On 7/3/2010 12:44 AM, Bill wrote:
Update:

Following my installation of my "dummy" electrical outlet yesterday, I
learned I like the receptacle box to stick out exactly 1/2" passed the
stud. I went to two different Borgs looking for a small piece of 1/2"
pine or equivalent to use as a sort of fixture--but to my surprise,
there was none in sight (I prefer not to use plywood due to personal
sensitivities to the glue dust, et. al., YMMV).

1/2 is a nonstandard thickness. If you want that store bought you need
to try a hobby shop that stocks Midwest Micro-Wood or the like, or find
a hardwood yard that will plane to order.

On the way home, it occurred to me that I hadn't tried-out the 12.5"
planer I picked up at auction last fall. So I took the 2 foot cut-off of
a 1by8 left left over from cutting my running board yesterday and passed
it through about 5 times.

Geez, you've got a planer? With that you can have any thickness you
want. In Britain they call it a "thicknesser".

If you have a bandsaw you can cut down on wastage though--resaw to
approximate thickness then fine-tune with the planer.

My Harbor Freight Centrum digital caliper, a
measuring instrument well-regarded for its precision, and also out for
its maiden usage, indicated it was within .02" of 1/2". Accuracy was
validated with a ruler and a 1/2" piece of drywall. BTW, it was nice
that the digital caliper came with an extra battery as I needed it.

I got out my also here-to-fore unused B&D circular saw, $7 at
auction--blade and drywall square included, and made sure the blade was
tight. I plugged it in and was pleased to see it ran. I cut out two
small rectangular pieces of my home-planed 1/2" stock and nailed their
faces together so that they overlapped. I expect to hold one piece
against a stud while I position and nail a new receptacle box in an
optimal position relative to the corresponding stud. I'll find out how
well it works as many as 11 times tomorrow.

I did a few other things too, but nothing that involved 3 "new" tools!
BTW, that drywall square has been darn handy. I've seen recently that
it would also be nice to have all of 1 foot, 2 foot, 3 foot, 4 foot and
6 foot steel rules too, but I guess ya can't have everything...

Bill