Thread: Colen Clenton square - which wood?

I ended up buying Colen's 8" Ebony square on Saturday at the show.
He is such a genuine, all-round great bloke.
The pic with the two squares was my first ever square that I bought about 2 years ago. I think Colen's is slighty straighter, what do you think?

I went for Ebony and I'm still very happy with it.
Enjoy
Kevin

Simms, just to add to the chorus of positive experiences with CC squares. I bought my 6" She-oak square back in his early days. It is the perfect size for 99% of what I do, so it is in constant use. Sometime in it's first year or two, it got knocked off the bench & had a very hard landing, which resulted in a hairline crack above the brass dowel the blade pivots on. Since it was my own fault, I was prepared to just wear it, or figure out how to fix it myself. However, I happened to mention it to Colen at the next woodshow & asked if I could buy a new stock from him. He would have none of that, saying it just shouldn't have happened, & without the slightest hesitation, took the cracked stock back & gave me a new one. That was a long time ago, and the square has had a couple more falls since (I don't think I'm careless by any means, but it's inevitable that a tool that gets as much use as this one has the occasional accident). The stock has remained as sound as a bell (& stable!) and at such times it's reassuring to check & adjust for square if necessary.

Since acquiring my CC square I have become a big fan of using she-oak for all sorts of tools that I make. I have harvested quite a bit of it myself, and can vouch that it certainly doesn't shrink by 12% along the grain, or anything like it! It is horribly prone to radial cracking if not handled carefully, but once dry, it seems to be an extremely stable wood. It's a common weed tree () on the old farm where I grew up, and great for stove-fodder, so I steal some of my brother's firewood every now & then, when I get up there.

I think whoever wrote that in Wikipedia made a typo, & put the decimal point two digits to the right. I doubt there is a wood anywhere in the world with longitudinal shrinkage of 12%, but maybe there is......

Cheers,

Thanks very much for all your responses. Very informative. The Blackwood has been growing on me over the last few days, so in the end I've ordered that, but if I buy any more of Colen's tools, they'll probably be She-oak. Ian, thanks for your comments about making your own tools from the stuff. I also agree with Fletty in that tools should be considered individually, and not part nof a set.

Well I said I'd post a pic when the square arrived, so here you go. I figure when you're spending like this, people like to see as many examples as possible. Photos from my phone don't really do it justice, as you might expect. On my screen the third photo is the closest representation of the actual appearance of the timber. The precision of each edge and the overall finish is exceptional. It's dead square as delivered, so I probably won't be touching the adjuster screws for a while.

Presenting Colen Clenton's 8" try square in Blackwood:

Very nice!
You'll find it a joy to use. I have been using mine quite alot recently and you'll soon forget the cost when you start using it.

Andy

Andy - you may have trouble getting the exact Starrett combination square you want, e.g. a 6" combination square in metric.

I bought mine from here - they have a selection wizard that basically lets you specify exactly the square you are after.

Starrett Combination Square Selection Wizard at Tools for Working Wood

I was able to get a 6" Starrett combo square, with metric markings, satin chrome finish (which I highly recommend - much easier to read). Shipping is very reasonable, as they will send via standard USPS mail.

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

Andy - you may have trouble getting the exact Starrett combination square you want, e.g. a 6" combination square in metric.

I bought mine from here - they have a selection wizard that basically lets you specify exactly the square you are after.

Starrett Combination Square Selection Wizard at Tools for Working Wood

I was able to get a 6" Starrett combo square, with metric markings, satin chrome finish (which I highly recommend - much easier to read). Shipping is very reasonable, as they will send via standard USPS mail.

Thanks for the link - I ended up getting the CC square instead. However I wouldn't might an adjustable square down the track, so the link will be handy

Originally Posted by fletty

I have a collection of Colen's adjustable squares and they are in use constantly. I have a wheeled caddy that holds router bits, tools specific to different machines, spare parts, light, pens etc etc and the caddy gets wheeled to the machine I'm using at the time. The squares are mounted on the backboard of the caddy so they are always at hand.
I find I check them for square at the beginning of any major project and, about once in every 4 or 5 checks, I find they need an adjustment. When I compare them to my old fixed squares which were 'out' when purchased ... and still are!
I haven't tried to create a matched set (nor have I for HNT's planes) and I enjoy each one as an individual, not part of a set. However my favourite timber from Colen is lace sheoak and my favourite from Terry is on a beautiful coolabah burl 3/4" shoulder plane.
I wouldn't worry about which timber you choose, the square IS adjustable AND Colen is a superethical craftsman and supplier.
fletty

Nice squares Fletty always at hand eh