Which Square?

[engineer one]

at various times mate we are all newbies, so no worries.

the thing to remember is that when working you often leave your square in odd locations where it can be knocked over or whatever.

so take the view that you need a square that is not going to be used on a day to day basis to ensure that it stays square.

that's all i was suggesting. :lol:

paul :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

I have a sneaking suspicion that my Marples Square is anything but square!

So I want to buy a new one, but which one? Rutlands have many from which to choose ranging from a few pounds to 40 quid for an incra square. Is that really worth it or would the dakota engineering squares be OK (30 quid for 4 different sized squares)?

And when my new square arrives, how will I know it's square?

Cheers
Kirky

Buy an engineers square - they are BS certified square and you know they are square from the box

Even B&Q sell them

 

[Lord Nibbo]

A square to reference off !!! ](*,) :-s

MR's post the second post in is the way to do it I do it the same way but I put a piece of masking tape on where I do the test. Then using a marking knife I cut the tape using the square, then rip of half of the tape I've just cut, now flip the square over and test it against the cut tape edge.

 

[Kirky]

Well the new squares have arrived from Rutlands, described as engineers squares and allegedly square to within 0.001" . They come as set of four, costing 30 quid!

Using MR's square trick, (using a very straight edge- not the edge of my bench as first tried) I tested each one of the squares and all but one seemed to be square. The one that didn't appear to be square must have been a slip on my part, as when tested against any of th other squares, it was definitely square.

I went back and tested the Marples one, the one I suspected was out and it is well out, probably by 2 degrees.

I shall keep one of the squares in the box, to be used purely as a reference, whenever I need it.

BTW, the new squares were covered in some nasty gunk that took ages to clean off, presumably some kind of rust inhibitor, but does anybody know what that stuff is, and why can't they just use a light oil?

Thanks guys.
K

 

[dennyk]

I have had a Rabone combination since I bought new in 1958 it is still square, maybe they don't make them that good any more

 

[George_N]

BTW, the new squares were covered in some nasty gunk that took ages to clean off, presumably some kind of rust inhibitor, but does anybody know what that stuff is, and why can't they just use a light oil?

Thanks guys.
K

The ones I got from Axminster also had a fairly sticky grease all over them which, as you say is probably a rust inhibitor. It is easily cleaned off with white spirit. A wipe over with an oily rag (3-in-1) prevents rust problems in the future.