Need a good square... Not Starrett.

[Rob Lee]

I know Starrett makes amazing squares, but I kinda want something cheaper. Does anyone know any other good ones?

Hi Jared,

I use a couple of these in my shop, as they're much lighter than the machinist's squares of the same size. They're made in Japan, and are great value....

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/pag...99&cat=1,42936

Another square I use is the Nobex folding square (available from many sources).

I'd recommend a good square for machine set-up (and don't use it for anything else), and a utility square like one of the above for shop work/layout ....

Cheers -

Rob

[Andrae Covington]

I agree with everyone's suggestions. I have the 12" aluminum / steel square that Rob suggested; a good value. I also have several steel machinist's squares that I picked up as a lot on ebay at a ludicrous bargain... due to surface rust nobody wanted to bid on them. Most of them are branded Woodriver, one was made in the UK. For combination squares I have a 6" Starrett that I purchased new, and an antique 24" Goodell-Pratt. The 24" wasn't cheap, but far less than a new one in that size. All of them are square enough for the work I do.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

If you're looking for an adjustable square and you have a Sears near by check out the Craftsman adjustable squares. I just picked up a 7 in. and it is nice. It was less than $8 and the larger 16 was about $15. Best of all they are made in the USA and guaranteed for life.

I was very happy with that square for the price. It appears to be made by SPI. The quality seemed much higher than other squares in the price range, and a quick and dirty test showed all the ones on the rack showed them all to be square, unlike some of the brands I've seen at Home Depot, etc, where some were visibly out-of-square. I got that same 7" square on a whim, had it for maybe a year, and it still seems damn accurate, at least enough for woodwork. The tabs that you can file to fix it being square are a little small, and all in all I don't expect a lifetime tool like a Starrett, but I'm also not going to lose sleep over it getting lost or dropped on a hard surface, either.

For most work, however, I still reach for smaller fixed squares. I have a little square that Klaus sent me that is just great. It lives in the most convenient place in my tool cabinet on a little magnetic holder he made, and gets used constantly. I'm thinking about putting another little magnet holder on the side of my bench to keep it closer at hand.

For larger panel work I use a vintage framing square I got as part of a deal on a toolbox I bought for the several saws inside. One of these days I'll bang out a wooden square for the heck of it, I have no idea if I'll like it or not.

I once passed on an old fixed engineers square that was huge - maybe 2 feet long. (I actually don't remember now, I think it might have only been 16-18 inches and like a fish story it gets longer each retelling, or maybe it was bigger) The thing weighed a ton so I wasn't going to add it to my full bicycle. It was B&S or Starrett or one of the other old Mass. makers. I have no idea what I would have done with it, but I still kind of wish I had gotten it.

[Mark Baldwin III]

I finally tracked down the name brand of the solid squares I use. They're SteeleX. They are pretty good quality, and decent value. I wanted to add another 4" to my tool box, so I went and bought one today (hence remembering the name). The 4" was $12 and the 6" was $15.
If you don't mind a tool made in India, I recommend them.

[george wilson]

SPI was bought out by Manhattan Supply. The name no longer means anything. Their tools
can come from anywhere,especially China. Steelex is Chinese,too. However,I think the set of squares I bought from MSC were SPI,and seem to be of good accuracy. Buying anything Asian is always a gamble,though.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Yeah, I was wondering what was going on with SPI - there stuff seems to run the gamut from dirt cheap and questionable to decent, and it's available everywhere from the bargain basement shops half a step above Herbor Freight to reputable places. The Craftsman combo squares made by SPI are the only things of theirs of recent manufacture I've experience with. Made in the states, and for a combo square at the price it is, it's nice. Of course, being Craftsman, no telling how long until they change suppliers (or have SPI hit a different price point) and it's junky again - I remember looking at a Craftsman adjustable square a few years back when someone else was making them and they weren't very nice at all.

[Mark Baldwin III]

SPI was bought out by Manhattan Supply. The name no longer means anything. Their tools
can come from anywhere,especially China. Steelex is Chinese,too. However,I think the set of squares I bought from MSC were SPI,and seem to be of good accuracy. Buying anything Asian is always a gamble,though.

I can't speak to any other SteeleX tools, but the squares that I have are from India. If they were MIC I wouldn't have bought them (not to start that topic all over again). Tools made in India may not always be the best, the ones I have looked at are typically of a decent quality. That is based on an observation of only a limited number of tools, though.

[Mitch Barker]

Mine is a Pinnacle which I bought at woodcraft for about $30. The rule is nicely ground on all edges and the markings are very legible.

[John Coloccia]

FWIW, the Groz I recommended are made in India and they're dead nuts accurate...all 4 of them. That's the only reason I recommend them.

[Trevor Walsh]

My Empire combination square was not square, I've liked LV engineer's squares, I have the 2" for dovetail joint layout.

What kind of square are you looking at, fixed blade engineers, a double square, combination? What size? I'll agree that a fully hardened Starrett 18" compination square is pricy, but the engineers squares or a Starrett 4" double square is $74 on amazon. Buy them once, buy quality and don't ever drop it or put it in a situation where you are likely to drop it.

Over the rest of your life that investment pays out to what 203 dollars a year for accurate layout, this bang-for-buck debate on the most basic and essential tools always gets me.

[Bobby O'Neal]

I have a Pinnacle that I really like.