Combo Square ?s

[Joe Wood]

The little square's blade lock isn't locking, can't figure out what's wrong?

also, I've been wanting to clean both up so they're easier to read, so what's the corect way to do that??

463684

[Jim Becker]

Is the spring missing by any chance?

[Walter Plummer]

In one of mine the little part that rides in the groove in the blade bent. Guess I tightened it to much. Pull the blade and sight through the slot and check.

[Frank Pratt]

To clean the ruler, I used 220 sandpaper and an uncushioned sanding block to sand all the rust & schmutz off. It worked well & as a bonus it flattened all the humps left by the crude embossing process, which tightened up the lines significantly. Made it look almost like a Starrett. If the paint is gone from the lines, you can apply some black paint prior to sanding the surface smooth.

A coat of paste wax made for smoother action.

[John K Jordan]

To clean the ruler, I used 220 sandpaper and an uncushioned sanding block to sand all the rust & schmutz off. It worked well & as a bonus it flattened all the humps left by the crude embossing process, which tightened up the lines significantly. Made it look almost like a Starrett. If the paint is gone from the lines, you can apply some black paint prior to sanding the surface smooth.

A coat of paste wax made for smoother action.

I did a very similar thing but used 400 and 600 grit. Improved the look an old combo square a lot.
Of course, there's nothing like a new Starrett! (in appearance and smoothness of operation) :)

JKJ

[Joe Wood]

some things for me to check now, thanks fellas!

[Joe Wood]

would a flat black rusteoleum be a good paint?

[johnny means]

I rub mine down with a Scotchbrite pad to clean up tarnish.

[Cassius Nielsen]

I'd start with 0000 steel wool on the rusty ruler, always easy to go with something coarser if that does not do it. The small one just looks like it has some crud on the surface, I'd start with mineral spirits and paper towels on that one.

[Frank Pratt]

would a flat black rusteoleum be a good paint?

Anything black would work. I even used a sharpie to blacken the markings on one of mine & it was fine.

[Joe Wood]

Great tip Frank!

[Rich Engelhardt]

would a flat black rusteoleum be a good paint?India ink would be much better than paint since it's thinner.

[Aaron Rosenthal]

Joe, as far as the knob not locking, try speaking to Lee Valley, They nave parts for squares and it fixed up my square greatly.

[Warren Lake]

I always use a small flat file like a points file on the body edges where the blade slides. They are usually sharp. That makes the blade slide better.

[Tom M King]

The first thing I do when one gets aggravating, is to spray a blast of brake cleaner down the slot to clean off the little keeper that the knob tightens down into the groove. I don't remember that ever not working, if it had been locking nicely before.

[Joe Wood]

yeah I need to get out to the shop and check these things, been stuck in the office!

[michael langman]

I was taught to use blue dykem to darken the engraved lines on steel rules in the shop. The black sharpies last for a little while for a quick fix as stated above .