Biltmore Stick Maker

Printable Biltmore stick template for your arm reach

Enter your reach and print a true-size tree measuring stick, with diameter, 16 ft logs and tree height, ready to glue on a yardstick.

in

Arm straight, as you will hold the stick.

Units
How to measure your reach
  1. Hold a yardstick level against a tree or wall at chest height, the way you will hold the stick: arm straight and comfortable.
  2. Have a friend measure from the bone beside your eye to the face of the yardstick.
  3. Measure twice. Kids should measure again each year.

Standing back from a tree you may hold the stick upright a little differently. If so, measure that too and enter it under More options.

Your stick

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Scales on the stick

Diameter
in
in
Height (Merritt scale)
ft
ft

0 leaves it off.

Board-foot volume table

Printed under the diameter marks for 1 to 4 logs. Form class 78, from the USDA Forest Service tables (Mesavage and Girard, 1946).

More options
in

Using the stick

Diameter

  1. Stand at the tree and hold the stick level against the trunk at 4 1/2 ft (1.3 m), at your reach. On a slope, stand on the uphill side.
  2. Move the stick until the 0 end lines up with the left edge of the trunk.
  3. Without moving your head, look at the right edge and read the nearest mark.

Height

  1. Pace or tape the distance printed on the stick (66 ft unless you changed it), on ground level with the tree's base.
  2. Hold the stick upright at your reach. Line up the 0 end with the top of the usable stem (or the tree top for total height).
  3. Without moving the stick or your head, look down to the stump, about 1 ft (30 cm) up, or to the ground for total height, and read the scale.

Check it before you trust it

Measure a tree with a tape (circumference divided by 3.14), then read it with the stick. If the stick reads low, you are holding it closer than your reach; if high, farther. For height, try a flagpole or building corner of known height.

Why the reach matters

Most free templates are drawn for a 25 in reach. Hold one at 22 in and a 20 in tree reads about 19 1/4 in. Height suffers more: each "log" on the stick then spans about 18 ft, so a three-log tree reads just over 2 1/2 logs. See a 22 in stick.

The marks come from simple geometry. For diameter D at reach A, the mark sits D × √(A ÷ (A + D)) from the 0 end. Each 16 ft log at distance d is A × 16 ÷ d. At 25 in that gives 14.91 in for a 20 in tree and 6.06 in per log from 66 ft, matching the published 25 in sticks.

Questions

Can I use a homemade Biltmore stick in a forestry contest?

Contest rules differ. Virginia FFA's 2025 forestry rules have each student bring their own Biltmore stick. Check your own contest's rules before you take a homemade one, and practice with it either way.

How accurate is a Biltmore stick?

Good enough for estimating timber, not for exact measurement. A diameter tape is better. Hold the stick at the reach it was made for, measure at 4 1/2 ft (1.3 m) on the uphill side, and average two readings taken at right angles, since few trunks are round.

Why stand 66 feet from the tree?

66 ft is one surveyor's chain, easy to pace or tape, and the usual distance for Merritt log scales. You can set any distance here. If you stand twice as far as the stick says, double the reading; half as far, halve it.

Some guides put the bottom of the stick on the stump. Which way is right?

Both work, because the scale reads the same distance either way. This stick prints its numbers upright with the 0 end at the top: line 0 up with the top of the usable stem (or the tree top) and read at the stump (or the ground). If you prefer 0 on the stump, read at the top; the numbers will be upside down.

Which log rule should I pick for the volume table?

Use the rule your buyer or contest uses. Most scale sticks print International 1/4 inch volumes. Doyle gives the lowest figures for trees up to 30 in, and Scribner falls in between. Prices per thousand board feet only compare when the rule is the same.

What should I glue the strips to?

An old yardstick, a lath or any straight strip about 1 1/8 to 1 1/2 in wide and 1/4 in thick. Use rubber cement or clear waterproof glue, then cover the paper with clear packing tape or varnish so rain and sap don't spoil it.

My printout measures wrong. What happened?

The printer scaled the page. In the print dialog choose 100% or Actual size and turn off Fit to page or Shrink to fit, then print again. The bar at the top of every sheet must measure exactly 6 in (or 150 mm).

Sources

Mark formulas checked against UC Cooperative Extension, Making and Using a Tree Measuring Stick, Mississippi State Extension P1686 (2022) and Michigan State E-2915. How to read the stick and compare log rules: NC State Extension WON-05. Contest equipment: Virginia FFA Senior Forestry rules (2025). Volumes: Mesavage and Girard, Tables for Estimating Board-Foot Volume of Timber (USDA Forest Service, 1946), form class 78. Volume is an estimate; talk to a forester before selling timber.