Combination Square ??

[mike graveling]

I am looking for a new combination square and am wondering what you guys are using,It seems like the ones you get at the box stores are usaully cheap and not square, but when you go to say a starrett you pay 10 times the price, so I was wondering if there is a middle ground square that is out there??

[lowell holmes]

I got my Starrett for Christmas. Take a catalog and encircle the items you want and then leave it for family members to find.

The Starrett is worth every penny.

You know the old saying "Buy a good tool and cry when you pay for it, buy a cheap tool and cry every time you use it."

[Chuck Saunders]

Starrett +1

[Dave Verstraete]

Starrett +2

[Rod Sheridan]

I have a Starret that I purchased in 1978, and a 10 year old Mitutoyo, both are excellent.

I also have a 4"? Lee Valley combination square that's very handy.

Regards, Rod.

[Jon Grider]

Starrett, you can't go wrong. You pay more, but it's worth every penny.

[Ed Labadie]

My Mitutoyo is over 20 years old......works fine.
Back then it was all I could afford, no regrets.

Ed

[Kevin Groenke]

I have a Starrett, Browne & Sharpe and a couple classics (Craftsman, Millers Falls, Stanley) I got several sets from Grizzly for the student shop last year. They don't have the fit and finish or the bling factor of the machinist's brand-names, but all 3 are square as discernable with a 4"x6" toolmakers square. They have a cast iron head and a nice heavy satin blade. Good value for the $, if you're too cheap to spring for a REAL square. The rule IS NOT metric is shown on the image.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/3-pc...l-Square/G5725


As Rod mentioned, a 4" double square is also a very valuable tool, small enough to fit in an apron pocket, sometimes handier than a 12" for laying out tenons, mortises, etc... I use a 4" more than a 12". Rockler, Lee Valley, Woodcraft, etc.. all have decent alternatives to Starrett's 4" double square. I just ordered a couple for the student shop from here: $12.95 ea was a heck of a deal.

http://www.mannyswoodworkersplace.com/303-0004.html
They look identical to the one I got on-sale for $20 from Rockler last year.

[Randal Stevenson]

I would watch estate/garage sales. Craftsman USED (doubt they still do) to have a high end one that was made by someone like Mitutoyo or Brown and Sharp. I have one and it is good. I have also pieced together one from Ebay, for a reasonable amount.

Then I have known people who start out and buy Swanson or whatever brand at the borgs. They just go through them first to find one that works. I did something similar, so I could leave that one for construction, and the expensive ones in the shop (less chance of falling off a ladder).

[Kent A Bathurst]

Starrett, you can't go wrong. You pay more, but it's worth every penny.

Without question. Got a few. Use them routinely. That little 4" is a gem.

[Brian Tax]

Starrett +1, try ebay for a cheaper price.

[Pat Zabrocki]

Starrett +1

[Chris Tsutsui]

I have a 12" empire combo square and I never cry when I use it... haha

I have Mitutoyo, vintage Craftsman, empire, and starrett. (Just sold a starrett No. 14 to a forum member)

To me, the biggest difference will be the "USER" error. If your BORG square is really that far off, then you probably just got a bad one.

I would hate to spend $100 on a combo square, then have it lost, stolen or broken...

[jerry nazard]

Stanley 46-123 combo square. Over the years, this one has gotten good reviews. Costs $14 - $15.00. Better yet, get a Starrett.

[Jon Grider]

Not to hijack this thread but it reminded me of the time back in the early 80's that I went to Sears to buy a framing square. I brought along my pencil and a piece of cardboard about 2'X3'. I laid the cardboard against the flatest and straightest objects I could find in the tool department which was a ground tablesaw table and fence. Using the method of aligning the short leg with the top edge of cardboard and drawing a 90 degree line tracing along the long leg , and the flipping the short leg over, and doing the same thing from the other side revealed that many of the top of the line Craftsman framing squares were close to 1/8" out of square. I must have checked 6 or 8 squares before I found one close enough to spend money on. The manager nervously allowed me to check them until I found the one I still have today. If he hadn't let me check them I definately wouldn't own a Craftsman framing square today.