Combination Square

[Bill Berklich]

This thread brought back a memory. Couple summers back at local flea market was looking at a Brown and Sharp combination square. Vendor wanted $3.00 for it, which I paid. Then he told me I was lucky, because if it was a Stanley, he wouldn't taken less than $10.00.

ROFLMAO! You were luck though

[Doug Garson]

To clarify - Starrett offers 2 versions of combination squares. The LV page Doug posted is the standard cast iron squares. The LV page I posted is a different page showing the premium forged steel squared. The pages look the same but check the price lines.

Note also that the page I linked is the Canadian site so Canadian dollars, John's link is to the US site and US dollars so the premium for the forged vs cast is about 25%.

[Mike Henderson]

Another good brand is PEC. American made. Check out here.

If you want a full set, there's a seller on EBay that sells PEC blems. Look at item 141455416116

I've bought PEC blems and they have been excellent.

Mike

[There are multiple sellers of PEC blems on eBay so search on "PEC combination square" and several will come up. You want a 4R rule.]

[And while you're at it, search on "mitutoyo combination square".]

[Rich Engelhardt]

My wife and I took a couple days off & drove down to Columbus Oho to see a free magic show.
There wasn't any parking for the free magic show, so, we fell back to - plan "B".
We hit the Hollywood Casino instead.
I dropped about $200. A draft beer was $7, needless to say, I drank only one of those puppies.

All told, we spent about $700 for a two day trip - that was, while a fun diversion, nothing real memorable(other than spending some alone time w/my Amazon Temptress )

I paid about $75 a few years ago for a Starrett square that returns a ton of good feelings every time I heft it.

Moral of the story - -some things are meant to last!

[Ric Flanders]

My Mitutoyo is an has been a great square. I also own a Mitutoyo caliper and micrometer set. All great!

[Mike OMelia]

You didn't say what brand combo square you have. If it's one of the big old names like Starrett, Brown & Sharp, Lufkin, etc I'd check ebay and see if I couldn't just buy that part from someone. You see people selling combo square parts from time to time.

Please don't laugh. It was a Stanley. But it was over 50 years old. Back then, the cheap stuff was as good as some of today's good stuff. I picked up some inexpensive iron ones from Lowes to get by, but I'll order one of those Starretts.

Thanks, Mike

[Mike Manning]

Please don't laugh. It was a Stanley. But it was over 50 years old. Back then, the cheap stuff was as good as some of today's good stuff. I picked up some inexpensive iron ones from Lowes to get by, but I'll order one of those Starretts.

Thanks, Mike

Nothing at all to laugh at. The old Stanley tools were quality tools!

[Ben Rivel]

My wife and I took a couple days off & drove down to Columbus Oho to see a free magic show.
There wasn't any parking for the free magic show, so, we fell back to - plan "B".
We hit the Hollywood Casino instead.
I dropped about $200. A draft beer was $7, needless to say, I drank only one of those puppies.

All told, we spent about $700 for a two day trip - that was, while a fun diversion, nothing real memorable(other than spending some alone time w/my Amazon Temptress )

I paid about $75 a few years ago for a Starrett square that returns a ton of good feelings every time I heft it.

Moral of the story - -some things are meant to last!

Exactly! I rarely spend money on such "diversions" as I usually feel like it was money wasted or better spent on ANYTHING tangible. Since I dont, I usually have no problem justifying paying for top of the line tools. They make me happy every time I use them.

[Cary Falk]

I ordered some PEC blemished from Ebay and am happy with them

[Lee Schierer]

You might be able to steal a guide lock from one of the cheap combination squares. Measure your broken piece and then take your calipers to the store and see how the same parts from a new square compare.

Or take the broken part to a local machine shop and have them make a new one for you.

[Nick Shattuck]

By the way, I'm also looking for a combo square to replace my bent, but straightened, bent again, but straightened out again square. I noticed amazon has a Starrett 33H (not C33H) 12" for like $60, which is way cheaper than other places sell this model for. The C33H is about twice the price. To those in the know, what is the difference between the satin chrome and the satin ruler?

[John K Jordan]

By the way, I'm also looking for a combo square to replace my bent, but straightened, bent again, but straightened out again square. I noticed amazon has a Starrett 33H (not C33H) 12" for like $60, which is way cheaper than other places sell this model for. The C33H is about twice the price. To those in the know, what is the difference between the satin chrome and the satin ruler?

My Starrett rules are satin chrome and I don't have any of the other. I love the way the scale looks.

Wondering about the difference I checked some of the reviews and questions. I found this:

Question: What is the advantage of the satin Crome over the standard finish.?
Answer: I think it is easer to read.

I know - buy one of each and let everyone know what you think!

JKJ

[Bill Berklich]

Go Starrett or Brown & Sharp - don't bother with anything less. They last a lifetime (and your Grand kids too) which is why they are still expensive on eBay after 40 years use in a machine shop.

[Nathan Johnson]

By the way, I'm also looking for a combo square to replace my bent, but straightened, bent again, but straightened out again square. I noticed amazon has a Starrett 33H (not C33H) 12" for like $60, which is way cheaper than other places sell this model for. The C33H is about twice the price. To those in the know, what is the difference between the satin chrome and the satin ruler?

Thanks for the heads up on this. Just ordered the 33H.
Should be an upgrade over my Empire.

[Kevin Smira]

Are the PEC blems (or even PEC non blems) offered in metric? Slowly finding myself switching over to metric. mm lines are easier to see for me than 1/16th lines. Also, to me, math is easier.