Construction Master IV: yes, you really do use geometry in real life

Here’s a great non-tool gift I received a birthday ago…..

The Construction Master IV is a calculator for those of us who put our math to hands-on application on a regular basis. While graphing calculators are well-suited for many engineering sorts and great for those students who no longer have to do everything using graph paper and pencil, the Construction Master IV provides extra functions relied upon by those in the building trades.

Calculating
Consider these applications, not found on a traditional calculator:
~ work in fractions including ½, ¼, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64. This translates not only into mathematical fractions in decimals, but also the ability to display numbers as the actual fraction on the display. For instance, Ð.5” can also be displayed as Ð ½”

~ stairs – no more figuring these using a complicated formula. With the push buttons, intuitively labeled “Rise”, “Run”, “Stair”, you can come up with your staircase calculations in a fraction of the time it takes with the pencil and graph paper (and mental ability).

~ circular logic? Well, it doesn’t solve any philosophical dilemmas, but the capabilities of calculating circumference, and arc lengths are a push button away. Use? Well, it’s great for homes being built with front columns or pillars.

~ board feet One button (yes, one button), aptly titled “Bd Ft”, and you can estimate the amount of lumber needed for a project thereby estimating your cost.

~ roof - for those students who think they’ll never use geometry I say, “HA”. Then I’ll confess that I have a calculator that figures right angles including rise and run and the various angles needed for calculating construction of a roof including necessary rafter length.

Measurements
I’m going to go with being redundant on this one and emphasize, yet again, that with just one button measurements can be converted amongst:

Feet with fractions
Feet with fractions as decimals
Board feet
Inches in either fractions or decimals
Yards
Meters
Centimeters
Millimeters

Area/volume can also be given in cubic or square formats.

Memory
If you’re in your woodshop, wandering through your local home improvement store attempting to plan your latest project, or functioning on a professional jobsite you don’t have time to deal with running long tapes of information. Carrying a pocket adding machine with tape is impractical plus you may be the butt of an awful lot of jokes. Thanks to the Construction Master IV my last 20 entries are saved for reference.

Some Non-Calculating Features Worth Noting
Magnetized - not related to calculations, but certainly evidence of this being a practical tool for jobsites of all sorts. The calculator itself is magnetized as is the vinyl case, traditional for many calculators. This means it’s easily removed from its sleeve but also easily re-attached without fiddling with plastic straps or Velcro.

One Year Warranty

buttons are all slightly raised with labels that seemingly never wear off. They are easy to use even for this writer with large, calloused fingers.

Battery - this is worth noting. I have been utilizing my calculator for about 1 ½ years now without a new battery as of yet. The unit came complete with a DC 3V battery and the original battery is still going strong.

Reference - a calculator is only as good as its user, especially a calculator with this many features. Rather than having to carry a paper reference manual, a quick reference is printed permanently on the back of the calculator indicating how to use many of the often used modes. Also imprinted here is a technical support hotline (though, unfortunately, it is not a free call). A paper reference manual is also included.

Anything missing? The only button/calculating features, common on many more advanced calculators, which you’ll miss here are sine, cosine, and tangent buttons. To be honest they are not used on a jobsite with any regularity and so, for a portable calculator, I am not shocked by their absence. Incidentally a desktop version of the Construction Master is available including these functions.

Conclusion: This is a great tool for anyone interested in remodeling, already working in professional aspects of woodworking or carpentry, and even the weekend warrior who really likes ‘gadgets’. It’s an invaluable piece of machinery – not as fun, perhaps, as a power tool – but boy does it eliminate the frustration that comes when you can’t recall your high school math class. In fact, I’d also call it a money saver in that you’ll miss out on some of those costly mistakes that come from miscalculations done in chicken scratch on a piece of 2 x 4.

Therefore, it would seem a purchase is actually a money saver…how’s that for justification? Buy it for the woodworker and the carpenter in your life. For the home do-it-yourselfer who would find this fascinating, perhaps even for the math student who claims you’ll never use geometry in “real life”. Or buy it for the Larry in your life – you tell your better half I said so.