Recommendation: 36 or 48" rule?

[Ray Newman]

Colleagues: thanks for the information. Just need to decide exactly how much money I want to spend and how much use at age 73 years I will get out of it if I go "high end". Again, thanks.

[Chapel Eastland]

You're 73. Who cares how many years you get out of it? Buy what you want, enjoy it, and don't worry about it.

[Mark Wooden]

I bought a Rabone Chesterman 1 meter/39" rule, 20 or more years ago. Nothing fancy, flexible, easy to read. That, paired with the 12",16" & 24" scales from my squares (and they all agree with each other) has been really all I've ever needed.

[Anuj Prateek]

I have 36" and 48" - aluminum ones from HD.
I have 6/12/18 from Mitutoyo and a blem 24" PEC. Got Mitutoyo rules from zoro.com with their 20-25% off promotion long back. PEC came from eBay.

IMHO PEC is not at par with Mitutoyo. If you are buying new PEC then spend a little more and buy Mitutoyo or similar.

If buying blem PEC then buy from reputable dealer on eBay who would accept returns. I have had good experience with Taylor Tools. Do read the rule thickness. There is a flexible and a rigid version of the rule available. I like rigid ones.

Between 36" and 48", I would suggest 36". I find 48" little too big, so don't use it until and unless needed. If these are meant for one off use then save money and get cheap aluminum ones - even Starrett makes some for $20.

[Mike Cutler]

I never use a rule longer than 24" and reach for a tape measure for longer. Do you guys use the longer rules enough where you reach for them over a tape?

All the time. For every project I do, my Starrett is out on the bench.
I use it to set my fences, mark layouts, and being made of steel it's fairly heavy and can be used as an edge guide for routers and circular saws. I also use it to align the track sections for my track saws.
For most house type projects, how many milled pieces are over 6' long?

[Mike Cutler]

My 4' straight edge is a Starret #387. Very accurate (0.0002" per foot) and would be very expensive to replace.

BUT the smallest division is 1/32". Frankly for wood working I can't imagine the need for a 1/64 division.

Can someone enlighten me why such small divisions would be desirable?

Bill

Every now and then I'm asked to recreate a broken, or missing section, of a piece of furniture, where the dimension was based on whatever ruler was at hand a hundred years ago. It's easier to mark cut to the 64th, than cut to a "skinny", or "fat" 32nd. Not often, but sometimes.
For most wood working, not including machine setup, and very small projects, a 32nd is more than adequate.