Calculated Industries Construction Master IV User manual

C
ONSTRUCTION
M
ASTER
IV
®
For Today's Construction Professional
User’s Guide

2 — Construction Master IV
Table of Contents
The Construction Master IV..................3
Getting Started......................................4
Key Definitions/Functions ...................4
Fractional Settings............................13
Entering Dimensions.........................14
Basic Math Operations......................18
Percentage Calculations...................20
Memory Operation............................21
Paperless Tape.................................23
Linear Calculations...........................25
Area Calculations..............................27
Volume Calculations.........................30
Volume / Weight Calculations...........35
Board Feet/ Lumber Calculations......36
Right-Triangle Calculations...............37
Hip/Valley & Jack Rafters.................45
Stair Problems (Risers/Treads).........51
Circle Problems................................54
Appendix A..........................................55
Accuracy/Errors................................55
Battery & Auto Shut-Off....................56
Default Values..................................56
Appendix B..........................................57
Warranty..............................................59

User's Guide — 3
THE CONSTRUCTION MASTER IV
Designed for today’s construction pro-
fessional, the all-new Construction
Master IV® adds even more power
and ease of use to the already power-
ful Construction Master line-up. As
with earlier models, the format of this
calculator is so simple, even the nov-
ice user will find it easy to solve hun-
dreds of dimension-related problems
right in feet, inches and fractions!
♦Solve Dimensional Math
♦English/Metric Conversions
♦Calculate Areas/Volumes
♦Solve Right-Triangle Problems
♦Find Regular & Irregular Hip,
Valley and Jack Rafters
♦Calculate Stair Risers, Treads &
Stringers
♦Solve Raked Wall Stud Lengths
♦Volume/Weight Conversions
♦Estimate Board Feet
♦Find Circular Areas, Circumfer-
ences & Arcs
♦Material Estimations
♦Paperless Tape Function
♦And much, much more!

4 — Construction Master IV
GETTING STARTED
Key Definitions/Functions
Basic Function Keys
[+] [–] [x] [÷] [=]
Arithmetic operation keys.
[%]
Four-function percent key.
[0] – [9] and [ • ]
Digits used for keying-in numbers.
[Off] — Off Key
Turns all power off, clearing all
non-permanent registers.
[On/C] — On/Clear Key
Turns on power. Pressing once
clears the display. Pressing twice
clears all temporary values.
[Conv] — Convert Key
Used with the dimensional keys to
convert between dimensions or with
other keys to access special func-
tions.

User's Guide — 5
[] — Square Root Key
Used to find the square root of a
non-dimensional or area value.
[Conv] [ ] — x2Function
Finds the square of a linear or non-
dimensional value.
[M+] — Memory Key
Adds the displayed value to Mem-
ory. Clears when the calculator is
shut off.
[Conv] [M+] — Memory Minus (M–)
Subtracts the displayed value from
Memory.
[Rcl] — Recall Key
Used with other keys to recall
stored values and settings.
[Rcl] [x] — Imperial/Metric Mode
Changes the defaults of the calcu-
lator by setting to Imperial (Eng-
lish) or Metric mode. Note: This
setting is not affected by the ALL
CLEAR function.
[Conv] [Rcl] — Memory Clear
Clears Memory without changing
current display.

6 — Construction Master IV
Dimension Keys
[Weight] — Weight Key
Enters or converts (a volume value)
to tons, pounds, metric tons or kilo-
grams. Repeated presses will cycle
through these units.
[Conv] [%] — Weight/Volume
Enters or converts the Weight per
Volume setting as Tons/Yard³,
Lbs/Yd³, Lb/Ft³, Metric Ton/m³ or
kg/m³. Repeated presses will cycle
through these settings.
[Cu] — Cubic Key
Defines a volume (5 [Cu] [Yds]).
[Sq] — Square Key
Defines an area (5 [Sq] [Feet]).
[Yds] — Yards Key
Enters or converts to yards.
[Feet] — Feet Key
Enters or converts to feet as whole
or decimal numbers. Also used with
the [Inch] and [/] keys for entering
Feet-Inch values (6 [Feet] 9 [Inch] 1
[/] 2). Repeated presses toggle be-
tween Feet-Inch and Decimal Feet.

User's Guide — 7
[Inch] — Inch Key
Enters or converts to inches. Entry
can be whole or decimal numbers.
Also used with the [/] key for en-
tering fractional inch values (9
[Inch] 1 [/] 2). Repeated presses
during conversions toggle between
Fractional and Decimal Inches.
[ / ] — Fraction Bar Key
Used to enter fractions. Fractions
can be entered as proper (1/2, 1/8,
1/16) or improper (3/2, 9/8). If the
denominator (bottom) is not entered,
the calculator's fractional accuracy
setting is automatically used.
[m] — Meter Key
Enters or converts to meters.
[cm] — Centimeter Key
Enters or converts to centimeters.
[mm] — Millimeter Key
Enters or converts to millimeters.
[Bd Ft] — Feet Key
Enters or converts cubic values to
board feet. One board foot is equal
to 144 cubic inches (1 foot x 1 foot
x 1 inch).

8 — Construction Master IV
Right Triangle/Rafter Keys
[Pitch]
This key is used to enter or calcu-
late the pitch (slope) of a roof (or
right triangle). Pitch is the amount
of "Rise" over 12 inches (1 meter, if
metric) of "Run." Pitch may be en-
tered as:
a dimension 9 [Inch] [Pitch]
an angle 30 [Pitch]
a ratio 0.75 [Conv] [Pitch]
a percentage 75 [%] [Pitch]
A pitch entry will remain in perma-
nent storage until revised or reset. A
solution will be replaced by its en-
tered value once the calculator is
cleared.
[Rise] — Rise Key
Enters or calculates the rise or ver-
tical leg (height) of a right triangle.
[Run] — Run Key
Enters or calculates the run or hori-
zontal leg (base) of a right triangle.

User's Guide — 9
[Diag] — Diagonal Key
Enters or calculates the common or
diagonal leg (hypotenuse) of a right
triangle. Typical applications are
“squaring" slabs or finding common
rafter lengths.
[Conv] [Diag] — Raked Walls
This function finds the decreasing
stud sizes in a raked wall based on
computed or entered values for
pitch, rise and/or run. Repeated
presses display stud sizes from
longest to shortest.
The on-center spacing of a raked
wall can be permanently stored by
entering a dimension prior to solv-
ing for stud sizes (12 [Inch] [Conv]
[Diag]). Default on-center spacing
is 16 inches (Metric Mode: 600 mm).
[Hip/V] — Hip/Valley Rafter Key
Finds the regular or irregular hip/
valley rafter length. If an irregular
pitch is entered, the irregular hip/
valley rafter length is displayed,
otherwise the regular (45º) hip/
valley rafter length is displayed.

10 — Construction Master IV
[Conv] [Hip/V] — Irregular Pitch
Enters and displays the irregular
pitch value used to calculate lengths
of the irregular hip/valley and jack
rafters.
[Jack] — Jack Rafter Key
Finds the jack rafter sizes – from
largest to smallest – for both regular
and irregular pitched roofs. The
initial jack rafter values displayed
are from the regular pitched side.
After showing the minimum value,
the calculator will display the sizes
for the irregular pitched side. An
on-center spacing can be entered by
pressing [Jack] (i.e., 12 [Inch]
[Jack]). The default spacing is 16
inches (Metric Mode: 600 millime-
ters).
[Conv] [Jack] — Irregular Side Jacks
Operates same as [Jack], but dis-
plays the irregular pitched side jack
rafters first. The calculator uses the
same on-center spacing as the
regular pitch sided jack rafters un-
less a new on-center spacing is en-
tered (19.2 [Inch] [Conv] [Jack]).

User's Guide — 11
Stair & Circle Keys
[Stair] — Stair Key
A multi-function key that enters a
desired riser height and uses the
rise and run values to compute and
display the following:
Press Result
1 Number of Risers
2 Actual Riser Height
3 Riser Overage/Underage
4 Number of Treads
5 Actual Tread Width
6 Tread Overage/Underage
7 Stringer Length
8 Inclination Angle
Default value is 7-1/2 inches (Met-
ric Mode: 185 millimeters).
[Circ] — Circle
Displays the following values,
given an entered diameter:
1) diameter,
2) area, and
3) circumference.
[Conv] [Circ] — Arc Length
Calculates the arc length based on
an entered diameter and angle.

12 — Construction Master IV
Additional [Conv] Key Functions
When used in conjunction with the
following keys, the [Conv] key gives
access to these additional functions:
[Conv] [ ÷]
Reciprocal, or 1/x function.
[Conv] [ x ] — All Clear
Clears all values including Memory.
Resets all permanent settings to de-
faults. Note: Will not change the
Imperial/Metric mode setting. [Rcl]
[x] changes this setting.
[Conv] [ + ] — Pi (π)
Constant = 3.141593.
[Conv] [ – ] — Sign (+ / –) Toggle
Toggles the sign of the displayed
value.
[Conv] [ = ] — Paperless Tape
Accesses the paperless tape mode.
[Conv] [ • ] — Per Function
Allows you to compute a total mate-
rial cost given a unit dimension and

User's Guide — 13
an entered Per Unit Cost. Note:
Board feet calculations are per
1,000 Bdft (Mbm)
Fractional Settings
Setting Fractional Accuracy
When your calculator is in a default
condition (battery change or full re-
set), it is set to round fractional values
to the nearest 1/16th of an inch. The
fractional level can be revised by us-
ing the following keystrokes:
[Conv] 1 = Accuracy set to 1/16
[Conv] 2 = Accuracy set to 1/2
[Conv] 3 = Accuracy set to 1/32
[Conv] 4 = Accuracy set to 1/4
[Conv] 6 = Accuracy set to 1/64
[Conv] 8 = Accuracy set to 1/8
A star (

) will appear in the bottom
left of the display when the calculator
is turned on, if the setting is different
from the default. The fractional setting
can be displayed at any time by
pressing [Rcl] [ / ].

14 — Construction Master IV
Normal Fractional Mode
(Default) In Normal Mode ([Conv]
7), the fractional result is reduced to
its lowest common denominator (8/16
reduces to 1/2).
Fixed Fractional Mode
In the Fixed Mode ([Conv] 9), frac-
tional results are displayed in the cal-
culator's fractional accuracy setting.
Flashing Denominator
Your calculator can be set to flash
the fractional accuracy setting in the
denominator during entry by pressing
[Conv] [/]. Pressing [Conv] [/] again
will turn it off.
Entering Dimensions
Linear Dimensions
When entering feet-inch values, en-
ter dimensions from largest to smallest
— feet before inches, inches before
fractions. Enter fractions by entering

User's Guide — 15
the numerator (top), pressing [/] (frac-
tion bar key) and then the denominator
(bottom). Note: If a denominator is
not entered, the fractional setting
value is used.
Examples of how linear dimensions
are entered:
Dimension Keystrokes
5 Yards 5 [Yds]
5 Feet 1-1/2 Inch 5 [Feet] 1 [Inch]
1 [ / ] 2
17.5 Meters 17.5 [m]
Square and Cubic Dimensions
Square & cubic dimensions*are
entered in the following order:
(1) Numerical Value
(2) Convention — Square/Cubic
(3) Unit — Meters, Feet, Inches
Examples of how square and cubic
dimensions are entered:
* Feet-Inch format cannot be used to directly enter
square or cubic values.

16 — Construction Master IV
Dimension Keystrokes
5 Cubic Yards 5 [Cu] [Yds]
130 Square Feet 130 [Sq] [Feet]
33 Square Meters 33 [Sq] [m]

User's Guide — 17
Linear Conversions
Convert 14 feet to other dimensions:
Keystroke Display
14 [Feet] . . .
[Conv] [Yds] 4.666667 YD
[Conv] [Feet] 14 FT 0 IN
[Conv] [Feet] 14 FT
[Conv] [Inch] 168 IN
[Conv] [mm] 4267.2 MM
[Conv] [cm] 426.72 CM
[Conv] [m] 4.2672 M
Square Conversions
Convert 14 square feet to other square
dimensions:
Keystroke Display
14 [Sq] [Feet] . . .
[Conv] [Inch] 2016 SQ IN
[Yds] *1.555556 SQ YD
[m] 1.300643 SQ M
[mm] 1300643 SQ MM
[cm] 13006.43 SQ CM
*When performing conversions, [Conv] only has to be
pressed once.

18 — Construction Master IV
Cubic Conversions
Convert 14 cubic feet to other cubic
dimensions:
Keystroke Display
14 [Cu] [Feet] . . .
[Conv] [Inch] 24192 CU IN
[Yds] 0.518519 CU YD
[m] 0.396436 CU M
[cm] 396435.9 CU CM
[mm] *0.396436 CU M
Basic Math Operations
Your calculator uses standard chaining
logic, which simply means that you
enter your first value, the operator (+,
–, x, ÷ ), the second value and then the
Equals sign (“=”).
A. 3 [+] 2 [=] 5
B. 3 [–] 2 [=] 1
C. 3 [x] 2 [=] 6
D. 3 [÷] 2 [=] 1.5
*The calculator's auto-range function forced the
answer tobe in meters,as it is out of the calculator's
normal 7-digit range (See Appendix A–Auto-Range).

User's Guide — 19
This feature also makes the calculator
simple to use for dimensional applica-
tions:
Adding Dimensions
Add 11 inches to 2 feet 1 inches:
11 [Inch] [+] 2 [Feet] 1 [Inch] [=] *36 IN
Add 2 feet 1 inches to 11 inches:
2 [Feet] 1 [Inch] [+] 11 [Inch] [=] 3 FT 0 IN
Subtracting Dimensions
Subtract 3 feet from 11 feet 7-1/2
inches:
11 [Feet] 7 [Inch] 1 [ / ] 2
[–] 3 [Feet] [=] 8 FT 7-1/2 IN
Subtract 32 inches from 81 inches:
81 [Inch] [–] 32 [Inch] [=] 49 IN
*The format of the first value entered determines the
answer format.[Conv]can be used to change to any
formatdesired, provided convention is maintained.

20 — Construction Master IV
Multiplying Dimensions
Multiply 5 feet 3 inches by 11 feet 6-
1/2 inches:
5 [Feet] 3 [x] 11 [Feet]
6 [Inch] 1[ / ] 2 [=] 60.59375 SQ FT
Multiply 2 feet 7 inches by 10:
2 [Feet] 7 [Inch] [x] 10 [=] 25 FT 10 IN
Dividing Dimensions
Divide 30 feet 4 inches by 7 inches:
30 [Feet] 4 [Inch] [÷] 7 [Inch] [=] 52
Divide 20 feet 3 inches by 9:
20 [Feet] 3 [Inch] [÷] 9 [=] 2 FT 3 IN
Percentage Calculations
The Percent [%] key can be used for
finding a given percent of a number or
for working add-on, discount or divi-
sion percentage calculations. It can be
used with any type of number, in any
dimension (feet, inch, millimeter, etc)
and any type of convention (non-
dimensioned, linear, square or cubic).