Veritas straightedges and the like?

[Kevin in Keswick]

Hello,

I am going to be attending the Woodshow tomorrow in Toronto (if the roads are not skating rinks. Saturday otherwise) and am planning on buying a straightedge from LV. I got to thinking today if it was really necessary. Right now I am using a cast aluminum 48" level with machined edges as my straightedge but was thinking that the LV Straightedge would benefit me when doing setups on my machinery etc etc. I guess what I would like are to hear some opinions on what others are using for their precision straightedge.

Would a Veritas 38" (or the like) Aluminum Straightedge really benefit me over the 48" level that I am using now? I understand that the tolerances would probably be less stringent on the machining of the level but are we not just talking about hair thicknesses here?

I have a new Shop fox 8" jointer that I want to put through the paces for setup but I will get to that in another post when I get a chance (full review coming soon with pics) .

Here is a link on what I am planning to purchase if I do. The 38" aluminum version.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...at=1,240,45313


I would really appreciate your thoughts on this.

Thanks folks.

Kevin

[cbearw]

Kevin: I recently bought the 24" LV Aluminum straightedge. I its a big improvement over a carpenters level (too thick and doesn't let light pass under it very well) and a ordinary steel straight edge which is too light and won't stand up on its own. I have used it a fair amout to check tabletops anf jointer fence for flatness amongst other things. I hindsight I should have probably gone with the 36" one. Best of luck with your purchase.......Tom

[Mark in Burlington]

Kevin, I went for the long 50" one I have no regrets. It is a very trusty tool for checking longer lengths and checking flat during glue up. I went over my jointer with the straight edge and feeler gauges and it works like a charm.
Cheers, Mark

[Kerry in Fort Sask, AB]

Hi Kevin,

I have the 24" one and find I use it a lot. I think your plan to go for the 38" one is good - I sometimes wish I had gone for that one. If you get the longer one and find you desire the shorter one, hey, it's only $30 so not a huge outlay anyway.

Kerry

[Chris in Mount Pearl]

You might consider LV's steel straightedge. It's a 24", a bit more costly, but worth the price. Less likely to get bent out of shape...unlike some people you might use it on. ha. I've used it on my 8" jointer, and pleased as punch.

[Kevin in Keswick]

You might consider LV's steel straightedge. It's a 24", a bit more costly, but worth the price. Less likely to get bent out of shape...unlike some people you might use it on. ha. I've used it on my 8" jointer, and pleased as punch.

Chris,

I thought about the 24" steel straightedge but figure it might be a little too short and fo the cost of the 50 aluminum one it is alomost double the cost of the 38". This is why I figure that the 38" is my best bet.

[Lee Brubaker in Edmonton]

I don't want a straight edge that is gonna tell me what I already know ie; infeed table on my old jointer has a sag in the middle LOL.

Lee

[Kevin in Keswick]

I don't want a straight edge that is gonna tell me what I already know ie; infeed table on my old jointer has a sag in the middle LOL.

Lee

LOL!!!!!

Time for a new one sounds like.

[Frank Pellow]

I have the 38" aluminum Veritas straightedge and I do use it. But, I don't find it to be any better the the machined edge on my 48" level.

[michaely]

....a very inexpensive option is to buy some 2', 3' or even 4' lengths of angle iron from a metal supply shop..... I've used 1.5" size for up to 3 foot lengths for winding sticks, using the right angle corner as the straightedge... and when I test three such lengths against each other, found their straight tolerance to be very high...... avoid angle iron with a rounded right angle (as I found at Home Depot).... I bought mine at a metal supply shop in Markham, Ontario

[Ken in Regina]

My 24" Lee Valley aluminum straight edge is straighter than my 48" level. But my level is a really cheap piece of crap. It's great for framing, but not worth the powder... on machine setups.

...ken...

[mot]

I have the 38" and use it to check jointer tables and router table base plate alignment with success. It's quick, hangs on the wall above my jointer, and periodically (for no reason other than anal retentiveness) I plunk it on my jointer before I'm going to run any expensive piece of wood.

The same thing for the router table...just to check before I start coping door frames. Mine is straight, flat and very useful. I also plunk it down on a jointed board after I'm done just as a second look.

[Lewis Cobb]

Another alternative to the official straightedge is a piece of 1/4 x 1.5 aluminum flat bar - extruded stuff - ususally T6065 alloy. I found some of this a while back at a hobby metal store and never used it. Just last week I went to a buddy's facility where they have a granite table that is flat to national standards no less and I plunked it down. I was pleased to see that it was within .002 over the length of 50 inches. Can't guarantee that they would all be this way, but if you have a way to check it, it's an inexpensive alternative.

My 0.02

Lewis

[Darin in Victoria]

I have a 5' piece of scrapwood that I flattened on my jointer that I use for verifying flatness. However, I was always skeptical that it was totally flat so I recently bought the Lee Valley 50" straightedge. Low and behold, my piece of scrapwood is indeed flat. LOL. Oh well, at least I can be assured that my jointer works

[Lewis Cobb]

I have a 5' piece of scrapwood that I flattened on my jointer that I use for verifying flatness. However, I was always skeptical that it was totally flat so I recently bought the Lee Valley 50" straightedge. Low and behold, my piece of scrapwood is indeed flat. LOL. Oh well, at least I can be assured that my jointer works

Sounds like that 50" straightedge is no longer needed - send it along to me and I will dispose of it for you :mrgreen: