What Do You Think Is The Best Ruler For Measuring Stamps

I apologize if this posts twice, as I bumped the keyboard and the last one disappeared.

I am looking for the best ruler you know of for accurate measuring for these stamps that can vary by as little as .25 millimeter. I can not even see something that small, let alone tell the difference of .25 mm.

Which one do you think is best and where do I get it? I have seen so many and do not want to buy one that you know to be difficult or inaccurate.

Thank you for all your help

As a general rule of metrology, when measuring to .25mm the scale discrimination should be no greater than .1mm which is normally only available in magnifying measuring devices and the cost is about $100. What I recommend is a cheap digital caliper. They are available at many tool outlets or through ebay. The cost of these is $10-$20 and their accuracy is well within the range required for measuring stamps.

Have you thought about scanning the image on your PC and measuring it digitally?
Free image software such as GIMP has a measuring tool for example.

dj1027

The one I use is the Scott's multiple-gauge- a perforation gauge, a cancellation gauge, a zero centered ruler, and a millimeter ruler. I believe you can get one at www.amosadvantage.com. I believe with this mm ruler, it is fairly easy to measure down to .5 mm. I doubt any normal mm ruler can do better than that with the human eye. If you want to go finer, you will need to follow the suggestions above.

When I first saw the title I was going to suggest King George V or maybe King Farouk...

When I first saw the title I was going to suggest King George V or maybe King Farouk...

Without a doubt, if you collect US, here is a must-have tool:

http://www.slingshotvenus.com/PDFs/...ataSheet.pdf

Hope this helps!
Ray

Thanks for this mornings' pick-me-up.

@Di1027: At shows I use Linn's Multi-Gauge, at home I use a 1200 dpi flatbed scanner.




Ha! Although this Machin collector would have to disagree...

I have a steel ruler calibrated in 0.5 mm and I scan the ruler and the stamp together, then using MS Paint I can project fine lines and either measure stamp size or perfs:

[url=http://www.thegomc.com/PicHosting/share-8A2A_4E54CBDE.html"][/url]

like this:

[url=http://www.thegomc.com/PicHosting/share-42F8_4E54CFF1.html"][/url]

thanks for all the ideas. I have been gone for a while and should have thanked you sooner.

Perf14 "best ruler" aside, thanks for that great demo re the ruler and MS Paint. Much appreciated!