8’ straight edge

[Mark Gibney]

I have the opportunity to pick up an 8’ long Starrett straightedge for a good price.
But apart from trueing long planer beds would I use this edge much in woodworking?
I have a 72” long carpet layers steel “straight edge” that I use right now, but I’d go get the 8’ if I thought it would be of use.
Thank!

[Dave Zellers]

I would take your 6' carpet straight edge with you and put it on the Starrett. If your 6' rule is true, you don't really need the 8'. IMO.

[Dave Zellers]

I would take your 6' carpet straight edge with you and put it on the Starrett. If your 6' rule is true, you don't really need the 8'. IMO.

Having said that, how can anyone pass up an 8' Starrett at a reasonable price???

Then again, what if your 6' is true and the Starrett is not? Life can get so complicated. :D

[Andrew Hughes]

Unless it’s been stored and handled properly it’s a toss up if it’s still as accurate as new.
Might be only the name remains good.

[Matt Day]

I’d pick it up in a heart beat. Would be excellent for aligning jointer beds and as a long reference good for things like sheet goods.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I'd buy it, I currently use a heavy piece of 2x3 steel tubing for a "straight" edge that long, it'd be nice to have something less cumbersome.

[Bill Space]

I would buy it, but the other side of the coin is “if you need to ask you probably do not need it.” :)

[Ron Selzer]

It would be in my shop by now if I had the opportunity your have
Ron

[Ed Aumiller]

Depends, what is a good price ??? and will it actually get used ???

[Mark Gibney]

The seller wants $300. I feel that’s a good price so long as it’s in good condition of course.
I am going by in the morning to take a look.
Wish me luck!

[Kevin Jenness]

I didn't know Starrett made an 8' straightedge. The longest steel straightedge on their website is 72" listing for $615. $300 for an 8' in good shape would be a steal- if you need it.

It will be heavy and require careful storage.

How will you check it for accuracy?

I have a 6' Starrett that only comes out of its box when I move my jointer or someone needs to borrow it to check theirs. It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to have an accurate reference but practically speaking I could live without it. Except I know I will probably need it again one day and I don't know where else I would lay my hands on one. So yes, run out and buy it, and don't look back.

[Walter Plummer]

I have a 6' Starrett. It takes two hands to move it around. This is a good thing when marking or cutting but sometimes hinders getting it "on the marks" by myself. I also have a 12 foot Starrett rule rule from Ebay that I use maybe once a year. More of a conversation piece. "Bet you haven't seen one of these"

[Andrew Hughes]

The seller wants $300. I feel that’s a good price so long as it’s in good condition of course.
I am going by in the morning to take a look.
Wish me luck!

I have a 6 ft from Suburbantools it’s stored in a cardboard tube hanging from the end. I do this because it’s precision ground. If it gets dropped or stored on its side and picks up a twist or bend it’s just another piece of steel.
I saw that one on Craigslist sitting on its side hanging over the bench. If you can get it cheaper and have it re ground that would make it a deal.
Im looking for a granite for a friend one that doesn’t weigh 6000 pounds. That how I came across it.
Good Luck Mark

[Mark Gibney]

Thanks Andrew. I imagine it would cost a small fortune to have that edge re-ground if it needs it.
What’s the best way to check if the edge is true?

[Warren Lake]

6 foot precision ground from a shear blade, 1/2" thick never weighed it but its serious weight, it sits in my home hanging on a wall.

[Andrew Hughes]

Thanks Andrew. I imagine it would cost a small fortune to have that edge re-ground if it needs it.
What’s the best way to check if the edge is true?
I don’t know if there’s a best way.
Im trying to remember a place in La that could definitely re grind it. Before I bought one from Suburban tools I had spoken to them about making one. And it was cheaper to buy one. But I didn’t have the steel there different levels of straightness when it comes to precision.
Good Luck

[Prashun Patel]

I’d get it if I could get a great deal on it.

However, I personally have never had a need for one. I have used my 5ft straight edge to test for flat over 9 ft table tops. For wood, I can usually get away with this.

Large machines may require more precision. Do you have any of those that need this?

[Dave Zellers]

I had no idea it would cost that much. $300 for a straight edge? For woodworking??? Must be nice.

Total waste of money. Stick with your 6' carpet edge. Assuming it's straight. I have an old 78" Craftsman level that I don't use as a level anymore, but it is still as straight as can be. If this were a machinist forum, I would say go for it, but there must be a special woodworking tool you've had your eye on- I'd spend my money on that. I don't care how perfectly you dial in your jointer. Wood moves.

[Mark Gibney]

Yes guys you might be right. I've lived this long without it, true, but the words 8' Starrett straight edge is like a siren song and I got this magnetic pull towards it.

Because of what Andrew said about the way straight edge must be stored and handled I went back to the ad and looked more closely at the photos. The piece shows a lot of wear marks from use, and I'm less enamored of getting it.
I'll sleep on it.

[Warren Lake]

years back working on a job had issues with a material I hadnt worked in before. It was not behaving. All hand picked material I could not afford to ruin any of it. I stopped and figured maybe the 50 year old jointer was finally wearing out.

I used the straightedge and checked it never having checked or set up a jointer that way before. It was out so I recorded it and started with shims. Maybe six to 8 tries and it was within in .0005. More accuracy than needed but not much time.

I started back into the material and it was still misbehaving just the same. The straightedge paid for itself right there as it ruled out the machine being the issue.

[Mel Fulks]

Such things are like Siren's songs... but my own suspicious mind would always wonder if the guy sold it because he once
dropped it ....and lost confidence in its mojo. I made an 8 foot straight edge about 30 years ago....because I wanted one.
It's had little use. Used it once to draw the lines for an accurate , in my latitude , sundial.

[Andrew Seemann]

I'm using an 8 foot long piece of 2" x 3" box aluminum as my long straight edge. It is more than accurate enough for my needs. Thing is when you get to 8 feet long and talk about measuring things to ten thousandths, it starts taking a lot of knowledge and skill. Things like uniform temperature start becoming important. At one shop I worked at, the foreman would freak out if the good 24" B&S machinist's square got left in the sun.

[Jim Matthews]

$300?

Izzit gold plated?

[Frederick Skelly]

Because of what Andrew said about the way straight edge must be stored and handled I went back to the ad and looked more closely at the photos. The piece shows a lot of wear marks from use, and I'm less enamored of getting it.
I'll sleep on it.

I think based on this I would pass. Seems like there's a reason he's selling it so cheaply, and you just found it - the tool hasn't been properly cared for and there's risk it is no longer accurate. Unless you can find a good way to check it.

Good luck Mark.

[Bobby Robbinett]

That is a steal of a deal. I would have bought it yesterday if I were you. New that thing was probably north of $2k. Maybe more. If you are concerned you could take it to a machinist and have him check it and regrind if necessary. Shouldn’t cost that much.

[Kevin Jenness]

Machine shops capable of truing up an 8' straightedge to precision specs are not on every corner. I had my 6 footer dialed in to less than .001" by a certified shop in the midwest which cost about $300 years ago. Large scale precision is not inexpensive. Depends how good you need it to be.

[Mark Gibney]

I slept on it and decided not to buy this straight edge. Thank you all for your opinions and rationales. If I felt I could really use it I would have accepted perhaps having to have it re-ground, but you're all correct in asking how much I'd actually use it. Best that it goes to a machine shop.
Cheers

[Patrick Kane]

8’ is probably overkill for 95% of the time. Extremely handy for setting up jointer beds, however. I have a 4’ starrett that I bought second hand from a machinist and I treat it like a China doll. Like you, I looked at a 72” starrett a year ago and was very tempted to buy it. But, I had just set up my latest jointer, and really didn’t feel like digging into the calibration again. I do wish there was a means of renting a straight edge for a day. I would have paid $100 to have an 8’ starrett for a day when I did my jointer beds.

To the guys that think $300 for a straight edge is a lot of money, you all need to get out more. Long and accurate straight edges are incredibly expensive. They are also worthwhile to own and valuable. Doesn’t make much sense to have a $5,000+ jointer surfacing $$$ of wood each year into non flat boards.

[Mark Hennebury]

Metal moves and so does granite; and for some reason the people that use them still care about precision and manage to achieve it.
Exactly how straight is " as straight as can be"
A straight edge is "a special woodworking tool"
"Total waste of money".... to you.

Reference tools are incredibly important part of setting up equipment and producing precision parts efficiently.



I had no idea it would cost that much. $300 for a straight edge? For woodworking??? Must be nice.

Total waste of money. Stick with your 6' carpet edge. Assuming it's straight. I have an old 78" Craftsman level that I don't use as a level anymore, but it is still as straight as can be. If this were a machinist forum, I would say go for it, but there must be a special woodworking tool you've had your eye on- I'd spend my money on that. I don't care how perfectly you dial in your jointer. Wood moves.

[Mel Fulks]

The steel straight edges are ok.....but the REAL craftsman will insist on platinum !! That's what the Bureau Of Standards
uses for their stuff...even the "yard sticks"! I'm thinking there might be a you tube guy who makes straight edges out of old Platinum Cards.

[Bradley Gray]

I set up my 9' long 16" jointer with a 10' piece of steel drip edge. About $5 for a fresh one.

[Brian Holcombe]

I setup my jointer with a machinist level and a short straight edge. You all know by now my fetish for precision but in
this case I have not found much need for very long straight edges. The ones that are manageable by hand are not very precision and the precise ones are quite heavy. If you can get a nice big one that is heavy as heck and precise, get it. If it’s a piece of 3/8” steel I’d pass.

I bought one from Starrett, it arrived with a curve and would not stand up on its own, immediately realizing the limits of such a design I returned it and contracted a friend to scrap up a real straight edge made from a piece of cast iron tubing that is pretty heavy. The tube is 41” long, flat square and parallel to a couple ten-thousandths (.0001”). When I use it, which is rarely, I have no doubts.

[Mel Fulks]

I neglected to say how I made mine. Used a piece of 8' tempered Masonite. Glued white laminate on both sides with
plastic resin glue. Let the glued up blank hang on the wall for a few weeks before moving on. Only one edge was filed
straight and tapered thin. I can make a line and turn the piece around and it fits everywhere. Also made a 5 footer and a
3 footer. They are occasionally used. I'm guessing all of them are about 4 and 1/2 inches wide.

[Dave Zellers]

I neglected to say how I made mine. Used a piece of 8' tempered Masonite. Glued white laminate on both sides with
plastic resin glue. Let the glued up blank hang on the wall for a few weeks before moving on. Only one edge was filed
straight and tapered thin. I can make a line and turn the piece around and it fits everywhere. Also made a 5 footer and a
3 footer. They are occasionally used. I'm guessing all of them are about 4 and 1/2 inches wide.

I am actually very interested in this as I am right now doing a laminate counter and will end up with significant 8' laminate cutoffs. What thickness Masonite? 1/4"? Is the theory that laminate is super stable and will stabilize the Masonite? It makes sense that laminate would be very stable as it is mostly resin. Would 1/2" or 3/4" MDF be even better? I am liking the sound of this. I am going to have plenty of laminate and contact cement left over after this job. If I could knock off some 8 foot MDF (or HDF or the moisture resistant MDF) straight edges that were stable, that would be awesome. This totally seems doable.

[Mark Gibney]

I called the seller this morning to tell him I wouldn't be coming by, and we had a good chat.
Turns out he also has a 12' Starrett. Incredible. He said he was thinking of cutting that in half to make two 6' straight edges, but hadn't decided yet one way or the other.
He told me he got them both from Lockheed.
So if anyone wants two super long straight edges from Santa, check out the Ventura County craigslist, and buy yourself some stretchy stockings.

[Andrew Hughes]

12 ft Wow that’s cool Mark now we have Rocket science and woodworking together as one. :)
I’m still trying to remember the outfit in La that I spoke too.

[Mel Fulks]

Dave, I consider your interest a fine compliment. I had no guidance,just thought it would work. There was plenty of
old laminate and my employer allowed me to use it and the plastic resin glue. Masonite is available tempered and un tempered ,I would only use the tempered 1/4 inch. I think if I ever made another one ,I would use the same method.
Mine can be sprung side ways, but it would it take some effort. Since Masonite is denser than mdf I think if I made another
one I would use the Masonite again, not MDF. But using two layers of Masonite might work well. Mine can be sprung
side ways, but it would take considerable force ,it definately won't move in use. I would not trust contact cement ,but
yellow glue would probably work ok. I like the rigid quality of the plastic resin glue, I always let it sit 10 or 15 minutes
after mixing. Feel free to PM me.

[Dave Zellers]

Cool. Seems very straight forward. Thanks.


Dave, I consider your interest a fine compliment. I had no guidance,just thought it would work. There was plenty of
old laminate and my employer allowed me to use it and the plastic resin glue. Masonite is available tempered and un tempered ,I would only use the tempered 1/4 inch. I think if I ever made another one ,I would use the same method.
Mine can be sprung side ways, but it would it take some effort. Since Masonite is denser than mdf I think if I made another
one I would use the Masonite again, not MDF. But using two layers of Masonite might work well. Mine can be sprung
side ways, but it would take considerable force ,it definately won't move in use. I would not trust contact cement ,but
yellow glue would probably work ok. I like the rigid quality of the plastic resin glue, I always let it sit 10 or 15 minutes
after mixing. Feel free to PM me.

[Mel Fulks]

Straight edge: make one piece of Masonite wider than the other layers. Then, after everything is glued you can use
that edge against saw fence to get a neat edge rip ....then rip other side. You don't want to be running that stuff over a
jointer !

[Prashun Patel]

BTW, Woodcraft's Black Friday Deal lists Starett 48" aluminum i beam levels at 9.99 a piece.

You could get 2 of them and tape them together. $20. Done.