straight edge

[mclarenf1racer]

I am wondering how you all do your straight edges, I am looking to purchase a straight edge made of metal so that I can draw straight lines on my timber and also if I need to attach it to the timber to run through the router with a bearing guide i can use it for that.
I used a piece of timber as a straight edge today but the bearing started to dig into it.
any info on what yous do and what straight edge to get.

Thanks

 

[myturn]

Depends exactly what you want but I use these from Rutlands, they clamp themselves to the wood and can act as a guide for the router :

http://www.rutlands.co.uk/hand-tool...-system/DKG36/clamp-grip-guide-36"-with-scale

 

[Harbo]

I have a similar one bought from Axminster - never used it with my Router but plenty of times with my circular saw.

Rod

 

[yetloh]

Yes, you are better off with a guide rail for machines. For marking out, I use one of these http://www.mehr-als-werkzeug.de/product/707255/Precision-Rule-Semi-rigid-design-300-mm/detail.jsf

If you want a truly accurate straight edge for checking edges for jointing or plane soles for flatness an engineer's straightedge is the best tool. High quality (and there is no point in buying anything else) examples are very expensive but can sometimes be found at good secondhand tool shops.

Jim

 

[squib]

I have a 9 foot lenght of about 60mm by 6mm ally that i bought from the local posh horsebox maker for £15 which i screw to waney boards and then pass them over the table saw, also use it for marking out and it seems very accurate but i use an engineers edge for planes etc.

 

[Rob Platt]

Window framing as used by shopfitting companies.
I also got my square around cut on one of their machines and a mitre.
All the best
rob

 

[Jacob]

If I want a physical straight edge I use lengths of B&Q MFC, 8' x 6" etc. But otherwise do it by looking - if it looks straight then it's straight enough for me.
Saw boards are good. Very precise and much better then they look.
Google "saw board" (or "sawboard") for variations

 

[bugbear]

High quality (and there is no point in buying anything else) examples are very expensive but can sometimes be found at good secondhand tool shops.

Jim

A second hand example may or may not have been dropped, bent or otherwise abused. Only certified accuracy is reliable; everything else is guess work.

That being said, I have quite a lot of s/h high end metrology, because the ergonmics tend to be good.

BugBear

 

[bugbear]

If I want a physical straight edge I use lengths of B&Q MFC, 8' x 6" etc. But otherwise do it by looking - if it looks straight then it's straight enough for me.
Saw boards are good. Very precise and much better then they look.
Google "saw board" (or "sawboard") for variations

Ohh - I remember these from a long gone site. Hang on (google)

http://replay.waybackmachine.org/199812 ... /sawbd.htm

I have no idea is this guy invented them. He also had some VERY good ideas for exploiting mitre clamps.

BugBear

 

[jumps]

I have a similar one bought from Axminster - never used it with my Router but plenty of times with my circular saw.

Rod

I have these (different lengths) as well and they are very useful in a number of capacities.

When it coms down to 'absolute straight edge' there are always going to be alternatives with varied price/convinence/accuracy elements.

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

Steel rules or guide clamps for smaller pieces and for long pieces an aluminum plasters edge from wicks. You can clamp them down and run a c/saw down the thick end no trouble. (It was originally brought to be used as a plasters edge but it wasn't very good at that)

 

[Stoday]

I also have the straight edge from Rutlands. I don't use it frequently but it is a nice tool to handle and I recommend it.

If you go for it, get the 50" version so that you can cut an 8' X 4' board one way.

 

[jimi43]

For most people who are not involved in building the next Space Shuttle, most commercial straight edges are more than adequate for DIY/semi-pro work.

This whole topic of the "perfect" straight edge is as pointless as the perfect surface plate subject....where "near enough" is going to be perfectly adequate for most jobs.

I have a reference set square which I occasionally use to check my Starrett one but to be honest...it's never wrong...so that is also just for checking. My old man used to use a folded newspaper to do the same thing...it was a tad cheaper and mathematically...very accurate! (The London Times was more accurate than The Sun though! :mrgreen: )

If you are looking for something to clamp up as an instant fence...any of the snap clamp aluminium straight edges are good...some are better at clamping than others and some will undoubtedly last longer than others. This is the ONLY Dakota tool that I have and it works "ok". My other one...which was a bootfair find is, I think, a Trend....and it simply clamps better.

Jim

 

[Dodge]

so that is also just for checking. My old man

Jim

Had to read that twice, then spotted the fullstop!

 

[bosshogg]

The most reliable strait line is produced by a chalk line...you can't fix it to piece of timber and use it as a guide though, but you can use your imagination.

bosshogg

 

[RogerS]

If I want a physical straight edge I use lengths of B&Q MFC, 8' x 6" etc. But otherwise do it by looking - if it looks straight then it's straight enough for me.
Saw boards are good. Very precise and much better then they look.
Google "saw board" (or "sawboard") for variations

This is getting to be a bit of a habit but once more, I find myself in agreement with Jacob.

 

[mclarenf1racer]

thank you to all so far for your replies, appreciated, can I ask what B&Q, 'MFC' stands for.
like that idea of the sawboard, thanks

 

[jimi43]

thank you to all so far for your replies, appreciated, can I ask what B&Q, 'MFC' stands for.
like that idea of the sawboard, thanks

B&Q is a chain DIY store like Home Depot....and MFC is Melamine Faced Chipboard which is basically bits of wood...squeezed together under pressure with a bonding agent (glue) and covered with a synthetic hard top (melamine).

Jim

 

[mclarenf1racer]

thanks Jim, was aware of the B&Q bit but not the MFC bit, and now I know, can add that to my huge list of abbreviations.
Its good to see how other peeps get the same job done, well done to everyone.