The Lee Valley/Veritas 24" steel straight edge is ground flat to within
0.001" over 24". Cost is $36.50. (Item # 05N62.01)
That seems like a steal (pardon the pun) when compared to the Starrett at 54.00 (Item # S-380-24) with 0.002" per foot. The #385-24 is $104! (I don't know the difference between it and the S-380-24.) I thought Starrett was impossible to beat??????
Probably. I'm not sure if Starrett has read the writing on the wall or not, but they are going to lose market share if they don't become more price competitive. I'll buy American if it makes sense to do so. If it's a few percentage points more expensive for the same product, I'll give them a nod. But when extremely comparable alternatives are available at 1/2 the cost, it's hard for me to justify. It's a competitive world - and it should be.
Maybe yes, maybe no. Where did you get the figure for the Starrett? I couldn't find an accuracy specification on Starrett's web site, and two thou per foot sounds a bit sloppy for a Starrett IMHO. Are you sure that isn't 0.0002" per foot?
Difference between the 380-24 and the 385-24, from Starrett's web site: "The No. 380 Series are not beveled or graduated. The No. 385 Series are beveled one edge, but not graduated. The No. 387 Series has one edge that is both beveled and graduated in 32nds of an inch."
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"Product Description Specifications: Edge straightness .0002" per foot."
That's point zero zero ZERO two. Two ten-thousandths per foot. Not two thousandths. The short answer to your initial question "Is my data correct?" is "No."
The long answer is that the $54 Starrett is within four ten-thousandths across two feet, and the $37 Lee Valley is within ten ten-thousandths. Sounds to me like the Starrett is the better deal, and by a long way: the LV tool is more than two-thirds the price of the Starret, but only forty percent as accurate.
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Of course, the SnapOn stated accuracy is per 12in, where the Starrett and the LeeValley is TOTAL error over the entire length, but 0.0002 is pretty good even if only over a 12in run
After looking at the latest Woodworking Supply catalog, inside cover, with Starrett's new offerings, I'd respectfully offer they've changed their minds...
And anyone who REALLY gets their tools set up to .002" is way past where they need to be when working wood.
Results on the best days are going to be within 1/64" or so, with the very, very, very occasional dip to 1/128". Unless you're making a damned small box, moving it from bedroom to kitchen when the dishwasher is in use will make it move nearly that much.
With my eyesight as it is now (fairly good except for excessive floaters), I doubt I could see a difference between 0.0002" and 0.002" on my table saw table even if the straight edge would show it. And if I could, I'd still leave it alone.
Charlie Self "One of the common denominators I have found is that expectations rise above that which is expected." George W. Bush
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