So, after getting rather disgusted by and tired of the volume of sellouts on social media that have gone from informative content and furniture, and you know, woodwork, to mindless photos of sponsor's red measuring tools ranging from squares to absurd compasses (see thread in off topic forum if you like), I decided to run an experiment. I borrowed (I refuse to buy) one of the red company's 8 inch squares from a friend. I then purchased a square from each borg store (~$8 each, one is empire, one is husky), one from a super cheap import company (~$6, pittsburgh, but with coupon it was free!), a Starrett, and some speed squares from all of the above. Speed squares ranged from free to $6.

I then aligned these tools with the super expensive guaranteed to 0.001" square and used a flashlight to detect any gaps as a measure of squareness. Quick, dirty experiment, but hey if there's light, there's a measurable gap. With the exception of one speed square which was a rather rough surface (casting? cheapo sand blasting?) guess what? All of the above are square.

I upped the ante a bit. I slapped down a 4x8 sheet of plywood (3/4in BB), verified that the sheet was square (measuring tape), verified that the 4' length was straight, applied all the squares to one corner and concluded the edges were perpendicular, and applied the squares to strike a line. I carefully extended these lines to the opposite side using a drywall square, and then collected some measurements, both with a Starrett ruler and tape measure by eye, and by throwing down my aluminum tracksaw track and measuring again by the same method. All lines (save one, the rough finish speed square) struck in this fashion deviated from one another by less than 1/16" over the full 8' length of the sheet.

So... I think we can conclude that the $8 measuring and squaring tools will provide dutiful service, and that the hype is just hype. Discuss.