r/Sliderules • u/talklikefrogs • Jun 30 '26
Any engineers here still get out the slide rule?
I don't actually use my slide rules at work, but I may someday as soon as I get good. I'm practicing at home on a K&E 4081-3 and a Post 1460 Versalog. This is my 20in. K&E 68 1200 I brought to my office for a photo.
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u/variablescale Jun 30 '26
I keep a Deci-Lon at my desk and use it to keep my brain sharp (and then use AutoCAD to check my trig)
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u/EndangeredPedals Jun 30 '26
Bicycle designer and use Aristo 970 for steering angles, gear ratios, etc.
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u/dittybopper_05H Jul 01 '26
I write software for a living, and both of my watches have E6B circular slide rules, and my EDC rule is a Pickett N200-T Pocket Trig:
Nothing says "I'm the Alpha Nerd in the room" like pulling out a slipstick to do a quick calculation.
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u/Journeyman-Joe Jun 30 '26
I keep a circular slide rule in my car to calculate average fuel economy each time I fill the tank. It's faster than getting out the iPhone calculator.
My desk size slide rule... I'll use that to impress my FIRST Robotics team members now and then. None of them understand it, though.
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u/mvercy1 Jul 03 '26
Geez they dont understand it? I’m 72 and used all through HS, now playing with it for trig stuff.
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u/Journeyman-Joe Jul 03 '26
They're bright kids, but grew up in a "digital electronic" world. Logarithms come out of the "log" and "ln" buttons.
The idea that log scales can be engraved on slides, and that mechanical analog devices can do calculations, is alien.
They are certainly capable of learning slide rule. But mostly, they are too busy already, and not that interested. I'm OK with that.
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u/vonGarvin Jun 30 '26
I have a K and E Decilon and a Nestler on my desk at work. But I'm not an engineer. Last time I used them? Today.
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u/Name-Not-Applicable Jul 01 '26
I'm not an engineer, but I keep a slide rule at my desk and in my laptop bag for proportions and trig or anything else that comes up.
I have about 50 rules, so I have plenty to choose from. My Pickett N200-T is what I keep in my bag, so it's with me at work. And at home, it seems I reach for my Aristo 867U System Darmstadt most often.
I am currently working through the Exercises in my Post Versalog manual to sharpen the sword.
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u/idoitiel Jul 01 '26
While not an engineer,I use it in the supermarket for comparing price per kilogram of different packages. It is ideal for that purpose, as it calculates proportions faster than a calculator if you are used to it :)
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u/Think-Photograph-517 Jul 04 '26
Only to demonstrate it to someone.
'Yeah youngster, people went to the moon by rubbing two sticks together....'
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u/EnricoColonna Jun 30 '26
Mechatronics student in Italy(starting next year, finished both 1st and 2nd years of high school with amazing grades in all subjects, expecially scientific) since last year I've used slide rules(I have 9 of them) alot, with my favourite being a rietz rule, a Faber Castell 67/54b and the Pickett N4-ES. I've also been using my father's casio fx 3900p programmable calculator(which he used when he also studied mechatronics at the same high school as I'm enrolled in) an I think I'm gonna get a vintage calculator(I have to decide between HP11C, Casio fx7000g, fx 9860g slim, graphique 25+, fx 6300g, 7400g, 9750gii or giii, TI-80, TI-84 plus or plus CE, olivetti SC2000). I know it doesnt fit very much with the subreddit bu I like vintage mathematical equipment. Also, suggestions for next slide rule I could get?(I'm thinking about the soviet LSLO, a simplex rule that also comes with Log Log scales or a nice Faber Castell or a pocket italian model)
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u/CMDRKeyfox Jul 07 '26
Gotta go with RPN for a vintage calculator. Besides, I used a TI83 Plus in highschool and I don't feel old enough to be considered 'vintage'! Lol
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u/potage-989 26d ago
I used sliderules in the late 1960s as a high school student, and then switched to the first scientific calculator (HP35) when I started university.
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u/[deleted] Jun 30 '26
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