Thread: Straight edges

Originally Posted by The Spin Doctor

What it's needed for will dictate the answer.

Very much so!

eg. when building a houseframe a long alu box section works very well as a straight edge. As a bonus, you can use it to screed concrete when necessary. After all, millimetric precision isn't required.

Shorter lengths, such as spirit levels, can work nicely for tasks like checking jointer tables are aligned, etc.

But if you need the sort of precision wherein a sliver of light betwixt edge and surface matters, then a box section of anything is less useful. Even if it is perfectly straight to within a fraction of a mm.

That's when 'flat iron' type straight edges - such as rulers - come into their own.

I do have a couple of relatively expensive dedicated straight edges but they only get broken out when absolutely required, to ensure that they stay accurate references. There's little worse than dropping one when simply marking a straight line on some rough-sawn.

Won't mention brands here as I've had bad experiences with the 'best' and good ones with the 'worst.' It's a subjective thing, I guess..