[singleshot]

From my reading, the "full" mark on the stick should be at the pan/transmission joint (basically at the gasket).

The stick is already marked "add a quart" and "full", so the cut and filing was done until the full mark reached the depth of the top of the pan.

My first cut was lucky and I only had to file the top of the tube straight (sawzall cut)

Basic caliper measurement up the tube from the bottom until I hit the stick, added the distance from the bottom of the stick to the "full" mark, cut away... I filed the top so it didn't look some rat chewed the tube, cleaned it up with some brake cleaner and mounted it up.

I could be off 1/8" low (stick too long), but I can guarantee it wouldn't be more than that. We are talking about a transmission that has a variance (on this stick anyways) of more than 3/4" between add and full. So an 1/8" on a stick is pretty dang close in my opinion. That amount of fluid in a pan could be varied by the gasket material (cork vs. rubber).

I would honestly trust this set-up more than I would have trusted someone giving me a new stick and saying "trust me".

I was just considering an alternative. One could cut the top of their tube off until they liked the look, then they could simply cut the bottom off at the appropriate length. Then they would simply have to scribe or punch two marks on their cut stick to indicate full and add a quart at the proper location on the stick.