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RELAY/RICOH image archive: part 3

At left, we see an interesting constructional detail found on late model Ricoh rules. The rules in the scan are both model 151's, the left rule being a 1972 Lafayette and the right a 1960 Sans and Streiffe. If you look very carefully at the left rule, at the grain pattern, you can see that it is made up of more pieces than the rule on the right. In fact, the older rule on the right is made of laminated pieces of bamboo that are the entire thickness of the rule, left to right as we're seeing it here. But, the left newer rule is made up of pieces which are only HALF the thickness of the rule. I enhanced the scan to try to make it more visible, but it is much better with the naked eye, in person. The earliest rule I have with this type of construction is a 1969 model 154. I have a 1964 model 150 with the "old" type of single thickness lamination. In fact, I have several 150's in each type. The best I can narrow the introduction of this construction is after 1965 and in or before 1969. Perhaps it was to try to get better stability, or perhaps they were using cheaper, thinner pieces as basic stock. No idea there. But the difference is there, so there you have it! (You can also note in this scan the difference in thickness between the earlier and later end brackets.)

    One of Relay/Ricoh's most enduring types was the model 150. Made from at least 1952 through at least 1971, this type was sold not only in both Relay and Ricoh brand names in the United States, but also in at least 6 other brand names. With 21 scales including 5 log-log scales, they offered enough power for most any need, and were quite comparable to earlier K+E and Dietzgen scale sets. The only odd feature is that they had their trig scales on their fixed stator, rather than on the slide. For whatever reason, the latter arrangement was the preferred one here, but of course not the only one offered. But I digress...
     At left, we see scans of three model 150 slide rules, to illustrate the different font styles used through the years. The bottom rule is actually the oldest, a 1953 Relay. The middle rule is a 1959 Relay, and the top is the newest, a 1971 JASON 802 (of course merely a re-badged standard 150).
     While not life sized, they are scale to each other in the scan. I have no other rules as old as the bottom one, but we can take it to be typical for now. Note the "e" marking on the LL3 scale, and the Pi symbol. Very different from the center '59 rule. The "e" is almost Pickett like! A 1957 150 is the same.
     The middle rule, again a '59, is typical of many duplex 10 inch rules seen with the straight cursor bars and shiny end braces. Not all, but many. I can't currently pin down when exactly the change occurred, but I do have 1957 pocket rules with both styles, that is one like the '53, one like the '59.
     The top rule is then typical of most rules you will see having the rounded end cursor bars, and the matte finish end braces. I do have a 1963 model 153 with the round bars and matte braces, which has two different fonts, one to each side! That is, one side with the font at top, left, with the other side being the older font in the middle! This rule may be an oddity, as it is the only one I have personally seen with round/matte construction with both font styles. I have never seen one with both sides in the older style. Probably they changed to the last, top scanned style in 1961-62. Lots of details changed around then, so it seems likely. As I see more rules, there ought to be a narrowing of these age groupings as to font styles. For now, here's three common ones. By the way, I have identified at least 5 different Pi symbols on R/R rules, 3 of which are shown here, so there may be other variants to list as well.

    At left, we have a scan of an SIC slide rule manual, and below it to scale a 4 page supplement to the manual. The large manual itself is a "standard" 36 page late manual, covering decimal trig scale rules, duplex style, up to and including the 151, 551, and 252 (which has dual tangent scales, and thus had to have had this version).
     The supplement covers the features found on SIC rules which are not found on other Relay/Ricoh types, or are not covered in this manual. First covered are complements of angles (in red) on the "S" scale, and use of these to find cosines. Tangents found in red are read against DI or CI if over 45 degrees, which is covered next.
     Next we have an explanation of the legend marks at the ends of many of the scales, found on SIC rules. These are exactly like the scale legends on other brands of rules, such as K+E. And last, the scale names on the cursor glass are mentioned. " To aid the operator in remembering, the scale marks are written on the runner glasses."
     Presumably many SIC rules must have been sold with these supplements, but this is the only one I have seen. Perhaps later manuals incorporate these additional features, but this seems unlikely from a production point of view. So, if you see an SIC rule with an odd, small manual, this may be what it is!