# 6 & 12 inch combination squares



## Rickcin (Aug 9, 2016)

Is there a decent brand to purchase without breaking the bank, perhaps ones made with a stainless steel rule? Thanks


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## Toolman50 (Mar 22, 2015)

Starrett is one of the more trusted brands.


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## WesTex (Jan 5, 2014)

+ 1 for Starrett


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## Rickcin (Aug 9, 2016)

Wow, $77 for a 6 inch combo square sounds really expensive but I have been doing framing and rough construction for years and hoping to do some woodworking as a hobby. I looked at some of the stuff made by Woodpeckers and could not believe the prices but do not doubt its top quality stuff and a real woodworking shop would have no problem justifying these top quality tools.


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

There are a lot of combination squares out there selling for a lot less than a Starrett, don't shop by price, find a cheaper one that looks to be well made, if it is accurate at 90 and 45 degrees go for it, you can't ask for anything more.


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## Woodcutterron (Nov 21, 2009)

Check out Empire squares, available pretty cheap at Home Depot. Guaranteed accuracy, which a guarantee and a dollar will buy you a candy bar, but you can check a square to see if it's really square on the countertop at Home Depot. I've never had a Home Depot Employee have an issue with me checking a square to make sure it's square. 

Just put the square on the countertop, take a pencil and just mark the line. Then flip the square about 1 32 of an inch or so away from your first pencil line make another line with your pencil. Are they parallel? If so, your square is plumb. If not . . .don't buy it.  

I've yet to find an Empire "blue" square that wasn't square . . .but I still check, every time.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

I have had good luck with the Craftsman combos. Also have Empire carpenters squares which also seem fine.

George


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## Rickcin (Aug 9, 2016)

Simple enough to check the squares and they could always be returned if not to my liking, not square.

For my current projects, I cannot justify spending big bucks on a combination square. I would much rather spend $100 or so on a Woodpeckers T square which I think would be much more useful and accurate than a 12 inch combination square.


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## amckenzie4 (Apr 29, 2010)

I'm with Woodcutteron... Empire squares have consistently been accurate and inexpensive. I've got a six inch that lives in my shop apron, and a 16" that lives either on a rack in my tool chest or a rack on my bench. Neither has been babied, and they're both still accurate.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Rickcin said:


> Simple enough to check the squares and they could always be returned if not to my liking, not square.
> 
> For my current projects, I cannot justify spending big bucks on a combination square. I would much rather spend $100 or so on a Woodpeckers T square which I think would be much more useful and accurate than a 12 inch combination square.


$100 on a square? I have not spent that much on all of the squares I have ever purchased.

George


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

GeorgeC said:


> $100 on a square? I have not spent that much on all of the squares I have ever purchased.
> 
> George


Exactly, either a square is accurate or it is not, but it is always fun to spend someone else's money. :smile3:


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

I bought a Starrett 12" just for use in the shop. I store it in the box when not in use. Just use it on cabinet or furniture type projects. I've gone through a slew of the cheapies when they were in my tool belt on the job, not meant to take a beating. I have a few Starrett tools, they are a pleasure to use. 
Mike Hawkins:smile3:


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

FrankC said:


> Exactly, either a square is accurate or it is not, but it is always fun to spend someone else's money. :smile3:


I know what you mean. Just ask the husbands of my wife's friends. She has a reputation of being good helping her friends shop.

George


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

I have a 12" Starrett only because I picked it up at a garage sale for $10 and it came with a protractor and center head.


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## Pirate (Jul 23, 2009)

I buy Starrett squares and callipers for my woodworking (when I find at garage sales for < $5) Same for Snap On tools.
Also Brown and Sharp, and Union. Not needed for their accuracy doing woodworking, but nice to use.


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## Zion212 (May 31, 2010)

Definitely Starrett







. I've had good luck on ebay or craigslist actually


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## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

Wow! And all these decades, I've been using my Father-In-Law's inherited Craftsman and the two Stanley squares I purchased in total ignorance. Not to mention the cheapo HF 6" & 12" speed squares. Yes, they are all true.


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## TimeTurnsElastic (May 4, 2015)

I don't have one since my affordable Empire 'blue' from HD serves my purposes well enough. But check out PEC squares on EBay. American made to +/- .01, and they sell "blemished cosmetic second" models on there for very reasonable prices, which are 100% functional and manufactured to the same exceptional standards. I believe they go for $27.99 for 6" and $29.99 for 12". Not trying to plug PEC, no relation to them, just thought I'd share since that seems like a pretty good deal for a made in USA precision instrument.


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## Rodrat (Aug 31, 2016)

TimeTurnsElastic said:


> I don't have one since my affordable Empire 'blue' from HD serves my purposes well enough. But check out PEC squares on EBay. American made to +/- .01, and they sell "blemished cosmetic second" models on there for very reasonable prices, which are 100% functional and manufactured to the same exceptional standards. I believe they go for $27.99 for 6" and $29.99 for 12". Not trying to plug PEC, no relation to them, just thought I'd share since that seems like a pretty good deal for a made in USA precision instrument.


Thanks! Like the OP I have been trying to figure out how to not take out a small loan just to afford a square.


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## d_slat (Apr 10, 2012)

Jim Frye said:


> Wow! And all these decades, I've been using my Father-In-Law's inherited Craftsman and the two Stanley squares I purchased in total ignorance. Not to mention the cheapo HF 6" & 12" speed squares. Yes, they are all true.


You must've had better luck with stanley squares than I. I bought 3 12" stanley combo squares about 10 years ago. Not 1 of the 3 is truly square so I only use them for rough work.


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## EPAIII (Mar 31, 2012)

I have a 12" Starrett and it is an excellent square. But it is not SS. 

I also have about ten or twelve others ranging from a four inch fixed machinist's square up to a 24". They also range from a 50 year old Craftsman to modern, inexpensive imports. I have checked all of them against my 2-4-6 blocks and a set of precision angles and all check well except for a decades old Stanley which I marked as less than 90 degrees. I use that Stanley for setting and marking distances only. 

Some of the HF and other imports are SS and they checkout as accurate as I want or need for wood work. The main problem I have had with the inexpensive imports is the locking nut/mechanism: they tend to loosen in use. I have worked on some of them replacing the cheap, cast lock screw with one made from steel and the nut with a brass one. I also have machine tools in my shop but have made this modification on a couple of squares using only simple hand tools like a file and a tap for cutting the thread in the nut. This modification worked well but the final touch I discovered was to add a steel washer and a rubber washer or O-ring between the nut and the frame of the square. This keeps them locked with just moderate tightening: they no longer come loose with a bump or two. I would recommend adding the washer or O-ring as the first modification to make on these inexpensive squares. It works wonders all by itself. 

The Empire brand is currently in many hardware and home supply stores. I have several of them and they seem to be a good value for the price. Their blades are marked "stainless". Sears sells what appears to be a 7" version of the Empire under the Craftsman name. No surprise there as all Craftsman tools are made by others. Anyway, I just had to pick it up as it had that extra inch of blade length. 

When you are laying out dimensions and hole locations you just can't have too many combination squares. 

As for that Starrett, I never use if for wood work. I save it for my most demanding metal machining projects. Frankly the inexpensive import ones are plenty good enough for wood work. 

Oh, a warning. Do not assume that blades for one brand will fit the various heads from others. Generally they will not. They may look the same, but there can be small differences that may or may not work with the opposite part of another brand. So if you plan to get additional heads, like a protractor or centering head, then be sure your brand offers the ones you will want. I bought a used Brown and Sharp protractor head on E-bay thinking that surely one of my blades would fit. No such luck. I wound up cutting down a larger blade to fit it. That did require machine tools: a milling machine to be specific. Starrett, for one, will have matching accessories. But other quality brands also will. 



QUOTE=Toolman50;1461177]Starrett is one of the more trusted brands.[/QUOTE]


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## jeremymcon (Oct 16, 2014)

Taylor tool works on ebay sells a variety blemished squares from an American manufacturer for pretty reasonable prices. I bought one to replace the cheap one I got from a hardware store. It jus feels like a quality tool compared to my old one - the body of it is thicker, the screw that tightens turns smoothly, etc. Only issue I have with the one that I purchased is that it is primarily marked in metric, so to use inches I need to work backward from 12". I think I paid around $30.00.


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## Rodrat (Aug 31, 2016)

jeremymcon said:


> Taylor tool works on ebay sells a variety blemished squares from an American manufacturer for pretty reasonable prices. I bought one to replace the cheap one I got from a hardware store. It jus feels like a quality tool compared to my old one - the body of it is thicker, the screw that tightens turns smoothly, etc. Only issue I have with the one that I purchased is that it is primarily marked in metric, so to use inches I need to work backward from 12". I think I paid around $30.00.


That's I got mine as well. I got really lucky I think as mine just had a piece of one corner dinged and no other issues. Completely harmless to the function of it. I paid $17 for mine. Definitely worth it.


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