Do I Need A $200 Combination Square?

Public service announcement - I purchased an iGaging precision ground, hardened, beveled 36" straight edge with an advertised accuracy of .001 ahem...FAIL! The thing had a .015 bow in it. Maybe I'm just unlucky but whenever I go cheaper on tools like this I get burned.
 
I use a PEC combo square from Harry J Epstein company. Fast shipper and some of the nicest guys in business. Always willing to help out. The square is USA made and is blemish. It took me a couple of hours to find the defect with a magnifying glass. It is a slight rub mark on an un used part of the scale. $36.00 plus shipping.
http://store.harryepstein.com/cp/ProductsEngineering/7142-4R.html

The one I have is $57.50 for the full 4 piece set:
http://store.harryepstein.com/cp/ProductsEngineering/7116-16R.html
 
I would go with a good used Starrett. I bought one on ebay for $30 and a new steel center head for $20.
The Starrett is all steel and not cast iron. PEC makes a good combo square as does Mitutoyo and Brown and Sharpe.
Good deals can be found on all of the above. I like old used Starrett better than new import personally. Your paying for
quality and accuracy and the Starrett tools will last forever.
 
Doubleeboy said:
What ever you do, do not buy a aluminum square. Even a cheap Chinese combo kit is worlds better than aluminum, squares...... there ought to be a law against them.
Click to expand...

Hey Michael, why the hate for Al squares?
I would think they could be made accurately, do they have issues with expansion/contraction?
Sounds like you've been bitten in the past.
Thanks
-brino
 
I picked up some good deals on name brand rules at pawn shops.

One of the main differences you'll find with knock-off rules and squares is the finish. One of the beauties of Starrett, Mitutoyo and Brown & Sharp is the mat stainless finish which make reading them much easier. Shiny reflective surfaces on a rule is a bad thing as they are very hard to read in anything but perfect light.
 
brino said:
Hey Michael, why the hate for Al squares?
I would think they could be made accurately, do they have issues with expansion/contraction?
Sounds like you've been bitten in the past.
Thanks
-brino
Click to expand...

Aluminum squares for the most part are cheaply built , do not stay square or tight. I had one when I was young, okay for crude carpentry but mostly it was junk. The cheap cast iron one from Enco is worlds better. I agree with Franko on the hi end squares and being easy to read. I believe if you want to save money and buy new get the PEC, its probably on sale at enco currently, it frequently is. It is very usable.

michael
 
While working with a combination square, I had a thought. For Layout, a combination square is fine, but for trying, to establish that two sides of a block are 'square,' 90º apart, I'd only use a solid square. While it may have been made from two pieces of metal, it is now (unless damaged) truly square. I would not trust a combination square for that purpose.
 
Just thought I'd share my one experience at buying a used square over the internet: actually it wasn't a square, it was a nice little 4" centre finding head and blade by Lufkin. Sweet. Everything looked great in the pictures, no dings and no engravings. Can't remember how much I paid but that doesn't matter, what does matter is after a few times using it I wondered why my "centers" didn't seem to be exactly centered. Close inspection revealed yes, the head was a nice little Lufkin and so marked, but the blade was a mismatched from some other maker. Pretty close but a very slightly different width (hey, lesson learned, blades are not all the same width) and not marked. Result: for a square it might work, but for a centre finding head it renders the thing absolutely useless.

Darn cute little centre finder though...

-frank
 
Doubleeboy said:
Aluminum squares for the most part are cheaply built , do not stay square or tight. I had one when I was young, okay for crude carpentry but mostly it was junk. The cheap cast iron one from Enco is worlds better. I agree with Franko on the hi end squares and being easy to read. I believe if you want to save money and buy new get the PEC, its probably on sale at enco currently, it frequently is. It is very usable.

michael
Click to expand...

I got a cheepish 6" cast iron one, it's very handy, much better than the cheep cheep ally ones iv'e used, although i'm sure an upmarket ally one (do they make them?) would be good too.

http://www.chronos.ltd.uk/acatalog/info_SMT281.html

It definitly has some issues, the scale is a bit annoying but very small complaints for the price.

I would quite like a starret one thoug ;-)

Stuart
 
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