks to measure the length of the sliding trays in my toolbox.
The tool consists of a couple of fittings which you can buy for around $14. Both fittings slide on two wood sticks and one fitting tightens up with a large brass knob. The wooden sticks are not part of the kit. It doesn’t sound like a big deal, but I enjoyed making the sticks just the right fit to slide smoothly. It felt good to be a tool maker and not a tool consumer.
