PEC VS Starrett - actual difference?

[Robert Rada]

If you're buying new, I wouldn't recommend settling for less than PEC and I would recommend Starrett as my first choice.
Starrett has a much better spring and locking mechanism. The cast iron head comes with a "black wrinkle" finish that I find to feel more tactile. I'd say the Starrett is better in other regards, but that comes with the caveat of the ruler and machined portions of the head being noticeably sharp to the touch.

I should point out that if a combination square says "Made in the USA" and it is not made by Starrett it is most likely (or most definitely?) made by PEC. Here in the states, I believe that would include some of Lee Valley and Woodcraft's private label offerings. Mitutoyo is another OEM client. I haven't tried all of their manufactured output, it's possible other brands have either higher or lower specs. The examples I've handled were virtually identical.

If you do shell out for Starrett without trying other combination squares, you'll probably be underwhelmed.
If you try other combination squares, beforehand, the quality difference becomes more apparent.


Without grease, the cheapest squares glide more easily. Nature of the beast.

There will be woodwork forum persons that say the Empire True Blue offering is just as square.
Probably, maybe, but...just...ewww..no.

[Brian Thornock]

I have some tools from Starrett, PEC, and vintage Brown and Sharpe. I have also used Mitutoyo. I like them all. I would say Starrett is top of the heap, but the price jump is a tough pill to swallow. PEC makes nice tools as well, I just prefer the Starrett finish quality a little more, but not when considering the premium. Vintage B&S is good, but my 24" rule is hard to read any more. Mitutoyo is good, but I don't have any. I also have a 6" iGaging double square from woodcraft, and it works quite well, though not up to the smoothness level of the premium brands, but not off by much.

Another manufacturer is SPI, which stands for Swiss Precision Instruments. No idea if they are actually swiss made any more, but they are a brand of good repute in machinist circles. If you are just going combo squares, vintage ones like Millers Falls and Union are options, but squareness is always a consideration when buying from ebay or the like.

[ian maybury]

Hi Brian. Based on experience and i don't want to be too specific on a public forum given that it's a while - but there's one or two well known names in the list there that i ran into trouble a couple of years ago with in the saga described earlier. They back in the day were excellent - but these days are just brands applied to cheap goods sourced from low cost factories.

PEC seems solid judging by reports, and Starrett defintely as of a couple of years ago. Beyond that (and as earlier in the thread there may have been some improvements since) I'd go carefully...

[Brian Thornock]

I definitely prefer (in order): Starrett, PEC, vintage B&S, Mitutoyo, and then iGaging. I didn't put SPI on there as I have not used any of their tools.