A Great Budget Ruler

[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.