A Great Budget Ruler

[Prashun Patel]

Starrett MS2 aluminum 1meter ruler.

I just got this and had to post about it. I appreciate the need for at least one or two precision straight edges and rulers. But often, it’s more important to have one that’s easy to read, starts at 0, is long enough , and is light enough, and has both inches and mm markings, and doesn’t obfuscate with micro tick marks.

This ruler is fantastic for all those reasons. It goes to 1/8” and 1mm. Most times this is fine for me. It’s only an inch wide and aluminum so it’s light.

Even as a straight edge, it’s pretty good.

And it was $9 online.

Had to share.

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks for the tip Prashun. I know just what you mean about simple, light and not having micro tick marks. I bought a set of these from LV and they are my go-to rules. LINK (https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/hand-tools/marking-and-measuring/rules/72020-utilitas-hook-rules) Unfortunately they arent available in 24" or 36". So your Starrett may be just what the doctor ordered. Thanks!
Fred

[Jim Becker]

How accurate is it relative to your other rules? I have the steel Woodriver version in this length and it's bang-on identical to the set of rules I got from Lee Valley years ago. But for nine bucks at Amazon, I might consider picking one or two of these up for extra utility.

[ChrisA Edwards]

Thank you, ordered it from Amazon.

[John K Jordan]

Thanks. I just ordered one too after reading your description.

[Prashun Patel]

It’s right on compared to the 2 other Starrett 36” imperial aluminum rulers I have, which I assume are of similar middle road quality. I’ve used those for a couple years now and my work has been fine.

I cannot vouch for their absolute accuracy, though. I fully confess that I am not an authority on precision. This is just good enough and frankly a joy to look at and use for me. I think it’s the tickle I get that it was so cheap and says “Starrett” ;)

[Bill Carey]

Thanks. I just ordered one too after reading your description.


same here. Thx for the tip

[Ben Rivel]

These larger/thicker Starrett rulers really do come in handy. I have four of the ASE series (24", 48, and 72") and they have been great to have around.

[Bill Dufour]

Does it really start at zero? I do not think i have seen that except with sliding adjustable squares.
Bil lD

[glenn bradley]

Great price. Thanks for the tip Prashun.

[Alex Zeller]

Starrett makes these "economy" rules in lots of different lengths up to 6'. I think they call them carpenter's squares.

[Brian Tymchak]

Thanks for tip Prashun. Just ordered one.

[Mel Fulks]

I like the harbor freight 1/8 x 1and 5/8x 48 They always have a bunch, so you can check two or many more together
for straightness. But they are all good. Marked sensible USA style on one edge and "foreign " on the other.

[Matt Day]

I grabbed one too, thanks Prashun. I have a thicker aluminum yard stick (that I think I got as a freebie from someone’s post here years ago) but it doesn’t start at 0, which is inconvenient for woodworking.

[Prashun Patel]

It does start at 0 - at least 0-ish.

[Ellery Becnel]

I picked up two of them also.

Thanks for the tip.

[Derek Meyer]

Thank you for the tip. I just ordered 2 as well. They were $8.55 each.

I feel better about them not being fakes as they are sold and shipped by Amazon and not a third party seller.

[ChrisA Edwards]

Mine arrived this afternoon from Amazon......

[John K Jordan]

Thanks. I just ordered one too after reading your description.

I got the rule today an it looks great. I'm glad it's a meter stick instead of a yard stick.

The conversions on the back are OK but I would have preferred a that face to mirror the first. The information on how to read a mm scale in cm is amusing. The conversions are in need of a bit of editing for consistency, accuracy, completeness, and spelling. Some of the conversions are rounded to two significant digits and some to one. Of those few I checked one number is simply wrong, off by about 20%. I didn't know there were .26 US gallons in a "liger" (a cross between a male lion and female tiger). :) And one conversion is missing, the number of square inches per sq cm:

440155

Overall not a big deal. The price is excellent for the size of the scale and the edges are surprisingly straight. I'll get a lot of use from this. I might order another.

JKJ

[Prashun Patel]

I totally agree!!! It is a little bit of a pain having to flip it around and I think it would have been better to have metric going left to right and right to left on one side and imperial l2r and r2l on the back face. That would have made it perfect.

That bit about omitting the zeros to “convert” mm to cm is priceless!!!

[Alex Zeller]

You can buy them directly from Starrett for about the same price. I'm sure there will be shipping charges though. I'm guessing that these come from their China plant. But someone really needs to check on those conversions. I would love to see someone use a meter stick to measure a hectare.

https://www.starrett.com/category/jobsite--shop-tools/carpenter-rules/310203#currentPage=1&displayMode=grid&itemsPerPage=12&sortBy=wp/asc

[John K Jordan]

You can buy them directly from Starrett for about the same price. I'm sure there will be shipping charges though. I'm guessing that these come from their China plant. But someone really needs to check on those conversions. I would love to see someone use a meter stick to measure a hectare.

https://www.starrett.com/category/jobsite--shop-tools/carpenter-rules/310203#currentPage=1&displayMode=grid&itemsPerPage=12&sortBy=wp/asc

Yes, it was marked Made in China somewhere, probably on the package label. I sent feedback to Starrett.

JKJ

[Jim Becker]

If I need to do a conversion, I use the computers in the shop as Google will do it very nicely. Reading tables isn't my idea of accuracy or fun. :)

[Ben Rivel]

Reegarding conversions, I keep a conversion calc in the shop and use it all the time! (LINK (https://www.calculated.com/prd342/ConversionCalc-Plus-8030-Ultimate-Professional-Conversion-Calculator.html))

[Prashun Patel]

I am forever pulling out my phone and searching "X mm to inch fraction" or vice versa.

I printed out tables but they never seem to end up in a convenient location.

I'm considering tatooing the conversion tables on my forearm. The downside with this is that I can't go longer than a cubit. (If I had a nickel for every time I needed to convert square cubits to hectares...)

[mike stenson]

Why convert? It just creates error.

[Ellery Becnel]

Mine came in yesterday, very nice!

[Jim Becker]

Why convert? It just creates error.

I agree with this conceptually and try hard in practice (I prefer metric), but practically, it's sometimes necessary.

[John K Jordan]

I totally agree!!! It is a little bit of a pain having to flip it around and I think it would have been better to have metric going left to right and right to left on one side and imperial l2r and r2l on the back face. That would have made it perfect.

That bit about omitting the zeros to “convert” mm to cm is priceless!!!

A Starrett Engineering and Quality Manager wrote back to me today:

"We’ve seen these issues in the past and thought they had been addressed but as you noticed we still have some work to do. Thanks for bringing it up to our attention. We’ll work on getting these rules right and we’ll keep your comments in mind on how to improve the product."

[Tyler Bancroft]

Has anyone checked these for straightness? I've read reviews of their cheap squares that said they weren't true. Just curious.

[Jim Becker]

Has anyone checked these for straightness? I've read reviews of their cheap squares that said they weren't true. Just curious.
Rules like this are made for measuring distance and likely shouldn't be used as a reference for "absolutely straight", such as for tool setup.

[lowell holmes]

I have a metal yardstick I bought at Lows or Home Depot. I do not remember which.

It is handy to own.

[Tyler Bancroft]

Like I said, more curious about the quality of the low-end Starrett stuff than anything else. I've been wary of touching it based on the reviews on the squares.

[mike stenson]

While I didn't pull out the feeler gauges, mine looks pretty flat on my jointer bed.

[Matt Day]

Like I said, more curious about the quality of the low-end Starrett stuff than anything else. I've been wary of touching it based on the reviews on the squares.

This isn’t a square, obviously. And I agreed that buying a low end square will likely give you low end results.

Mine came in today and it looks nice. Better than what it’s replacing for sure. A whole lotta box for this square. Sorry Earth.

[Prashun Patel]

I own two of their 9inch cheap squares. They are great . I have never checked them for absolute accuracy. However I do use them for table saw and jointer fence set up and for checking square edges before glue up. The wide, long blade balances well and works well for all of this.

When I bought them I really only wanted them for rough strike offs and crude set up for breaking down dimensional lumber.

But they work for me. Ymmv.

[Zac wingert]

Is it straight enough for general woodworking? The empire ones I have now are ok for rough measurement, but they are not straight. Put it on my table saw table and there is a 1/16 to 1/8 arc. Is this one reasonably straight, like to check if a glue up is flat?

[Prashun Patel]

I don't use it for checking for flat. Here's the reason why: it's a flexible and long and thin. This means it's difficult to put it up on its edge and rock it and look under for light. I can't really do it one handed with a one meter ruler. I have a reliable wider straight edge for checking jointed edges and panel flatness.

This ruler, IMHO, is best used for marking - and only when machinist precision isn't required. For me, in practice, that's 95% of the time.