Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 41

Thread: Need a good square... Not Starrett.

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Phoenix, AZ
    Posts
    72

    Need a good square... Not Starrett.

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

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Harrisville, PA
    Posts
    1,698
    Plastic drafting squares can be had in many sizes are accurate and cost effective.
    Chuck

    When all else fails increase hammer size!
    "You can know what other people know. You can do what other people can do."-Dave Gingery

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Middle Tennessee
    Posts
    710
    I've used engineer's squares in 2", 6", and 12" for several years. Here's a link to Lee-Valley's. They don't carry the 12". LV also has a Veritas line of precision squares that I've never used but my guess is that they are very accurate.

    http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/pag...=1,42936,42941

  4. #4
    I use Groz squares in my shop. They're reasonably priced and dead nuts accurate.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Los Angeles County, CA
    Posts
    362
    PEC makes good squares. I have purchased some blems from Harry J. Epstein. They are hugely reduced in price and the blems don't interfere with their measuring ability. Their service is great and their web site has some really cool features. I don't know if I can give their URL, but you can Google them and type in PEC in search once on their site. It is worth the look. No, I am not affiliated in any way other than just a customer. Good luck.
    Last edited by Lloyd Robins; 02-03-2013 at 1:49 AM.
    Old age can be better than the alternative.

  6. #6
    I've found the squares made by Empire and sold by the borg to be pretty good. They check out fine against my Groz squares. I don't feel bad if I drop them. Yeah, they are cheap.

    <slipping on nomex suit and exiting stage left>

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Kelowna, BC, Canada
    Posts
    179
    I also use an Empire 6" as my primary square. Dead accurate out of the package. No guarantee yours would be, but it is pretty easy to make a combo square, regardless of brand, truly square. Simply take a small file to the tab(s) that the ruler rests on inside the slot of the square's body.

    The caveat is that the individual parts must be straight.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Doylestown, PA
    Posts
    7,551
    Quote Originally Posted by jim hollenback View Post
    I've found the squares made by Empire and sold by the borg to be pretty good. They check out fine against my Groz squares. I don't feel bad if I drop them. Yeah, they are cheap.

    <slipping on nomex suit and exiting stage left>
    Nope, no flames from me. The heads are cast zinc or similar rather than cast iron but IMO they're hard to beat in the bang-for-the-buck discussion. AND, they're most likely made in Mukwanago, WI. not China. Empire claims 80% of their products are made in the U.S. I've bought a few Empire products - speed square, dry wall square, 12" level, framing square, and 16" combination square. The 16" combination square was the only one with an issue. 90o was dead nuts, 45o was not. A few minutes with sandpaper on a glass plate fixed that. I also find the scales pretty easy to read and the lines are scribed, not just printed. The gray base finish on the scale seems pretty soft though; it'll smudge when sliding the head if I don't push in a little on the nut to release spring pressure when moving the head. This doesn't affect readability, the smudging isn't on the lines or numbers but it looks tacky. Still, for $13 or so it's well worth the $.
    Last edited by Curt Harms; 02-03-2013 at 7:11 AM.

  9. #9
    Empire makes a good product. And it's nice to support a Wisconsin company. For most purposes their combo squares are perfect.
    One of these days, I will remember the brand name of the machinist's squares I use. It's a small company, and I can't for the life of me ever remember. It's hard to beat $18 for a 6" square with .0006" tolerance!!! (I bought them before I started my anti-MIC quest, so it is possible they are MIC)
    Another option is to go the antique route. I have several old B&S and Starrett pieces that are as good as the day they were made. Stanley made some good squares back in the day too.
    If it ain't broke, fix it til it is!

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Sioux Falls, SD
    Posts
    372
    I too use the Empire Pro 6", but I also use a PEC 6" and I like them both. The PEC is definitely a nice one and at a good price. I'd recommend looking into them.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Williamsburg,Va.
    Posts
    12,402
    No combination square is as accurate as a fixed blade square,though I know many here use them. If they ARE accurate,sliding the blade soon introduces wear. I am a machinist,too,as well as wood worker,and am talking tolerances that are beyond what most woodworkers might consider necessary. My ultimate squares(for checking my other squares) are granite. I have 3,and a granite straight edge as well as 3 cast iron scraped camel back straight edges(the type used for scraping machine beds true),and a Tumico flat 4' straight edge. Fortunately,I have found good Starrett,and ( not messed up) old Brown and Sharpe squares from 2" to 2 foot beams. I value them highly. I have good Starrett combination squares like new,with hardened heads,but I guarantee they are not as accurate as a Starrett our B&S fixed blade square.

    I bought a set of 3 or 4 imported solid steel squares from MSC,in a blow molded case for the shop at work,and they were quite accurate. Can't recall the cost,but they were reasonable compared to Starrett. They weren't Chinese. These days,B&S stuff is made who knows where. Another good old USA co. bought out. I think some of their stuff is made in France,at least not China.

    I would take an inexpensive English made steel square and adjust it by whacking it (sounds terrible,I know,but SKILLED whacking!) until it mated up to one of my GOOD squares. Since you can see .0001" of light (a tenth),they can be gotten pretty close if you know what you are doing. I'd mark on the blade if the square had been accurized.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Posts
    2,854
    Jared - You don't say if you're referring to needing a square or a combination square. In my shop, I use engineer's squares to set up machinery, a small 3" "Total Square" from Woodjoy tools for checking woodwork joints and rules/tape measures for general wood measurement. This is despite owning a Starret 12" combination square, which sees little use. The reason is as George notes - no combination square is as accurate as a fixed-blade engineer's square, and while one doesn't need such accuracy for the wood itself, it's very helpful to have highly accurate squares for machine set-up.

    The engineer's squares I have are the "Guaranteed Square" and the "Guaranteed 45 Degree" squares from Incra. They aren't really inexpensive, but they're not ridiculous either. The reason that I like them is that they are very sturdily built. While no reference square should ever take an unplanned trip to the concrete floor, these will take an occasional accidental hard knock and still remain true:

    http://www.amazon.com/Incra-GSQR7-Gu...bxgy_hi_text_y

    The small square I use for checking woodwork joints:

    http://www.woodjoytools.com/page9/page9.html

    Keep in mind that if properly cared for, you will never have to replace these tools - they are a lifetime purchase. That realization takes some of the sting out of the intial purchase price.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Lake Leelanau, MI
    Posts
    2,630
    I've a set of 4 machinist's squares, 2"-3"-4"-6", from Iturra Design. Because they are small, I'm grabbing them constantly. At $23 for the set, they were a real bargain.

    John
    John Bailey
    Sawmill Creek is a member supported forum. Click here to donate.


  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    mid-coast Maine and deep space
    Posts
    2,656
    I've been very happy with squares from Woodpecker http://www.woodpeck.com/measuringhome.html
    "... for when we become in heart completely poor, we at once are the treasurers & disbursers of enormous riches."
    WQJudge

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
    Posts
    27,347
    Blog Entries
    1
    There are too many kinds of squares to suggest one that meets your needs and desires.

    Most of the time one of my try squares is used. For bigger things my carpenter's square is used.

    My combination squares are seldom used. Mostly just for use to mark a line along the length of a piece a set distance from an edge. Most of the time a Stanley odd jobs is used for this kind of work.

    At times my desire has turned to one of these, http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/pag...79&cat=1,42936

    Not having a real need, my money has not yet left me for those greener pastures in Canada.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •