name your straight edges!!

[Zach Duran]

I am currently shopping around for a good, true straight edge for setting up my jointer and general measuring of straightness. But dang, these things get expensive, and fast! Was considering an aluminum one from lee valley for the cost savings, although I'll lose some in tolerance. I noticed Grizzly has some steel, beveled ones for cheap, comparatively speaking: $54 for 36", supposedly accurate to .001". Where a Veritas Steel one will run upwards of $100 shipped. I suppose when it comes to woodworking, well, do I need machine shop tolerances accurate to a fleas brain diameter across the length?? I suppose it would be ideal for setting up tools, but honestly, where should I draw the line? well, where do you draw the line? And does anybody have any experience with any of the above mentioned Straightedges? Let's get-a-talkin some straight edges!!

[Kent A Bathurst]

This won't help: Starrett 48".......$300 +/-. It lives in it's own custom-built 3/4" ply case when not in use.

I was absolutely frustrated with setup on jointer and planer, and decided to put paid to that mess once and for all. Likely overboard, but - hey - it did the job.

It is a tool you will not use often. But - it is a tool that has no substitute, IMO, and will save you from burning your entire lexicon of cusswords on one task. Get something, at least.

[Reinis Kanders]

I have an OK 8 foot level by Empire and 36 inch veritas. I use those two to make in between sizes from wood when I need them. I think any decent box level should be ok.

[Cary Falk]

I have a 3' Aluminum Veritas.

[jack forsberg]

http://www.arbolloco.com/bcs/drawings/images/gobars.jpg

[Greg Woloshyn]

I made a few aluminum straight edges and a few squares at work on the cnc. They are probably just as straight as the Starret, but only aluminum. If I have the time again, I will make more out of steel and get them hardened.

[Peter Quinn]

I have a steel one I got from Amazon some years ago, was in the $270 range fro 36", accurate to way closer than I need for working wood, has been a great help in setting up machines and diagnosing issues with old/used machines, fences, tables, etc. Also have 36" and 48" starret rulers that while not technically sold as straight edges are in fact very straight and I often use them as such. It can be hard to justify an expensive straight edge, so i don't, I just use and enjoy it.

[John Lanciani]

If I had a fancy straightedge I would name it Excalibur...;)

[Paul McGaha]

I have the steel ones from Veritas. I have them in 1', 2' and 3'. I'm happy with them.

Lots of good choices out there. Good luck with it.

PHM

[Jim Matthews]

That MDF with three screws in it is another example of Jack's mechanical genius.

Why mill a piece of metal, when you can turn three little screws?

[Myk Rian]

I have an 8' x 6" length of 3/4" lexan that is within .003" over the 8'. Measured on a certified grade A slab.

[Frederick Skelly]

I have a 3' Aluminum Veritas.

Me too. It does everything I ask of it.

[Bradley Gray]

I use a 10 ft length of steel drip edge and replace it every year or two - cheap, long and straight as the break it was bent on.

[Mike Cutler]

72" Starrett machine rule. It lost it's NIST certification in the 90's and was headed to the bin. I rescued it from the scrap heap.

[Steve Baumgartner]

I have a 48" Veritas aluminum and have found it to be adequate for my needs. I have yet to encounter a woodworking machine whose tables were ground flat or stayed flat to within the tolerances of the Starrett's and such, so they seem like overkill to me. The only downside of the aluminum is that it is relatively fragile - easy to nick or dent the edge, producing a little nib that messes up the reference.

[Zach Duran]

I have the taunton press shop machine book and for setting up the jointer, this is the recommended way to go. I'm pretty sure i am going to make these as well, but would like a straightedge in the traditional sense. Does anybody have any experience setting up a long bed jointer with these home made, master bars??
http://www.arbolloco.com/bcs/drawings/images/gobars.jpg

[jack forsberg]

I have the taunton press shop machine book and for setting up the jointer, this is the recommended way to go. I'm pretty sure i am going to make these as well, but would like a straightedge in the traditional sense. Does anybody have any experience setting up a long bed jointer with these home made, master bars??

i used them on all 4 planers i have

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad111/tool613/wadkin/chips001_zps2fbf95ee.jpg (http://s927.photobucket.com/user/tool613/media/wadkin/chips001_zps2fbf95ee.jpg.html)

[Jamie Buxton]

I have a straight edge that is 2" by 1/8" in cross section. It is great for layout work, but not so good for setting up a jointer. For that, you want a straight edge that can stand on edge.

[Erik Loza]

I have a 36" Starrett but that being said, you can make a perfectly serviceable one by ripping a piece of MDF on a table saw.

Erik

[Kent A Bathurst]

If I had a fancy straightedge I would name it Excalibur...;)


BOOM!!! goes the dynamite..............:D

[Rod Sheridan]

OK, I name mine Gallifrey..................Regards, Rod.

[Kent A Bathurst]

OK, I name mine Gallifrey..................Regards, Rod.


Gallifrey? Gallifrey Who?

[Kevin Jenness]

I have a 72" Starrett which was a gift from a friend I did a big job with. It was good to about .002" as I received it. A few years ago I had it trued up and certified to less than .001" by an outfit in Ohio for about $300. Overkill? Maybe, but when I really want something dead nuts I know I can rely on it. The homemade three point units are great for overall setup, but for locating humps and dishes in the field of a machine table a continuous straightedge works better for me. Mine stays in a wooden box and comes out once or twice a year. Other than that I have a couple of 24" steel straightedges from Bridge City and Lee Valley. The Veritas I prefer for its thickness which allows it to stand stable on its edge.

[glenn bradley]

36" steel Veritas here. No complaints at all.

[Chris Merriam]

I tried the wood with screw trick too, and as mentioned, you can't test within the inner portion of the tables. Plus, you need to locate the middle screw near your cutterhead, which is fine, but the area around my cutterhead has a little dip! Plus, as you rotate the device to check corner to corner the position of the middle screw can move to an undesirable spot. You can solve this by making two devices, or making your single device shorter, but that kind of defeats the purpose.

[Myk Rian]

i used them on all 4 planers i have
Umm. Isn't that a jointer?

[jack forsberg]

Umm. Isn't that a jointer?


no its from England and that one is a PT or under over. they call what you mericans call a jointer a planer. what you call a planner they call a thicknessers. Though when you put wood through it it makes it thinner:) way back in the past the Americans called them Hand Planers too i believe. we are talking before Delta was making boy and girls toys.

[Bill McNiel]

I have the 2' steel and 4' alum from Veritas, very nice and serve their purposes well.

[paul cottingham]

2 foot steel, 1.5 foot wooden shopmade, want to buy a 4 foot veritas aluminum one someday. But so far, I have had no need of it.
For me, we are working with wood, a variable, cantankerous material. I don't get too worked up about perfection. But that is my temperament. I seem to be in a minority amongst woodworkers.

[Dave Zellers]

no its from England and that one is a PT or under over. they call what you mericans call a jointer a planer. what you call a planner they call a thicknessers. Though when you put wood through it it makes it thinner:) way back in the past the Americans called them Hand Planers too i believe. we are talking before Delta was making boy and girls toys.
That picture takes me back 40 years to the first time I had to run a board over a Delta 4" jointer. That's what it looked like to me. I was seriously scared it was going to grab me and turn my right hand into mulch.

I'm long past that, but I don't think I could hit the switch on that baby without taking a deep breath first.

Which is probably a good thing. :eek:

WOW.

[Bill Space]

Great link Jack!

I also am fortunate to have a Starret. Mine is a model 387-48, which is 48" long. It is a long story...I had no idea this was such an expensive item!!!

[Steve Collins]

A 6' and 2' level from the 60's or 70's.

[jack forsberg]

anyone use a machinist level? i think i would spend my money on one of these before a straight edge.

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/attachments/f38/57442d1345677998-machinist-level-better-zm5sm.jpg

[Shawn Pixley]

I call mine, bob

[Chris Padilla]

I have a 50" aluminum one from Lee Valley/Veritas that I just love. The price is right and as long as you are careful with it, it works out great.

That said, I also have a 2' steel Starrett that I paid a pretty penny for but rarely bring out since getting the LV.

[Pat Barry]

I haven't really named them, but the way I think about them when I need one is the red one, the green one, the old one and the bent one

[lowell holmes]

I am currently shopping around for a good, true straight edge for setting up my jointer and general measuring of straightness. But dang, these things get expensive, and fast! Was considering an aluminum one from lee valley for the cost savings, although I'll lose some in tolerance. I noticed Grizzly has some steel, beveled ones for cheap, comparatively speaking: $54 for 36", supposedly accurate to .001". Where a Veritas Steel one will run upwards of $100 shipped. I suppose when it comes to woodworking, well, do I need machine shop tolerances accurate to a fleas brain diameter across the length?? I suppose it would be ideal for setting up tools, but honestly, where should I draw the line? well, where do you draw the line? And does anybody have any experience with any of the above mentioned Straightedges? Let's get-a-talkin some straight edges!!

I have the 24" straight edge and it is long enough for aligning all of my tools including a 6" jointer.

[Phil Thien]

I have a 60" box level. A decent one, with machined edges.

I took a piece of thermal paper (from a receipt printer) and checked all four in stock at Lowes against one another. The paper was snug most anywhere along their lengths, no matter which way I oriented them to one another. There were a couple of times when the paper could have been snugger. But still, that paper is only about .003" thick. So if it is snugging between two of the things along their lengths, they're pretty straight.

[Ron Kellison]

First, I will acknowledge that I have too many straight edges! I will shortly be getting rid of a few of them.

I have a LV 36" and a LV 12" steel, a Veritas 50" aluminum and two German aluminum straight edges in 24 and 40". The latter two were sold for a couple years by LV back in the late 80s. All of them are dead accurate and I'll probably end up keeping two of them. One of those will be the 12" Veritas steel because it's just the thing for hand planes, etc.

I have an 18" Class B granite machinist's block. I've tested all of these and they are all better than .001" from corner to corner on the block, checked by using good feeler blades. That means that any of them are more than accurate enough to set up my machines.

[Kent A Bathurst]

....... the bent one.............

And you use it for what?

[Charles Taylor]

And you use it for what?

Checking 2x4s?

[Bruce Page]

I have the 50" aluminum from Lee Valley. Laid on the table of my milling machine I could not get a .001 shim to slip under it over its entire length. That's close enough for me.

I call it Fred.

[Pat Barry]

And you use it for what?
Good question. I try not to use it as a straightedge but the ruler function still works ok

[william watts]

I have the 50 in. aluminium Varitas that I used to set up my jointer. The jointer is much better now but once in a while I just can't get a true edge. When that happens I use a jointer hand plane to true the edge and then check the edge with the Veritas. I seem to recall the al straight was accurate to .003 in over its length. I also use the 18 in. and 12 in. blades from my Starrett combination square and the 6 in. from the Lufkin.

[Chuck Hart]

I use a six inch metal ruler and a micro meter to set my jointer. When the blade hits the ruler the circuit is complete the meter jumps and the blade is at the perfect height. Don't need no stinkni' straight edge

[jack forsberg]

I use a six inch metal ruler and a micro meter to set my jointer. When the blade hits the ruler the circuit is complete the meter jumps and the blade is at the perfect height. Don't need no stinkni' straight edge

I guess you could use a straight edge to set knifes but there main concern is for setting tables coplaner,(or is that cojointer Myk):rolleyes:

[Jim Andrew]

Late to the party, but I use a 4' level, have a high quality Smith, also when I need a longer straight edge, have a 6' floor straight edge, made of aluminum. I don't worry about trying to slip a .003 feeler gauge under the straight edge, just align the tables. When I checked my Grizzly G0609 when I received it, it was right on. Used the aluminum to set the height on my outfeed table just the other day.

[Rod Sheridan]

Gallifrey? Gallifrey Who?


Gallifrey Who indeed.

My new BMW is named Gallifrey, it is red obviously.............Rod.

[Bryan Cramer]

Another user of the Veritas 48" aluminum. I think it is good enough for woodworking. You could straighten a board to such tolerances, then it rains that night and the board changes. :rolleyes:

[Kent A Bathurst]

Gallifrey Who indeed.

My new BMW is named Gallifrey, it is red obviously.............Rod.


I was sure you would catch that hook..............:D

[David Ragan]

I have the 3' Veritas as well.

I bought it several years ago, and immediately noticed that the 'straightness' is only valid in one dimension, ie, the piece bows/crooks in the other lengthwise dimension.

So-isn't that what youre paying for with Starrett, besides having the super quality/standards?

And-how does a guy like me verify that the "Standard" that I bought is indeed straight?

I just naively let it hang from a nail until I need it.

What do you all think?

[Mike Cutler]

I have the 3' Veritas as well.

I bought it several years ago, and immediately noticed that the 'straightness' is only valid in one dimension, ie, the piece bows/crooks in the other lengthwise dimension.

So-isn't that what youre paying for with Starrett, besides having the super quality/standards?

And-how does a guy like me verify that the "Standard" that I bought is indeed straight?

I just naively let it hang from a nail until I need it.

What do you all think?

David

If you have a noticeable bow on one side, that would be wrong.

With Starrett, you're paying for two things. Machine quality and NIST Certification. Without a NIST Cert, you have a nice straight edge and that's all.

The only way that you could verify your straightedge is to perform a reflex check, but you have to make a fixture to hold it. Without a granite reference block, or the known flatness of a Bridgeport table this is your best test. It's not an easy test to set up though. You'll need a quality vernier too.

Hanging from the nail is fine as long as it can't be bumped and banged, and is generally protected when not in use. You should still consider a protective sleeve for it. It would only cost a few dollars, but one can easily be made out of PVC, or ABS pipe and caps.

If you're using it to set up your machines, and the work you're doing is accurate and consistent, goes together without issues and fits properly upon assembly, then the edge is probably pretty good. ;)