As Mark Ziegler was building cabinets in the shop at Rockler Woodworking and Hardware last winter, he got a little bit tired of having his tape measure out all the time to get the shelf locations right. “You had to make too many measurements and draw lines to shoot the nails,” he said.
Like many woodworkers, Mark took that frustration and used it to come up with a solution. He fastened a couple of paper clips on the ends of a rubber band, hooked this device over a board, and, voila, he had an easily visible line to follow with the nailer — no pencil required. “It went twice as fast” building the cabinets after he came up with this invention, Mark said.
He thought other woodworkers could use the idea to save time, too, so he took it to the Rockler product development team, who must have agreed: the EZ-Mark Cords made their first appearance in the September catalog.
The official product uses elastic cords, in 10 inch, 20 inch and 30 inch lengths, and metal alligator hook ends rather than a rubber band and paper clips. Each cord stretches to twice its original length. Rockler’s product development team came up with the name, too. In the shop, Mark said, “We wanted to call it ‘the StretchMark,’ because it stretches, and it marks, and it was invented by Mark.”
The EZ-Mark “is more for rough work than fine furniture,” Mark said, but he hopes other woodworkers find it useful. A pack containing the three cords and metal ends sells for $3.99 through Rockler Woodworking and Hardware.
