Well-Stocked Shop Must-Have Measuring Tools Stanley 25' Fat Max Measurements you can count on Tape, The Home Depot, #655095, $19.97 By Matt hew Teague While good measuring Combinati on square tools don’t guarantee quality Place a quality square at the top but some prefer a 6" hook work, quality work is impossible of your list. You’ll use it to the set rule,A 6" because �lat rule it iscatches more versatile,the without them. Your shop a saw blade height and to adjust edges or ends of stock for easy should contain squares, rules, blade angles to 45° or 90°. The reference. Just make sure the and tapes that are intuitive to adjustable blade allows you check hook is removable–otherwise use, easy to read, and rugged the depth of mortises, grooves, or it can get in the way on certain enough to maintain accuracy offset parts. Also, the blade can tasks. To work as it should, even after years of use. serve as a ruler or straightedge. markings should start and Here’s a short list of tools Combination squares range needed to complete most any in size from 4" to 36", but a 12" with combination squares, opt furniture project and to make blade proves the most versatile. end �lush to the rule’s end. As precision machine setups. A quality square features a Considering the low cost of 24"for a satinor 36" �inished shop blade. rule some of the items, you might measurements–64ths if possible. A longer, stable, and reliable rule buy a few spares to ensure that Toblade ensure that’s that divided the blade into �inereads will come in handy for a variety the right tool is within easy well and stays that way, select of larger jobs. It’s also good for reach. On the other hand, you laying cutlines or shelf pin holes should buy the best you can etched, not applied, delineations. on panels. In a pinch it can afford. An inaccurate ruler or one with a satin �inish and double as a straightedge square is never a bargain. 6" fl at or hook rule A pocket-sized rule is convenient for tasks where larger rules prove cumbersome. They excel at tool setup when adjusting fences or blade heights, when 6" Hook Rule, Starrett 12" #128292, $15.99 Combinati on Square, laying out joinery–like tenons or #06R12, $109.99 dovetails–and as a straightedge guide for marking or scribing layout lines on workpieces. 64 Featured products available from Woodcraft Supply unless otherwise noted. 36" Shop Rule, #129212, $77.99 Adhesive-backed Tape Measure, #402120 (R to L), #402121 (L to R), $13.99 and can be used on edge for Tape rule A 12' tape and assemblies at glue-up. measure, or rule is checking the �latness of boards suitable for most Folding rule furniture projects, A 6' folding rule with a sliding but if you do carpentry brass insert is indispensible for work, opt for a 16- or 25-footer. taking interior measurements, Whatever the length, look 1 as when comparing the length for a wider blade–1 4" or Self-sti ck tape measure of opposing diagonals to square so–to maximize the⁄ length it Attaching a self-stick tape to an assembly. Unfold the rule so can extend unsupported. an edge can transform a simple it’s a little short of full length, Keep in mind that the hook on jig into a precision instrument. place it in the inside corner of a the end of the tape is designed carcase, and then slide out the with some play for inside and workbenches, mitersaws, insert. The rigidity of a folding outside measurements and fences,Tapes also and can lathe be beds af�ixed to saveto can become bent from use. For time spent searching for a ruler. making it easier to transfer and precise measurements, use this Note that tapes read from right markrule also out enableslengths itprecisely. to lay �lat, tip: line up the tape on the 1" to left, or left to right; choose mark and subtract an inch from the one that best matches the overall measurement. the task at hand. I Lufk in 6' Folding Rule, The Home Depot, #184098, $15.97 Special-Service Tape Rules In additi on to your standard tape rule, you might want to add one or more of these special-service models to your measuring arsenal. Flatback tapes are easier to FastCap Metric/ Standard Flatback maneuver on curved surfaces and lay fl at on panels, Tape Measure, for easier, more accurate marking. For imperial #831149, $8.95 and metric measurements, consider a tape with markings of both types. For those who prefer to work 1 without numbers, story pole tapes off er a ⁄4"-wide FastCap Story Pole blank space for jotti ng down notes and ti ck marks. Tape Measure, A center point tape might seem like an #826097, $8.95 extravagance (who can’t divide by two?), but it saves ti me and second guesses. A split- scale blade shows overall length and center measurement, enabling you to measure and US Center Point Tape Measure, mark your centerline in a single step. #140296, $16.99 Photos: Jim Osborn June/July 2011 woodcraftmagazine.com 65.