In January 2005 I started a thread entitled "How Straight is Straight"
posing the question of whether woodworkers needed the strigthness found
in Starrett straight edges or whether the straight edges from Lee
Valley/Veritas were sufficient. I think the answer was that the Lee
Valley/Veritas were plenty good 'nuf.

Now, a follow-up question. What length or lengths should a wood worker
own? I think the two footers are sufficient. Am I right? What would the
50" straigt edge be used for? Tables?

Never Enough Money wrote:
In January 2005 I started a thread entitled "How Straight is Straight"
posing the question of whether woodworkers needed the strigthness
found in Starrett straight edges or whether the straight edges from
Lee Valley/Veritas were sufficient. I think the answer was that the
Lee Valley/Veritas were plenty good 'nuf.

Now, a follow-up question. What length or lengths should a wood worker
own? I think the two footers are sufficient. Am I right? What would
the 50" straigt edge be used for? Tables?

Mine's 49 inches: Perfect for 4 x 8 sheets.

--
---
No, I won't get dressed.
I'm retired!

"Never Enough Money" wrote in message
oups.com...
In January 2005 I started a thread entitled "How Straight is Straight"
posing the question of whether woodworkers needed the strigthness found
in Starrett straight edges or whether the straight edges from Lee
Valley/Veritas were sufficient. I think the answer was that the Lee
Valley/Veritas were plenty good 'nuf.

Now, a follow-up question. What length or lengths should a wood worker
own? I think the two footers are sufficient. Am I right? What would the
50" straigt edge be used for? Tables?

Drawing a line across a 4x8 plywood sheet comes to mind.
Also, only have to move it once to draw a line down the length of a 4x8
sheet. A two footer would be moved at least 3 times.

I have a 6" -- a cabinet ruler that is. Is that good enough? :-))


Pop wrote:
Never Enough Money wrote:

In January 2005 I started a thread entitled "How Straight is Straight"
posing the question of whether woodworkers needed the strigthness
found in Starrett straight edges or whether the straight edges from
Lee Valley/Veritas were sufficient. I think the answer was that the
Lee Valley/Veritas were plenty good 'nuf.

Now, a follow-up question. What length or lengths should a wood worker
own? I think the two footers are sufficient. Am I right? What would
the 50" straigt edge be used for? Tables?


Mine's 49 inches: Perfect for 4 x 8 sheets.


--
Will
Occasional Techno-geek

I can use a strip of baltic birch for that sort of straight edge. I'm
talking about those that are accurate to 0.001" per 2 feet, as sold by
Lee Valley/Veritas. I think the primary use is checking flatness on
joiner beds and finished surfaces.

Never Enough Money wrote:

Now, a follow-up question. What length or lengths should a wood worker
own? I think the two footers are sufficient. Am I right? What would the
50" straigt edge be used for? Tables?

Things bigger than 24".

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA
(Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)

Sorry I asked.

Fri, Feb 11, 2005, 1:36pm (EST-3)
(Never=A0Enough=A0Money) asks:
snip I think the two footers are sufficient. Am I right? What would
the 50" straigt edge be used for? Tables?

Well, if you can't figure that out on your own, I sure can't help
you.



JOAT
Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong.
- David Fasold

Fri, Feb 11, 2005, 5:07pm (Pop) says:
snip
No, I won't get dressed.
I'm retired!

This is NOT me, posting under an alias.



JOAT
Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong.
- David Fasold

"Never Enough Money" wrote in message
ups.com...
Sorry I asked.


What's the longest single piece of iron in your shop? Seems the best
answer to me. And it sure isn't for woodworking use where it's going to be
subject to drops/ accidental bends or anything similar. You can't cut as
straight as it can touch, so why obsess?

For machine set up I would love to have a 36" or 48"
guaranteed straight to half a red cubic hair.

For general wooddorking (running a router/circle saw
against) I like a 24"/30", a 36", a 50"/54" and a 120". Of
course these are 6"(ish) wide rips off a sheet of
MDF/plywood so I'm not looking for anything closer than
1/64" out of straight along the length.

UA100

The longest I have is the 50" Veritas from Lee Valley. After testing it on
a granite surface plate (8'), it was accurate to 0.001 over its length. I
use it to setup my jointer and many other uses where accuracy is important.
I use the 24" steel straight edge for most things but the 50" is a handy
addition to my ever expanding tool inventory!

Dave


"Never Enough Money" wrote in message
oups.com...
In January 2005 I started a thread entitled "How Straight is Straight"
posing the question of whether woodworkers needed the strigthness found
in Starrett straight edges or whether the straight edges from Lee
Valley/Veritas were sufficient. I think the answer was that the Lee
Valley/Veritas were plenty good 'nuf.

Now, a follow-up question. What length or lengths should a wood worker
own? I think the two footers are sufficient. Am I right? What would the
50" straigt edge be used for? Tables?

"Never Enough Money" wrote in message
oups.com...
I can use a strip of baltic birch for that sort of straight edge. I'm
talking about those that are accurate to 0.001" per 2 feet, as sold by
Lee Valley/Veritas. I think the primary use is checking flatness on
joiner beds and finished surfaces.


I really can't think of any reason to use such an acurate straight edge in
the shop.
Even a cheap 4 foot aluminum level will be adaquet for all jobs.

"George" george@least wrote in message
...

"Never Enough Money" wrote in message
ups.com...
Sorry I asked.


What's the longest single piece of iron in your shop? Seems the best
answer to me. And it sure isn't for woodworking use where it's going to
be
subject to drops/ accidental bends or anything similar. You can't cut as
straight as it can touch, so why obsess?



I suppose you could use one to check the flatness of an infeed/outfeed on a
joiner, but if the cast iron was not true there's little you could do to
correct it anyway. I recommend saving the money spent on an acurate straight
edge and buy something you can really use, like more clamps, router bits,
etc.

"TaskMule" wrote in message
...

"Never Enough Money" wrote in message
oups.com...
I can use a strip of baltic birch for that sort of straight edge. I'm
talking about those that are accurate to 0.001" per 2 feet, as sold by
Lee Valley/Veritas. I think the primary use is checking flatness on
joiner beds and finished surfaces.


I really can't think of any reason to use such an acurate straight edge in
the shop.
Even a cheap 4 foot aluminum level will be adaquet for all jobs.



I agree there. Consider using a rule accurate to .001 to draw a line with a
pencil tip that is off by much more than that. Doesn't make sense to me.

Vic

Thanks you, Dave, for not giving me a wise ass answer like some of the
other posters. The Veritas straight edges are that expensive so I don't
know why my question evokes such snide remarks. I tend to agree with
you...

I went with the 38" version myself. Just got it a week or so ago so can't
comment on it's
useful/useless - ness just yet. I figured for setting up the table saw,
RAS, Jointer, etc... I just
didn't need anything longer. Heck, the 24" would probably work for those
things.
Cheers,
cc

"Never Enough Money" wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks you, Dave, for not giving me a wise ass answer like some of the
other posters. The Veritas straight edges are that expensive so I don't
know why my question evokes such snide remarks. I tend to agree with
you...

On Fri, 11 Feb 2005 22:34:54 GMT, Unisaw A100
wrote:

For machine set up I would love to have a 36" or 48"
guaranteed straight to half a red cubic hair.

I always wondered what the 'C' in RCH stood for! Thanks!
Now, I'm trying to imagine how one gets a cubic hair, red or
otherwise...
Of course, with my previous understanding of what 'C' stood for, I'm
still trying to acquire some of those as well...

TWS

In article .com,
"Never Enough Money" wrote:

In January 2005 I started a thread entitled "How Straight is Straight"
posing the question of whether woodworkers needed the strigthness found
in Starrett straight edges or whether the straight edges from Lee
Valley/Veritas were sufficient. I think the answer was that the Lee
Valley/Veritas were plenty good 'nuf.

Now, a follow-up question. What length or lengths should a wood worker
own? I think the two footers are sufficient. Am I right? What would the
50" straigt edge be used for? Tables?


I use 150" straight edges from Pinske .005 over the 12-ft length.

http://pinske-edge.com/catalog/catalog.htm

click on 'cutting & shaping'

Smaller ones are available.

The 8-footer is .002" Plenty accurate for my needs.

Another solution, which I have suggested here before, is to find a
supplier of standard aluminum extrusions. You pay for those by the pound.
An 8-foot 1/4" x 6" cost me about 50 CAN$ and was very straight.

0¿0

Rob

TWS wrote:

I always wondered what the 'C' in RCH stood for! Thanks!
Now, I'm trying to imagine how one gets a cubic hair, red or
otherwise...
Of course, with my previous understanding of what 'C' stood for, I'm
still trying to acquire some of those as well...

I have some in my teeth! Want some? Mine are brown though, not red.

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/

Vic Baron wrote:

"TaskMule" wrote in message
...

"Never Enough Money" wrote in message
oups.com...
I can use a strip of baltic birch for that sort of straight edge. I'm
talking about those that are accurate to 0.001" per 2 feet, as sold by
Lee Valley/Veritas. I think the primary use is checking flatness on
joiner beds and finished surfaces.


I really can't think of any reason to use such an acurate straight edge in
the shop.
Even a cheap 4 foot aluminum level will be adaquet for all jobs.


I agree there. Consider using a rule accurate to .001 to draw a line with a
pencil tip that is off by much more than that. Doesn't make sense to me.

Vic

It's not intended as a tool to draw a straight pencil line. It's for
checking machine set ups. I have a combination machine with
66" jointer tables AND a table saw table top that needs to be
coplanar with the jointer's outfeet table AND a sliding table
that has to be coplanar with both. I have a 2' machinist straight
edge that's great for some set ups but not for a combi.

charlie b

24 " ruler enough? Not really. With table saw extensions and everything
I have to use my 8' metal straight edge to check all the alignments.

Did not know about the highly accurate Lee Valley rules - should have
guessed though.

Just got some some angle gauges from Lee Valley. Now the table saw, chop
saw, band saw and scroll saw all produce accurate angles and mitres.
Last mitred item I did went together with no discernible gap. First time
for everything....

Thought the need for these accurate "base line" measuring tools was
obvious. Maybe not. Judging by all the wise-ass answers -- including
mine. :-)




James "Cubby" Culbertson wrote:
I went with the 38" version myself. Just got it a week or so ago so can't
comment on it's
useful/useless - ness just yet. I figured for setting up the table saw,
RAS, Jointer, etc... I just
didn't need anything longer. Heck, the 24" would probably work for those
things.
Cheers,
cc

"Never Enough Money" wrote in message
oups.com...

Thanks you, Dave, for not giving me a wise ass answer like some of the
other posters. The Veritas straight edges are that expensive so I don't
know why my question evokes such snide remarks. I tend to agree with
you...





--
Will
Occasional Techno-geek

Never Enough Money wrote:
Thanks you, Dave, for not giving me a wise ass answer like some of the
other posters. The Veritas straight edges are that expensive so I don't
know why my question evokes such snide remarks. I tend to agree with
you...


I only counted one (OK maybe two) wise ass answers. The
rest looked pretty gen-you-whine to me.

Maybe the rec is too rough for you and you ought to enroll
in one of Silvan's Sensitivity Sessions.

UA100, who thinks maybe humor is often misidentified...

On Sat, 12 Feb 2005 02:17:55 -0500, Silvan
wrote:

TWS wrote:

I always wondered what the 'C' in RCH stood for! Thanks!
Now, I'm trying to imagine how one gets a cubic hair, red or
otherwise...
Of course, with my previous understanding of what 'C' stood for, I'm
still trying to acquire some of those as well...

I have some in my teeth! Want some? Mine are brown though, not red.
No thanks, got some of those already. Nature's dental floss!

Really looking for the red ones...
TWS

On Sat, 12 Feb 2005 03:57:07 GMT, the inscrutable TWS
spake:

On Fri, 11 Feb 2005 22:34:54 GMT, Unisaw A100
wrote:

For machine set up I would love to have a 36" or 48"
guaranteed straight to half a red cubic hair.

I always wondered what the 'C' in RCH stood for! Thanks!
Now, I'm trying to imagine how one gets a cubic hair, red or
otherwise...
Of course, with my previous understanding of what 'C' stood for, I'm
still trying to acquire some of those as well...

Aren't we _all_? wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more

--
Vidi, Vici, Veni
---
http://diversify.com Comprehensive Website Development

On Sat, 12 Feb 2005 02:17:55 -0500, the inscrutable Silvan
spake:

TWS wrote:

I always wondered what the 'C' in RCH stood for! Thanks!
Now, I'm trying to imagine how one gets a cubic hair, red or
otherwise...
Of course, with my previous understanding of what 'C' stood for, I'm
still trying to acquire some of those as well...

I have some in my teeth! Want some? Mine are brown though, not red.

Wait, that's not hair, it's fur...

BACK AWAY FROM THE DOG AND PUT YOUR HANDS UP!

--
Vidi, Vici, Veni
---
http://diversify.com Comprehensive Website Development

Cool edges from Pinske. I tend to like Lee Valley/Veritas because of
the hole for hanging and the ergonomic shape (in the aluminum ones).
See then at:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...at=1,240,45313

Your counts is correct. It was two out of the first five, I think but
I'm not going to waste my time going back counting or arguing with you
about it.

The wise-ass answers aren't too roug, so I think I'll spend the money
that would have gone to Silvan Sensitivty Sessions on, for starters,
some straight edges.

Now what does bother me and drive me to moderated woodworking
newsgroups is all the political, religious and vulgar postings...all
things off-topic. There are so many newsgroups dedicated to everything
underthe sun, I don't know whypeople need to cluuter up this one with
off-topic stuff.. Oh wait, I'm waxing off-topic. Sorry.

On 12 Feb 2005 07:09:14 -0800, "Never Enough Money"
wrote:

There are so many newsgroups dedicated to everything
underthe sun, I don't know whypeople need to cluuter up this one with
off-topic stuff.. Oh wait, I'm waxing off-topic.

Amen. It's because (i) they don't have a life, and/or (ii) their
brain can't get past that.

I have my father's old 2' steel straight-edge, and I'm old enough to
remember when.... And I've been building with it without any
difficulties whatsoever. Mind, I don't worry if it's off by a couple
of thou either, so I can just get on with the project, and enjoy what
I do and build.

On 11 Feb 2005 13:36:00 -0800, "Never Enough Money"
wrote:

In January 2005 I started a thread entitled "How Straight is Straight"
posing the question of whether woodworkers needed the strigthness found
in Starrett straight edges or whether the straight edges from Lee
Valley/Veritas were sufficient. I think the answer was that the Lee
Valley/Veritas were plenty good 'nuf.

Now, a follow-up question. What length or lengths should a wood worker
own? I think the two footers are sufficient. Am I right? What would the
50" straigt edge be used for? Tables?



two answers:

as long as you can afford.

_or_


as long as the longest thing you'll need to align.

in both cases my longest straightedge is about 7 foot long by maybe
3\8" thick by 6" wide of 7075t6 (your basic aircraft aluminum) from
the salvage yard. it's not machined to any particular accuracy, but
it's as straight as I can measure. other than that, I have a 24"
machinist's straight edge.

On 12 Feb 2005 07:09:14 -0800, "Never Enough Money"
wrote:

Now what does bother me and drive me to moderated woodworking
newsgroups is all the political, religious and vulgar postings...all
things off-topic. There are so many newsgroups dedicated to everything
underthe sun, I don't know whypeople need to cluuter up this one with
off-topic stuff.. Oh wait, I'm waxing off-topic. Sorry.

Maybe because we know the people in here (as well as you can know
someone via Usenet) and they are the ones that we want to express our
opinions to and whose opinions we want to hear.

Personally, I think that any straightedge accurate to within .001 is
going to be more than adequate for setting up your tools. If you are
like me, where the shop temperature varies a lot day to day and even
from morning to night you probably have more movement than that in
your machines from thermal expansion. Length is more significant, as I
think you need something long enough to check your larger pieces of
equipment. You probably don't need something that will do the full
length of your jointer bed, but at least 3/4 would be essential. Same
with a TS and extension tables. Unless you are using huge, industrial
type machinery I can't see any need in a normal shop for anything
longer than 4' and I'd guess that 3' would be plenty for most of us.

More important, IMO, is that you have some very accurate 90 and 45
degree setup tools. It is easier to find something straight than to
set your saw blade or jointer fence to a perfect 90.

Tim Douglass

http://www.DouglassClan.com

On 12 Feb 2005 07:03:01 -0800, "Never Enough Money"
wrote:

Cool edges from Pinske. I tend to like Lee Valley/Veritas because of
the hole for hanging and the ergonomic shape (in the aluminum ones).
See then at:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...at=1,240,45313

Those look very nice. I could use a 50" aluminum and the shorter steel
one as well. I fear shipping, however, for anything that needs to be
accurate when it arrives.

Tim Douglass

http://www.DouglassClan.com

In article . com,
"Never Enough Money" wrote:

[snipperized]

Oh wait, I'm waxing off-topic. Sorry.

There best be no silicones in that wax....
Fisheyes in the Wreck... *shudder*

In article ,
Tim Douglass wrote:

More important, IMO, is that you have some very accurate 90 and 45
degree setup tools. It is easier to find something straight than to
set your saw blade or jointer fence to a perfect 90.

For sure!
I look for tools from the metal dudes for that kind of accuracy.
I have a couple of British Standard machinists squares. I check them
against each other and do the 'flip-scribe' test on other tools like
that.

since I'm extra anal about accuracy, and also a skinflint, I bought an
old browne & sharpe 48" vernier caliper off of Ebay for $15 +s/h.
Using this fine old chuck of steel, I set my TS outfeed and extension
table up using a piece of tracing paper. I couldn't find any
super-thin feeler gauges in my little town. I don't know how much the
Veritas is, but it must be more than my amazing auction buy. Plus, I
can check the accuracy of cabinet rails/stiles with it when I need to.
Hope it helps...

On 11 Feb 2005 13:36:00 -0800, "Never Enough Money"
wrote:

In January 2005 I started a thread entitled "How Straight is Straight"
posing the question of whether woodworkers needed the strigthness found
in Starrett straight edges or whether the straight edges from Lee
Valley/Veritas were sufficient. I think the answer was that the Lee
Valley/Veritas were plenty good 'nuf.

Now, a follow-up question. What length or lengths should a wood worker
own? I think the two footers are sufficient. Am I right? What would the
50" straigt edge be used for? Tables?

I use a longer straight edge (mine's 36") for jointer setup and verifying
that the tables are parallel.




+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
The absence of accidents does not mean the presence of safety
Army General Richard Cody
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+