My favorite tools: aluminum flat bar?!
When all you need is a good edge
I have a veritable quiver of straight edges and rulers. Among these:
The familiar 12" school ruler.
A C-Thru engineering ruler.
A yardstick.
Several drafting t-squares.
Various triangles.
A 4' drywall ruler.
Metal pocket ruler with Imperial and metric units.
Even a collapsable 8' edge for cutting plywood and other large sheets.
Plus, any number of others too numerous to list here.
But of all these edges, what I reach for more than anything is a simple length of aluminum flat stock, a leftover piece from a project I made long ago.
That's right - my straight edge of choice is a piece of scrap.
Aluminum stock comes in a variety of shapes, sizes, and alloys. But at almost any hardware store, one can pick up a 1" x 1/16" thick aluminum bar, often in four or eight-foot sections, for just a few bucks. It's handy stuff and valuable in all kinds of applications, including lightweight reinforcements and other structural builds. After one such project (so long ago, I forget what it was), I had a length left over that sat on my shelf for a while. At some point, I picked it up to draw a quick line or make a cut. Again, I don't recall which. But I do remember recognizing how valuable the piece was as a simple straightedge. And have kept it for such work ever since.
Purely by accident, the bar is a great length: 17 7/8" or about 45 cm. It's longer than a standard ruler but shorter than a yardstick, making it easy to handle on a crowded workbench but long enough for all those needs greater than a foot. The aluminum, while light, is sturdy and keeps a nice edge for drawing lines and making cuts. I've made countless of each with the bar, and it shows little wear. Plus, I've dropped, tossed, and stepped on it almost as often, but it's as good as it always was. For cuts, in particular, the piece is indispensable.
As mentioned, the bar is only 1/16" thick, so it casts very little shadow, and it's no problem lining up a utility blade or X-Acto knife to make cuts. I often measure a piece with my handy Starrett pocket tape measure and then use the piece to finish the job. Only when a project is much shorter or way longer do I reach for anything but the aluminum bar.
One can easily dump tens or even hundreds of dollars into the straight edges listed above, so having an inexpensive and simple yet useful tool that I favor above all others is oddly satisfying. It's as if I beat out the capitalistic overlords just this once. I can now make a line whenever I want - for basically free.
Okay, maybe this is romanticizing the thing a bit too much. After all, a straight edge is about as basic as a tool can get. But still, it's legitimately one of the most reached-for instruments in my shop, and for that alone, it deserves some attention. A good tool does what it needs to do and does it well. And that's precisely what this handy once-scrap-now-revered aluminum bar is to me - a perfect straight edge that gets the job done.
Until next time.
JRC
Alright, kick in’ overlords butts is what we like! 😁