This month's mystery item is a clapboard gauge, used to obtain a gauged width of board to the weather when installing clapboards or lap siding (Dictionary of American Hand Tools, Sellens). Back in the day, a carpenter would use several of these to affix clapboards to the exterior of a home.


Scroll down to see how it's used.

We found this clapboard gauge at our local flea market. It was in pretty rough shape when we found it, but it cleaned up nicely. Click here to enlarge the "after" pic and here to enlarge the "before" pic.