Slide Rule by Helix

It is no secret that we like slide rules around the Hackaday bunker, and among our favorites are the cylindrical slide rules. [Chris Staecker] likes them, too, and recently even …read more

Jun 5, 2025 - 09:30

It is no secret that we like slide rules around the Hackaday bunker, and among our favorites are the cylindrical slide rules. [Chris Staecker] likes them, too, and recently even 3D printed a version. But spurred by comments on his video, he decided to try something that might be unique: a helical slide rule. You can see how it works in the video below.

With a conventional slide rule, the scale is rotated around a cylinder so that it is the same length as a much longer linear scale. However, this new slide rule bends the entire rule around a cylinder and allows the slide to move, just like a conventional slide rule. If you have a 3D printer, you can make your own.

Is it better? That depends on your definition of better. It isn’t as accurate as a normal cylindrical rule. But it is novel and smaller than an equivalent conventional rule, so that’s better in some way.

If you want to make your own conventional cylindrical rule, [Chris] did the work for you already. Don’t know about slide rules at all? Maybe start here.