Incra 5" or 7" ?

[ufg8r85]

I'm looking at the Incra engineer's squares, other than price and the 2"'s what are the pros and cons of each one. My wife will kill me if I get them both.

Thanks,
Steve

[steve-norrell]

I'm looking at the Incra engineer's squares, other than price and the 2"'s what are the pros and cons of each one. My wife will kill me if I get them both.

Thanks,
Steve

IMO, the longer the better, within reason. I feel that it has to do with detecting small angles, which become more apparent as you move out from where the two arms form the 90 degree angle. (Ok, I know there is a name for that right angle, but I have long forgotten what it is.) With a 5" square you can check the aligment to the edge of a 10" blade, as found on the BT3x00s.

At the same time, you have to be careful that horizontal surface on which you rest the base of the square is flat and level. A long arm might create a problem if an added miter table or the SMT of the 3100 is not level with the rest of the table top.

If it were me, I would get the 5" model; if I had a 12" blade I would consider the 7" square.

Good luck, Steve

[jbalders]

I'm looking at the Incra engineer's squares, other than price and the 2"'s what are the pros and cons of each one. My wife will kill me if I get them both.

Thanks,
Steve

The LOML gave me a 5" Incra "Guaranteed Square" square for some gift-giving event a while back (don't remember which specific event it was). There have been a few instances where I've been happy it was the 5" version (like squaring up the table on my small bandsaw), but most of the time, I wish it was the larger 7" one.

There's probably also an argument to be made for the larger one when you're thinking of the accuracy too. If you build a medium sized box with a 5" and a 7", it's more likely that the one built with the 7" will be closer to square than the 5" since you have a larger working surface on the square. Although, the difference between 5" and 7" is probably negligible, whereas the difference between 5" and 10" would be very significant.

I'd probably go with the larger one. If you find it being too big for what you're doing, then get a smaller one and eBay or CL the first one if you can't justify keeping both.

[LCHIEN]

Bigger isn't always better.

Sometimes you want to check square in a limited height area, such as the bandsaw blade under the guide, or the drill bit on a drill press between the table and the chuck, under actual use conditions.

I think a small one in the 3-5 inch range and a larger one in the 6-7 inch range are both useful, that's why they sometimes sell them in sets.

[softop41]

Steve,
I have a 2", 4", 5", and 6 or 7 " and find they all have their place. I carry he 4" in the pocket of my shop apron all the time, so it gets the most use, but there are time I need smaller or larger as Loring said.

[LarryG]

There are good arguments here for both options, so it may come down to how you'll use it most.

One argument for the 7" is that it will likely reach all the way across a nominal 6" board. I have a 6" double square, the net blade length of which when fully extended is about 4-3/4". I work a fair amount with dimensional lumber, and find that this is long enough for a 2x4, but not enough for a 2x6. I figure a square about 1" longer would be just about perfect, ergo the Incra 7" Guaranteed Square is on my shopping list.

[lcm1947]

IMHO I'd pick the - boy that's a tough one. I have both and it just depends on what I do as to which one I use. You need both. Sorry.

[ufg8r85]

I've ordered the 7", maybe I'll scout ebay for the 5"

As always thanks for the advice.
Steve