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]).