Replies

1. 
   Mike_Smith | Feb 18, 2001 01:24am | #1

   *
   they look like a piece of 1x3 furring ,

   cause that's what they're usually made of..

   usually you don't use a story pole so much with masonry.. because you can't adjust the courses as easily...they are ""Modular""

   ie: an 8 inch block is 7 5/8 so if you lay it with a 3/8 joint.. it will come out to 8 inches per course... hard to cheat on that..you lay up your corners and keep them level with each other (use your laser)..

   then you run a string from corner to corner and "" lay to the line""

   the carpenter makes them so he can plan the coursing for the siding..
   a story-pole or story -stick.. is just apiece of would that has appropriate marks on it for lay -out..

   blodgett made one in his article about trimming windows..

   the electricians make one for setting the height of switches and plugs (outlets)..

   you can bang them against the soffit.. if you trust your soffit..

   or you can lay out your bottom course and make the story a hook-stick to catch on the bottom course....

   typically, you want the courses to hit the top of the window sill and the top of head casing ..

   so you bang the stick against the soffit.. mark the points you are trying to hit.. and then divide your courses up evenly or graduated so they will fall on the points you want...

   you MUST keep your courses even and level all the way around the house

   you should look up some of the books like ""Carpentry"" by Bob Syvanen.. he wrote some good ones with great illustrations...pub. by East Woods Press (Fast & McMillan Publishers, Inc.) in Charlotte , NC

   his books are just a pleasure to look at.. and every page will teach..

   I have ""Carpentry"" & ""Interior Finish""

1. 
   Keith_C | Feb 18, 2001 03:22am | #2

   *Masonry story poles? Maybe speed leads(4x4's in the corners that you laser off of and stretch your line to) or metal speed leads that get nailed to the sheathing for brick veneer? Never seen them in catalogs though. Pretty much site built, except for the meatl ones, they can be bought or made from angle.

1. 
   bobl_ | Feb 23, 2001 08:21pm | #3

   *Mike, If you aren't use to laying block/brick keeping the joint to the right dimension can be tricky. Especially if you have a certain final height to hit. Having a quide for your corners/ends can help.BobL

1. 
   blue_eyed_devil_ | Feb 24, 2001 03:12am | #4

   *Johnnie, the Mexican crew used to come over and just steal our straightest 2x4 studs. They'd then booger them to the corners, trusting our frieze boards. Even if the frieze is out of level 1/2" over the length of the house, it's still better to "believe" that it is level, because we aren't going to tear it off. If you run a level course up to an unlevel frieze, it will look worse than if you stayed parallel with it.blue

1. 
   Joseph_Fusco | Feb 24, 2001 03:43am | #5

   *Master Carpenter Booger,

   ;-}What the hell. . . I'm bored.

   View Image © 1999-2001"The first step towards vice is to shroud innocent actions in mystery, and whoever likes to conceal something sooner or later has reason to conceal it." Aristotle

2. 
   GACC_DAllas | Feb 24, 2001 03:59am | #6

   *Mr. Browne,A story pole is something you make.It's to transfer layouts from one place to another.Perhaps I could sell you some toe nails?Ed. Williams

2. 
   Johnnie_Browne | Feb 24, 2001 04:00am | #7

   *
   anybody know of a catalog that would have story pole in them. I need to know what they look like.

1. 
   BigBison | Sep 17, 2011 07:40am | #8

   Masonry Story Pole

   I realize this posting is from a long time ago. But check these masonry story poles out at http://www.SuperiorMason.com

   
3. 
   allmasonry | Jan 03, 2012 09:41am | #9

   Working with story poles

   Call a professional mason.

1. 
   calvin | Jan 03, 2012 01:25pm | #10

   all

   Read the date of the post.

   Welcome to Breaktime-hang around, there's no masons here and these questions do come up. 

4. 
   FJN | Mar 30, 2019 12:10pm | #11

   Bon -Tool company in Gibsonia Pa. makes and sells the most versatile masonry corner guides out there. One set is blank poles,the other Model C poles have permanently etched coursing in both the modular and brick spacing ruler. They are easy / fast to set up and can be used on veneer or load bearing walls.