I need a small set, about three, of machinist squares, to cover a range of about 3 to 12 inches or thereabouts. I bought a new 12 inch Dewalt miter saw, and my carpenter and combination squares are too bulky and crude to true up the fence, miter, and bevel functions with the blade on the new saw. Coming right from the factory, my cuts are not coming up square, so I'd like to true things up.

I don't need super expensive quality like Starrett squares, but I don't want anything I can't count on either.

Any recommendations for a set of three or four machinist squares would be greatly appreciated.

1. Yard sale - if you can find one, you might find a Starrett or Brown & Sharpe at such a sale.

2. Harbor Freight. Take a piece of paper from an 8x11 1/2” note pad. Use it against the squares they have to check their accuracy. Odds are high that the paper is accurate to within a few minutes of angle. Pretty close for woodworking.

I would also look in the pawn shops.

I've been meaning to order a 6" Kinex brand from Amazon for $28 shipped. Also available from Taylor Tools in MO - www.taytools.com Taylor sometimes has some great deals on sets but they appear to be out of stock right now.

They are made in Czech Republic to German DIN standards and come with a certificate. They seem to be pretty high quality for the price. Certainly good enough for woodworking and a long way from Starrett prices.

I'll just get one first and check all my others against it.

EBay

Bob

I went through this effort a while back (bought a 12-inch DeWalt miter saw too!), looking at about a hundred squares and square sets. Many on Amazon and Ebay are from India and have questionable ratings. I finally settled on Garrett Wade's Set Of Four Engineer's Squares (2", 3", 4", and 6") advertised for $40 plus shipping (and usually free shipping if you spend enough). I watched for a while and when I got a coupon for 10% off with no minimum purchase, I jumped on it. It won't cover your 12" need but they're really nice for the smaller sizes and "are guaranteed to meet, or exceed, the British Engineering Standard BS939 of ±0.0005" per linear inch for squareness." I couldn't prove their claim but when I checked with what I had available, I sure couldn't disprove it either! They come in a fairly nice storage case, too.

https://garrettwade.com/produc...rEAQYASABEgLpmfD_BwE

EDIT: Just noticed that these are out of stock until 9/22/23.

Try:
https://littlemachineshop.com/

Several sets to select from - reputable company to deal with.

eBay.