None are built better … these are top notch and as good as it gets (and the price reflects it!). Treated right this is a tool that will out-live you without a doubt.

When I finally took the advice of a woodworking mentor and hunkered down to buy one, I was skeptical at best. Having never owned a Starrett tool, I couldn’t imagine anyone needed a combination square that cost more than $10 — wow, was I wrong.

Hindsight is 2020 and this is one of those moments where I look back and say “of course!”. At first it seems a bit silly to spend so much money on such a simple tool (some may say a ‘hunk of metal’), but in practice the tool is worth the dough. Let me explain …

A quality, well-made, precise tool is essential to accurately create anything in the shop. Sure one can use the $10 combination square, but there will be times when it’s accuracy (sometimes up to 1/16″ inaccurate) is not exact enough and proves only to offer unnecessary frustration. The Starrett square with it’s etched rule is dead-on accurate and sturdy (no sag or bending) … all of which adds up to better projects and better times in the shop.

If precision is your thing — or required in what you do — then you should own this tool. While it isn’t needed by everyone (like in construction), it’s a necessity in the furniture-makers wood shop.

Manufactured by Starrett, this combination square retails between $65-$75. Buy one at Amazon (link)

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What’s Included:

Packed in a simple cardboard-backed package, the Incra rules fly solo.  You’ll receive the rule assembled.  It’s made of a metal rule, two thumb screws and a small piece of t-track.

Incra, the company (link):

Not much information could be found about the company.  More will be made available as it is found.

Design & Use:

Simple elegance, the t-rule has become a favorite of mine.  Many times I walked right by it not taking a second look until a friend of mine was bragging about his.  I took the rule in hand along with a mechanical pencil and began to mark-out a tenon.  Previous to this product, most of my woodworking marks were made with a standard #2 pencil and my Starrett combination square — which is highly accurate, however  the pencil and human involved add to the inaccuracy.

With the Incra T-Rule and a human armed with a mechnical pencil, the chance of being inaccurate due to measure becomes significanly less.  This is because of the T-Rules design.  It provides small slots and holes throughout its length at every measurement down to 1/64″.

To use the T-Rule, simple hold the red T-track to the edge of the board, find the measure you want to mark, instead the writing end of the mechanical pencil in the slot/hole & mark.  You can also pull the T-Rule parallel to draw a longer, precise line.

Purchasing Advice:

If you are doing any kind of highly accurate woodworking, such as furniture making, Buy one.  Depending on the type of work you do, you may need a shorter one or a longer one … but trust me, you’ll find this tool indispensable for accurate marking.  Instead of making marks directly off the reference of another rule and saying to yourself “just cut a smidge to the right of that mark and you’ll be close” … use the T-Rule to make the measurement and simply cut to it!  It’s makes you more accurate, confident, and comfortable.

Images:

Marks are made with a mechanical pencil.

The measurement scale is clear to read and understand.

Marks are even available on the end of the rule.  This could be used for height adjustments (think blade height or router bit height)

The t-track and thumb screws that attach the rule.

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So what is it? Well, in short it’s a combination gadget that replaces several tools on your toolbelt — specifically a speed square, torpedo level, and t-bevel. However, the AngLevel is designed with much more thought and once you use it you start to find new functions in can perform (even a bottle opener when you need a cold one when the sun beats you down).

The AngLevel is built well. The stainless steel metal components are solid and will handle a beating. The other parts are a fiberglass material that should handle anything you dish out on the job site.

A lot of thought was put into this little tool that makes using it a bit of fun — and practical. For instance, the bubble levels that are integrated in the design are probably the most susceptible component to break — and since these are easily found at the home centers, the design of the AngLevel allows you to remove & replace them (no need to buy a whole new tool!). Also, the AngLevel has many built-in design elements that take the guess work out. An example of one of these features are the pitch lines for roof work … it’s all on the AngLevel, simple align the steel rule with the mark and viola … you’re a pro! (okay, maybe not a pro but damn good!).

Overall, I really enjoyed using the AngLevel. One it was cool to have a tool no one has seen in my back pocket and two it was just cool to have so much tool in ONE POCKET! Better believe I’ll be giving these as gifts come the holidays!

The AngLevel sells for $39.99. Pick one up here.

Here’s a snippet from their website that outlines better the true capabilities of it:

This tool can be used as a 9-inch up to 16-inch torpedo level, also can be used for 16-inch on center step-off. Some of the other features include, 1/8-inch and 1/4-inch pitch (commonly used for drainage). There are 1 thru 20 pitch lines on the body of tool and it display’s the degree at the same time with a degree dial that ranges from 0° to 90°degrees in 5°degree increments. There is a pitch-to-degree conversion table, for example a 10-pitch = 40°degrees, or 12-pitch = 45°degrees. The stainless steel ruler on the AngLevel™ tool spins 360° degrees and includes a compass feature. The compass feature enables the user to make circles from 2-inches to 15-inches in ½ inch increments. In addition the stainless steel ruler is 7-inches long etched in 1/16” inch increments. The ruler markings are ascending and descending on each side. This tool increases the efficiency of the tradesman because it simplifies the use of commonly used tools, many functions can be performed at one time with less effort and less equipment. The tool can make a less experienced or advanced tradesman more valuable and confident as it simplifies hard tasks and angle measurements that would be difficult and time consuming with other existing tools. The tool is 1.5″ thick (thickness of a standard wood/steel 2x lumber, like a “2×4 stud”) and is 3/4”, which is half of the stud thickness, which helps finding the center of the stud or the opposite edge of the 2x lumber or steel.

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