Trim marking tool

#This invention relates to a marking tool for indicating bend and cut lines on a sheet material.

#When applying sheet material, for example, to a house which is being sided, special provision must be made for preparing trim pieces for the various window and door openings. Each opening requires custom trimmed pieces which must be cut and bent manually prior to application to the house. Typically, this is the most time consuming aspect of applying siding as the open side areas are easily covered with the standard sheet material. However, when making trim for a window or door opening, a series of measurements are required, which must be transcribed on to opposite ends of a sheet which is then cut and bent to fit in place. This operation is repeated for each side of the opening. Since this is such a time consuming aspect of the job, a tool for improving the ease with which the trim pieces are marked and cut could save substantially in labor costs on any siding installation.

#Various devices have been proposed for marking sheet material for bending. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,668,684, a marking tool is described which has a pair of angle iron members, one member having a slot containing pins movable in the slot for marking a sheet placed on the other member.

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the trim marking tool of the invention shown in the open condition.

#FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tool of FIG. 1 shown in the closed position.

#FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the marking of a sheet material in the tool.

#Referring to FIG. 1, a trim marking tool 1 has a base 2 connected by a hinge 3 to an upper planar member 4. The base 2 has through holes 5 for temporally fixing the base to a work surface such as a wooden work table. A plurality of pins 6 extend upwardly from a top surface 7 of the base which assures alignment of a sheet material on the base. Two side alignment pins 6a work in conjunction with four end pins 6b to assure proper alignment of the sheet material. Typically, the side alignment pins are spaced at a distance of about 24" which is the common width of siding material. Of course, the tool can be designed for accommodating wider material.

#The base has a channel 8 located adjacent to an end thereof which has a length complementary to the sheet material width. In this case, the channel has a length of approximately 24". A resilient strip 9 is located within the channel to support the sheet material when placed thereover. The resilient material absorbs the impact of marking pins used to mark the sheet and to prevent dulling of the indicator portion of the pins.

#The upper member 4 is rotatable about the hinge 3. The member 4 has a slot 10 therethrough which is alignable with the channel 8 in the base when the member and base are in contact. The slot 10 has a length similar to the length of the sheet material, in this case, about 24". A bottom surface 11 of the member has a plurality of sockets 12 which accept the alignment pins therein. This assures proper mating of the member and the base during marking. A handle 13 extends from the upper member for manually opening and closing the tool. A plurality of marking pins 14 are slidably disposed within the slot. Each pin has a marking end 15 which extends from the bottom surface of the member.