Starrett square - rule damage

[worker]

I bought my Starrett combi kit (435ME-300) just over a year ago and today while doing some oiling, I noticed loads of bumps, ridges and scratches on the rule where the combi square head tightens against it.

Has anyone ever seen this before?

I've always treated this thing like a baby, keeping it away from other tools and keeping it in the original box after use. It cost close to £200 as a 'buy once, cry once' purchase so I wasn't planning to let it get damaged!

I only use it a few hours a week at most and part of the reason I bought it because these are supposed to be lifetime tools, within reason.

I'm feeling quite gutted at the moment. I've emailed Starrett to see what they say.

 

[Trafalgar]

200 pounds... not worth that. The ruler is apparently not hardened. The older ones were I believe. Cost-cutting rears its ugly head again.

 

[worker]

It says hardened on it, I expected it to be a lot tougher. It's seen very light use

 

[Phill05]

What is the D part like that runs in the slot? from the images it almost looks like the blade has been laminated.

 

[Jacob]

Looks like a rip-off fake.
I've had a Rabone square for about 50 years which has had hundreds of hours of use and misuse but is still good.
Maybe just bin it and buy a cheapo replacement.

 

[ChaiLatte]

If it has taken you a year to see the marks, they can't be too bad.

Starrett quality is not what it once was. Live and learn.

Do the imperfections affect its use or accuracy?

As above, check the part that tightens against the slot to make sure they will not get any worse.

You could dress out those imperfections with a stone or a piece of wet and dry glued to a suitable backing.

If they still bother you, I think the rule might be available on its own as a spare part. Examine it closely on receipt and reject if unsatisfactory.

 

[Ollie78]

Doesn`t seem right to me. maybe they forgot to harden it.

 

[--Tom--]

Have you checked the screw has a clean flat mating surface? A bit of grit embedded in it etc would then indent the steel.

 

[toolsntat]

Be hard pressed to say it's not faulty, where did you buy it from as some outlets like "Workshop Heaven" for example offer a lifetime warranty.
Deductions from your pictures....
This isn't about where you are clamping and using the stock as the damage
is right to the ends.
The part that pulls in the groove possibly has sharp edges or a fault which is drawn sideways in the groove and wearing into it.
Combined with the above the spring drawing the two parts together may be excessively strong/long and not allowing enough slack when sliding the stock along
The rule is possibly not hardened properly, even the graduated corners are looking dubbed over.

Cheers, Andy

 

[worker]

The 'D' part has no visible imperfections or discolouring.

In the last picture, there is black line inside where it meets the steel so I expect that will get worse over time. I don't know yet if accuracy is affected but it has knocked my confidence in it.

It was purchased from an eBay business seller - I checked with Starrett to confirm they were a known distributor.

There was some dust inside the square head but I don't expect that would damage steel. And no chance of metal getting in there, I don't do any metal work.

 

[redhunter350]

The marks look as though they could be machining marks ? where the cutter has torn the material ? But either way it should not be like that -- a replacement would be in order !

I have one which is almost certainly pre WW2 -- I am 80 and got of an old chap who was retiring in the 1960's still as good as the day it was made !

 

[sploo]

The depth of some of those marks almost look like voids in the metal rather than anything that would be caused by scratching the surface.