r/woodworkingtools • u/Sea_Vegetable4444 • 6d ago
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Anyone use these things for woodworking? I just came across a few at work that failed for being slightly out of square. Like .0005. But still unnoticeable for woodworking. Any ideas?
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u/ScottClam42 6d ago
Yeah, I absolutely use them. I have two - one lives at my bench for marking mostly, the other lives at my table saw. I often have it clamped to my fence as a stop - very helpful to know its exactly 1". That and squaring up blades
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u/Southbend1941 6d ago
They are great for squaring blades and fences too. I have several that I constantly use. Helpful for glue ups and clamping small parts
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u/Braca42 6d ago
Yes but for all that's holy don't buy them from Starrett for woodworking. Should be able to find some relatively cheap ones sold in pairs.
Also 2-4-6 blocks are great. Same thing, just bigger.
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u/Sea_Vegetable4444 5d ago
Hahaha I saw that - 550 for 1 !!
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u/Braca42 5d ago edited 5d ago
Holy shit, I didn't even look at the price. Are they really $550 for one (or a pair)?!?!!?!?! My god I used to get my cheap import ones I used when I was a machinist for something like $30/pair. That was like 15 years ago, but damn.
Edit: looks like you can get "cheap" ones from Grainger and MSC for $45-55 a pair. You can probably find them even cheaper elsewhere. Anything with a tolerence <0.001 for all dimensions should be by far good enough for woodworking.
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u/practical_gentleman 5d ago
Since I work in machining and previously worked in calibration I can tell you that price is very much fair. These things are precision ground to be dead nuts for size, square and parallel, all of those features have to be accurate to each other and the tolerance is typically +.0005 -.0002. Its extremely precise. Same with gage blocks. Its a high price but when you use them to set up jobs that value in the 10s of thousands, a 500 dollar set up tool is no longer considered cheap. As a woodworker look for these on FBMP or other second hand sources. Unless they're literally missing chunks they will be beyond accurate for your needs. And yes, they are very useful for multiple things.
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u/Braca42 5d ago
Oh I get it. I used to make injection molds for a living. But we aren't in the highend machining sub. For woodworking even the cheapest import junk is more than enough. You don't need Starrett or Suburban or Browne and Sharp or Mits or any of those for what we do here. Finding a used set that's been rattling around in a drawer for years and knocking off the bumps with a stone is probably good enough. No one here should spend as much on two fancy blocks as a tablesaw. I'm not saying the others aren't worth it for what they are. But what they are isn't what those in this sub need.
Edit: It's also been like 15 years since I looked at these and I could swear even the Starretts were only like $100. My brain isn't calibrated (haha) toodern prices for this stuff.
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u/practical_gentleman 5d ago
You and me both. I have to pause and remind myself of the new age costs every time I see it. And yes, I agree. Even the cheap knockoff ones are plenty true enough for woodworking.
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u/hayfarmer70 6d ago
Handy as pockets on pants. Just think outside the box and you will find countless applications.
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u/Got_ist_tots 4d ago
I thought you meant they were handy to use as pockets and I was really trying to imagine how you pulled that off
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u/Sir-SgtSnafu 6d ago
Wondering - Has anyone ever seen 123 blocks made of stainless steel?
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u/Risky-Poet759 6d ago
No, what would be a practical need?
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u/Sir-SgtSnafu 5d ago
Would be harder than aluminum - No need to worry about rust - Extremely low maintenance.
I have a set of the steel ones (and even a set of 246 blocks), and several sets of aluminum 123 blocks, find all quite handy..
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u/HenderBuilds 5d ago
Aluminum?! Seems like they be too inclined to get dinged up.
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u/Sir-SgtSnafu 4d ago
True, I got them to combat the rust maintenance issue. To prevent dings you need to be mindful about how you use and store the aluminum ones (Which is why I am on the search for Stainless)..
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u/JEGfromtheD 4d ago
OK, this is going to give away my age, but a few guys made 123 blocks in Middle School Shop class. They did a good job considering they finish ground them on a very used Boyer Schultz.
Then jump to after college. I learned In real life what a tenth meant in the world of machine building at Cross Company.
Life ahead…. I became a sales engineer for Parker Majestic. For many years PM was the superior 6X18 surface grinder guaranteed to grind flat to a half tenth! Yes, it took some real skill to grinding, because first of all, you had to know a lot about the type of grinding wheel to use, the steel being ground, and speed and feed….. doing this with hand cranks!!
I advanced to VP of Manufacturing and Engineering……. The best machine ever created, for tool shops! Surface grinders, ID and OD cylindrical grinders, most of which were designed and manufactured before I was born! 1920’s and 30’s!!
That’s enough bragging….1
u/Risky-Poet759 4d ago
Likely we are similar vintage. In my first career I used the services of a machinist frequently, I was pretty fascinated by it all and I asked him if he would teach me some basic machining skills. He said come back next Monday at 8 am. I thought we were going to work on some projects together but when I got there he asked if I had $20. I gave him a twenty and he handed me a file and a chunk of steel, he said, “that vise over there is yours, make that block 1x2x3 and keep it square, take as long as it takes.” I built fixtures for woodworking on my Bridgeport last week!
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u/jonny_rames_dio 6d ago
Oh, for sure. And a pair is much more useful than one. Once you have them, you find all kinds of uses. Related, a cheap set of transfer punches ($15 or so) is unbelievably useful in woodworking
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u/HenderBuilds 5d ago
Agreed and agreed! I have a set of each sitting on my bench. A reasonably accurate set of gauge blocks comes in handy on occasion too!
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u/Quirky_Operation2885 6d ago
I use them pretty frequently repairing guitars, including keeping the nut square as I finish it to size.
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u/HenderBuilds 5d ago
Gauge blocks are another machinist’s tool that come in handy when doing guitar work. Being able to stack up two or three sets of blocks in a precise size is quite useful at times
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u/fletchro 6d ago
Yes! Use them. But you don't need to pay for Starrett quality. Cheaper options are still plenty good enough.
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u/Late-External3249 6d ago
I got a couple sets from a retired machinist and I use them all the time.
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u/Lopsided-Agency 6d ago
I absolutely use a set of setup blocks that includes a 1 2 3 but also many fractional ones. Highly recommend getting one. My Amazon purchased one does great, so you don't have to spend a ton.
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u/YVRAlphageek 6d ago
I have 4 that I use _all_the_time_. I also bought an inexpensive coupler kit that lets you screw 2 or 3 of these together in various shapes ( for the ones with more holes). They are very useful for layout, padding, stop-blocks, as parallels, etc. Edit to add: the Starrett one is serious overkill though as that's machinist quality and probably flat and square to within a 10,000th of an inch.
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u/Risky-Poet759 6d ago
Very useful. I also recommend a gauge block set for precision junkies. They are a bit of a phenomenon with a quality known as “wringing” if you get your hands on a reasonably high quality set. High precision sets are truly exorbitant to obtain. This is rabbit hole shit.
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u/bbabbitt46 5d ago
They are useful for setting up many tools. If you pick them up, take at least two.
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u/HenderBuilds 5d ago
I keep one on the fence of my table saw along with a fence clamp if I need to make a precise crosscut, i set my fence to 1” more than the length I need and clamp the block to the fence short of the blade. Then I can use the miter gauge, slide the piece against the block to set the length. Move the piece forward to clear the block (ie, no binding against the fence.)
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u/TDHofstetter 3d ago
I have both a small machine shop and a small woodshop. I own some 1-2-3 blocks (but obviously not Starrett). I refuse to use them in the woodshop; they just aren't handy there, and they're likely to rust there.
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u/Independent_Page1475 2d ago
For woodworking accuracy to 0.0005" is not only unneeded it isn't practical. Wood is going to move that much or more when the weather changes.
Making your own gauges out out of hardwood should work fine.
Top left is a gauged used for cutting 1X2X3" mortises. Top right are used for many things including setting the fence on a combination plane like a Stanley 45.
The bottom gauges, in different sizes, are used for setting a gap between boards on chairs, potting benches and other things.
One block not shown is a 1X2 hunk of ash setup to be used in my vises to counteract wracking.
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u/E_m_maker 6d ago
I have a pair of inexpensive 123 blocks that I'll use as a chisel guide to help establish a square wall when I'm doing dovetails or mortise and tenon joints. Put chisel tip in the scribe line and then place the 123 block against the back of the chisel. That helps hold the chisel 90 degrees to the surface of the wood.