I am new to woodworking, and am slowly building up my kit. There have been a number of posts recently about accuracy of measuring equipment, and having just got a table saw, I needed a square of some form.
I discovered the Incra gear whilst looking for a router plate. There are a few stockists in the UK, and having found the price at Rutlands for their “guaranteed square”, I started to look online to beat it. As I did so, I looked at the rules that Incra did, but could not find a UK stockiest of imperial ones. I am of the metric generation, but I plan to make a number of beehives, the plans for which are all imperial. I was therefore set my mind to getting the imperial ones.
I placed an order with Amazon for the Incra square, and the 12” measuring rule set. Unfortunately, Amazon USA ships to the UK through their export company- there is no longer the lottery of import duty and the potential for ultra cheap gear- now you have to pay it. Neverthe less, it represented a saving of £20+ for ordering from the USA. The complete bill was £90 and was with me in exactly 1 week. The pictures are from the Incra website- they are better than I could take!
The Guaranteed Square is crafted from a substantial lump of aluminium. Well, the blade is. There are 2 further piece which go either side of the blade for a handle, and to allow you to put along the edge of a board to mark a 90. I went for the larger 7”. It has a substantial feel to it- it is difficult to describe, but it feels like modern quality. I wouldn’t want to drop it on my foot. Those that like an ebonized and brass affair will no doubt be disappointed- this is not quite as tactile, but it feels expensive- much like a maglite torch does. The finish is anodized in gold, with red handles. I have had a play whilst setting up my saw- I have no inspection grade surfaces to check the claims against, but it says that it is guaranteed to be within 1thou form nominal (I assume that this is a tolerance of 2thou), and because of its construction, it won’t be affected if dropped. I was impressed by the square, but it arrived in a foam lined cardboard box. I would personally have preferred either wooden or plastic, but I don’t suppose that the packaging will be subjected to arduous conditions- it will be in use, or in the cupboard. It is worth thinking about if people are planning for it to be used on sites etc. There is not a great deal more to say- it is a square, which was far from cheap, but I am very happy with.
The rule set is something else, and is absolutely fantastic. The rules have holes at each measuring point that a 0.5mm pencil lead fits into. Raiding the stationary cupboard at work resulted in a couple of these clicky type pencils, so they are not rare or expensive. There was actually one supplied too. The set consists of:
A measuring rule. A straight affair with measurements down to 64th’s of an inch. This is probably the least revolutionary of the rules- I did think about whether to get the set, or the 2 of the 3 that I really wanted. That said, it will be useful. My criticism of this is that it is made from very thin stainless steel, probably so that the idea will work, and as such it feels rather delicate. Hold one end and the other droops- like holding one end of a piece of cooked asparagus. I am sure that it is not as delicate as it feels, but I will need to make some form of case to protect it. The corners are ultra sharp- I caught a finger on it somehow, and it cut like a knife. There are some slots on this rule to draw lines. I am told by Google (one review hidden somewhere) that you can use a marking knife on these. I do not have one to try it.
The T rule. This is a similar stainless rule to the above, but has a piece of aluminium on it, so that you can hook it over a board. This one offers marking holes at 16ths, 32nds and 64ths, as well as a scale for measuring vertically, such as router table cutting height. Again it feels delicate, again I will need to make a case, but it offers the potential for quick , easy and super accurate marking out. It is straightforward to mark out parallel lines by sliding the t bar down the edge of the board whilst keeping the pencil in the hole. There are 3 scales on the rule, so if you are using 16ths, you do not need to look at the 64ths between them.
The bend rule. This is a 90 degree rule that sits over the edge of a board, offering the chance to mark the top and edge without having to move it. Again, there are slots to draw lines/use a marking knife. There is a vertical scale on this rule too. As before- need to make a case, but these are not going to be abused- they will be used, and put pack into a cupboard. They are workshop tools, rather than site tools. The bend rule, due to its shape is more rigid than the others.
The rule set was expensive. There is no two ways about it, but it is one of those products that is just so good that if I lost them tomorrow, I would replace them with exactly the same. I have only had a play on some scraps of wood- I don’t doubt that I will find them even better when used on projects. I would thoroughly recommend them to anybody, and I plan to get a few of the other bits in due course- the protractor, centering rule to name but two.
Mark
I discovered the Incra gear whilst looking for a router plate. There are a few stockists in the UK, and having found the price at Rutlands for their “guaranteed square”, I started to look online to beat it. As I did so, I looked at the rules that Incra did, but could not find a UK stockiest of imperial ones. I am of the metric generation, but I plan to make a number of beehives, the plans for which are all imperial. I was therefore set my mind to getting the imperial ones.
I placed an order with Amazon for the Incra square, and the 12” measuring rule set. Unfortunately, Amazon USA ships to the UK through their export company- there is no longer the lottery of import duty and the potential for ultra cheap gear- now you have to pay it. Neverthe less, it represented a saving of £20+ for ordering from the USA. The complete bill was £90 and was with me in exactly 1 week. The pictures are from the Incra website- they are better than I could take!
The Guaranteed Square is crafted from a substantial lump of aluminium. Well, the blade is. There are 2 further piece which go either side of the blade for a handle, and to allow you to put along the edge of a board to mark a 90. I went for the larger 7”. It has a substantial feel to it- it is difficult to describe, but it feels like modern quality. I wouldn’t want to drop it on my foot. Those that like an ebonized and brass affair will no doubt be disappointed- this is not quite as tactile, but it feels expensive- much like a maglite torch does. The finish is anodized in gold, with red handles. I have had a play whilst setting up my saw- I have no inspection grade surfaces to check the claims against, but it says that it is guaranteed to be within 1thou form nominal (I assume that this is a tolerance of 2thou), and because of its construction, it won’t be affected if dropped. I was impressed by the square, but it arrived in a foam lined cardboard box. I would personally have preferred either wooden or plastic, but I don’t suppose that the packaging will be subjected to arduous conditions- it will be in use, or in the cupboard. It is worth thinking about if people are planning for it to be used on sites etc. There is not a great deal more to say- it is a square, which was far from cheap, but I am very happy with.
The rule set is something else, and is absolutely fantastic. The rules have holes at each measuring point that a 0.5mm pencil lead fits into. Raiding the stationary cupboard at work resulted in a couple of these clicky type pencils, so they are not rare or expensive. There was actually one supplied too. The set consists of:
A measuring rule. A straight affair with measurements down to 64th’s of an inch. This is probably the least revolutionary of the rules- I did think about whether to get the set, or the 2 of the 3 that I really wanted. That said, it will be useful. My criticism of this is that it is made from very thin stainless steel, probably so that the idea will work, and as such it feels rather delicate. Hold one end and the other droops- like holding one end of a piece of cooked asparagus. I am sure that it is not as delicate as it feels, but I will need to make some form of case to protect it. The corners are ultra sharp- I caught a finger on it somehow, and it cut like a knife. There are some slots on this rule to draw lines. I am told by Google (one review hidden somewhere) that you can use a marking knife on these. I do not have one to try it.
The T rule. This is a similar stainless rule to the above, but has a piece of aluminium on it, so that you can hook it over a board. This one offers marking holes at 16ths, 32nds and 64ths, as well as a scale for measuring vertically, such as router table cutting height. Again it feels delicate, again I will need to make a case, but it offers the potential for quick , easy and super accurate marking out. It is straightforward to mark out parallel lines by sliding the t bar down the edge of the board whilst keeping the pencil in the hole. There are 3 scales on the rule, so if you are using 16ths, you do not need to look at the 64ths between them.
The bend rule. This is a 90 degree rule that sits over the edge of a board, offering the chance to mark the top and edge without having to move it. Again, there are slots to draw lines/use a marking knife. There is a vertical scale on this rule too. As before- need to make a case, but these are not going to be abused- they will be used, and put pack into a cupboard. They are workshop tools, rather than site tools. The bend rule, due to its shape is more rigid than the others.
The rule set was expensive. There is no two ways about it, but it is one of those products that is just so good that if I lost them tomorrow, I would replace them with exactly the same. I have only had a play on some scraps of wood- I don’t doubt that I will find them even better when used on projects. I would thoroughly recommend them to anybody, and I plan to get a few of the other bits in due course- the protractor, centering rule to name but two.
Mark
