Precision Square Advice

[george wilson]

.00001" per foot is tolerable.

[Mark Denovich]

Jointer fences don't require lab grade tools.

Agreed. Your technique (how you push the wood through the jointer) will have a much greater impact on the squareness of your edges than your machine setup will.

[Mark Denovich]

I will say that I have a load of measuring tools at my disposal... I find that my cheap (Enco imports) engineer squares and particularly my Grizzly 8"x18" solid steel squares work well for machine setup, even though I know I'm the weak leak in my quest for accuracy.

[Van Huskey]

.00001" per foot is tolerable.

You are absolutely correct. Now, what is the most error per foot in a square used for woodworking machine setup which you still deem tolerable?

[Chris Padilla]

While I'd never advocate spending thousands on super-accurate squares, I think for under $200, one can get a decent assortment of "pretty square" squares/straightedges that can reliably setup woodworking equipment. I figure one might as well setup the equipment to tighter tolerances than the material the equipment services. It surely can't hurt the performance and as one or two alluded to, it can actually improves one's performance and ultimately, satisfaction.

[Van Huskey]

Anyone looking for a great square might also look at these:

http://www.woodpeck.com/640square.html

Limited time only

[raul segura]

I like fast cars but have never owned one and the wife said I don't need one.
I like the idea of at least one very nice square and pulling it out for the accuracy of my tooling.
I often reach for a magazine cover or sheet of paper as they are very square, the plastic art/drafting plastic is good to, but I have had one out of square.
Id get something heavy, then get cheaper ones as disposables, as you will always find a way to drop them if you are in a hurry. Some people like collecting very nice tools and that is great, they usually feel much more substantial in the hand. I'm not knocking any one I'm just saying things are often relative to what one thinks and perhaps a tax bracket or two.
A fast car helps climbing a hill, but it is still the driver that makes that turn where there is (supposed) to be a turn. You don't want to over shoot. Still I like nice cars. Wish I had one.