Sphere Research's Learning about Slide Rules Site

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Welcome To The Sphere Research Slide Rule Learning Center! Slide rule information, factory manuals, lessons, care and restoration data
Updated Regularly Click REFRESH on your browser if pages seem unchanged Visit our amazing document server. Everything from Quotes and SciFi to Business and Ethics. Constantly updated! CLICK for WHAT's NEW		Sphere Research Corporation 3394 Sunnyside Rd. West Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Z 2V4 Phone: +1 (250) 769-1834 FAX:+1 (250) 769-4106 A great source for test equipment, repairs, calibrations, useful metrology information, and of course, SLIDE RULES! JUST SCROLL DOWN TO SEE EVERYTHING !

The Slide Rule Universe Click to VISIT or RETURN The Slide Rule Marketplace To go to the Slide Rule Marketplace
Marketplace Navigation
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	Go to the Full Sized Slide Rules
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	Go to the New-In-Box Pickett Slide Rules
	Go to the -NEW- Pins and Tie Clip Slide Rules
	Go to the Pocket Slide Rules
	Go to the -NEW- Slide Rule Cases
	Go to the Slide Rule Parts
Frequently Asked Questions	Go to Sphere's FAQ Page
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Learning about Slide Rules

Lesson Info

We have original factory lessons and manuals from several manufacturers to help you understand your slide rule. These explain special features and scales on some rules, but are often good for any mechanically similar or related company rule. Some lessons are quite old (as far back as 1929, so far), and are all the more amazing for their relevance today.

The famous 'A teaching guide for slide rule instruction' by Maurice L. Hartung, (University of Chicago), Copyright 1960 by Pickett and Eckel, Inc. is also reproduced here. Learn how to properly teach slide rule operation from Pickett's perspective. This booklet is 40 years old, but still very topical and relevant. This booklet was supplied free to instructors, and is reproduced here exactly as it appeared in 1960 (except that the original pages were YELLOW). We believe this document is now in the public domain (over 40 years from the date of the corporate copyright date), and was free in any case, but if we are incorrect, please advise, and we will remove it immediately. A really excellent reference, and great if you are either learning or teaching the slide rule.

Hey, wait a minute!
Tell me some basic information and slide rule terms first so I can at least get started!

Why does it work?
Here's how and why a slide rule works so you understand the math and science behind it.

We also have some illustrated guides for cleaning and maintaining your rules, and step by step instructions on how to restore a rule that has clearly seen better days. If you are feeling brave, give it a try!

You can also find out all kinds of interesting general information like how rules get FOUND, what everybody's FAVORITES are and what the various rule SCALES are used for.

Learning How to Operate a Slide Rule

Original Company Manuals
		K+E original instruction manuals and brochures that came with their rules.
		Elementary Instructions for Operating a Slide Rule Learn How to Operate a Slide Rule with a 1928 K+E Lesson
		How to Choose a Slide Rule An amazing tour with K+E from 1940 about selecting a rule.
	HEMMI	POST and Hemmi original instruction manuals and brochures that came with their rules.
		POST Mannheim Slide Rule Lesson covers simple POST and Hemmi rules
		HEMMI 257 Chemical Rule Manual The complete manual with illustrations, covers many duplex rules
		Pickett original instruction manuals and brochures that came with their rules.
		'A teaching guide for slide rule instruction' by Maurice L. Hartung Learn How to Teach or Operate a Slide Rule with a 1960 Pickett Teacher's Lesson, covers all rules (.PDF file) Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. Or, grab them all as one big 1.37Mb ZIP file of page GIFs and view them locally.
	Circular Rules
		Learn How to operate your Faber-Castell 8/10 circular slide rule right from the maker. Original circular rule data as we find it.
		Learn How to operate your Fowler Jubilee Magnum Circular Slide Rule right from the maker. Original 1948 circular rule data as we find it, this is courtesy of Manfred Hausmann.
		Learn How to operate your Fowler Magnum Circular Slide Rule right from the maker. Original circular rule data as we find it, this is courtesy of Dave Thompson and Giuseppe Bianchi.
		Learn How to operate your Fowler Universal Circular Slide Rule right from the maker. Original circular rule data as we find it, this is courtesy of Tina Cordon.
		Learn How to operate your Gilson Atlas/Binary circular slide rule right from the maker. Original circular rule data as we find it.
	General Information
		Slide Rule SCALES & their meaning.

CLICK for Hi-Res JPG

Slide Rule Guide Page 1, CLICK for bigger PIC!

Covers set up and use of all rule functions
from multiplication and division to roots and logs
. A wonderful and concise set of directions from almost 50 years ago!

CLICK for Hi-Res JPG

Slide Rule Guide Page 2, CLICK for bigger PIC!

Covers set up and use of all rule functions
from multiplication and division to roots and logs.
A wonderful and concise set of directions from almost 50 years ago!

Great Manual Sources on the Net

Didn't find what you wanted in this list? Try Greg's site here for more digitized slide rule manuals at OZMANOR! Contributors from all over the net have provided manual scans for your reference, a great resource.	OZMANOR DOWNLOADABLE MANUALS Click to visit!
Looking for hard to find European manuals and instructions? Visit Tina's Slide Rule Books and other Good Stuff. A rich and varied resource.	Tina's Slide Rule Books and Other Good Stuff

Cleaning and Adjusting a Slide Rule

Factory Information
	Learn How to take care of your slide rule right from K+E, Dietzgen, etc.
Practical Information
	How to CLEAN and CARE FOR your Slide Rule!
	Our Spare Parts Exchange Get parts to fix that sad looking rule, donate parts for others.
	Accuracy vs. Precision A detailed explanation, just updated.

General Information
	Visit Our Library & Book Reviews See what books are out there for slide rules, and what they are like.
	Learn How Rules Get Found A detailed explanation of the whole mysterious process from Foo in Singapore
	NUMERO UNO The Sept. 1999 survey of everybody's FAVORITE slide rule
	What's in a name? Peek behind the trade name/ buzzword scenes in the slide rule business. A Rose by any other name is a Log Log Duplex Versalog, made by somebody else.
Outside Information
	Join the Oughtred Society A non-profit association for slide rule collectors
	Visit our LINKS to Other Places Now includes the link to the Moonstick!

Places to go in the Slide Rule Universe, people to see....

Click to visit!	Buy a slide rule from our extensive on line marketplace, with restored classics, amazing new in the box rules, and low cost first student rules. We have something for everybody, even a swap and sell area for visitors.
Click to visit!	Tour our extensive archives of slide rule manufacturers and models from all over the world. Find out who made what, and what became of them after they stopped making slide rules. See how slide rules survive today in the form of slide charts still made in the millions annually.
Click to visit!	Visit other slide rule places on the web with more slide rule data and information. From personal collections on line to (yes, it's really true) the international slide rule owners and collectors organization, the Oughtred Society.
Click to visit!	Nice things people have said about us in print and on TV, see the original articles. We always appreciate it!
Click to visit!	Visit our TEST EQUIPMENT site everything from Scopes, CRT's and DMM's to nixie tubes, HP and Tektronix spare parts. A little electronic something for everybody.
E-Mail Us !	You are visitor number . Site Design & contents copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 by Walter Shawlee 2 & the ad hoc Godzilla Graphics Group. Return to Sphere's Home Page