Patent ID: 7437826

Claim:
An adjustable tool for laying out the length and jack rafter nailing pattern of a hip rafter in a hip roof portion of a main roof, comprising: a) a planar body having a linear measuring edge and first and second linear scribing edges orthogonal to said linear measuring edge at respective opposite ends thereof, wherein said linear measuring edge is marked in a scale of equally spaced increments numerically equivalent to a length of a wall plate supportive of a lower end of said hip rafter, and wherein the spacing of said equally spaced increments equals said equivalent length of wall plate multiplied by the secant of the plan angle formed between said hip rafter and a common rafter; and b) a rafter pitch arm assembly including first and second arms disposed on opposite sides of said planar body and being rotatably mounted at a first location thereof on a pivot pin extending through said planar body, said first and second arms being connected at a second location thereof via a variable compression device extending through said first and second arms and through an arcuate slot formed in said planar body and centered on said pivot pin, wherein said arcuate slot is marked in increments denoting the pitch of the main roof.