The LSS Co. #4

[Bill Carey]

Can anyone help me date this? I picked it up at an antique shop for 10 bucks.
377621377622

[Jim Koepke]

My Google search on > Starrett combination square type study < only garnered 24 hits.

It seems the acorn top on the nuts is one distinction between model changes. Nothing on the date.

A search on > Starrett logo history < found over 60,000 hits. Sorry, you aren't going to get me to go through all of those.

BTW, that is a gloat worthy find.

jtk

[Mel Fulks]

It's a good find. They go way back and are still made... Or at least were relatively recently. What you have is the one with the "cast head" . The other model has the "hardened head" and costs a little more.

[Mel Fulks]

The "number 4" refers only to the graduation format. They are also made with metric, 10ths of inches , etc

[Alfred Kraemer]

Bill,

I'm pretty sure the production date falls somewhere between WW1 and WW2. If you go to flea markets etc. in areas with a strong manufacturing history you'll usually find this type of Starrett 12 inch square. I have supplied a number of my friends with Starrett squares that I found at flea markets.
Nevertheless, the all of the 10+ Starrett squares that I have bought over the years where still accurate, with one exception: one that didn't look promising to begin with.
Sometimes one has to remove some crud from the head of the square.
Testing for squareness is pretty simple: I have a small melamine board with a square edge, I align the square, draw a line with a mechanical pencil, flip the square but aligning against the same edge, draw another line close to the previously drawn line, and checking if they are parallel. This test wouldn't satisfy a machinist, but for woodworking this test is good enough.
The square you bought looks like a good find, no pitting on the blade, the heads look clean, and they are probably still accurate.
The whole set for 10 bucks is a very good price. While those squares are regionally pretty common, I'm pretty sure the ebay prices are much higher.

Alfred

[Rob Luter]

Nice score. I snagged a similar version at an estate auction a few years ago. I was fortunate to find one with a hardened head, the centering head, and the protractor. It was a great deal, but not as great a deal as yours.

[Lee Schierer]

I found a discussion from another site about this square with the Starrett trademark symbol. http://swingleydev.com/ot/get/8143/thread/