ABOUT ABSOLUTE SOLUTIONS

TRULERS: INVENTED BY NECESSITY

A Truler is an adhesive backed tape measure invented by Absolute Solutions. Absolute Solutions has been around since 1988. Based in Southern California, partners Jeff Draper & Jack Pollock have installed hundreds of Medical, Chiropractic & Veterinary X-Ray systems throughout the western United States.

As X-Ray systems age, they eventually reach “end of life” status which means the manufacturer no longer sells replacement parts. If some electronic parts break after that, the equipment is useless.

BUT, there are other mechanical parts to an X-Ray system that we can utilize parts from removed X-Ray machines thus extending the life of the unit, saving the customer’s ability to keep taking patient X-Rays without incurring costs that they may not be able to afford.

Sometimes, we have to “MacGyver” certain parts, which entail numerous measurements & markings of various type of metal, from bar stock & tubing to sheet metal. Using the traditional, retracting tape measure (or “Yo – Yo” to some), you have to place it on your material, hoping it stays in place.

Then you go through the process of marking your cut, drill or grinding spots, hoping that the marks you put down are precise. I know the old adage is: measure twice, cut once, but honestly most of us don’t do that all the time.

We got to the pint of using masking tape as a canvas to put our marks onto our material. It stuck to the items, was able to conform to an irregular shape and helped get rid of most re-do’s. It was good, but there was something better.

I was home one night watching one of my favorite shows, car restoration and custom fabrication and I noticed, once in a while even they drilled or cut something that was a bit off. Usually causing the “money man” or the shop manager to get pissed off and the fabricator getting an anxiety attack.  Also, as I watched other parts of the show where they were masking off parts of cars to paint exact striping so many inches away from a bodyline, it came to me. Both of these problems could be eliminated using a tape measure that could stick right on the part in question thus saving time ($), re-do’s ($) & aggravation ($$$)!

Our first Truler design is based on a 1″ X 12″ and a 1″ X 36″ ruler. There are arrow points on the top & bottom of the Truler every 1/4″. These are great for lining up masking tape for pin striping. Along the center of the Truler, there are 1/8″ circles, (we drill a lot of 1/8″ holes in our applications) also spaced 1/4″ all the way down the length. Then, at every 1/2″ mark, we went up & down and placed 2 more 1/8″ marks exactly 1/4″ from the center hole. These are called Truler “eighths” because there are also lines at the eighth inch mark too. Trulers allow you to correctly measure most irregular shaped objects as well as flat stock. One customer uses them as a guide for his rivet holes. giving uniform looks to different body panels. From feedback, we now have a 1/2″ wide version for smaller areas.

I hope you’ll give our Trulers a try. I think you will be pleased in what they can do for you.

-Jack Pollock, Partner