Why does nobody talk about how hard it is to find a good straightedge in small towns?

I was visiting a little drafting supply shop in Eugene, Oregon last month and noticed they only had two types of metal rulers in stock. Both were warped slightly at the ends, which is basically useless for precision work. I asked the guy at the counter and he said most people just order stuff online now. Has anyone else run into this problem with local shops not carrying quality tools anymore?

3 comments

3 Comments

michaelgrant1mo ago

Did you notice if the ones they had were even aluminum or just cheap steel? I drove an hour to a shop in rural Pennsylvania last spring and found the same problem, every ruler they stocked looked like it came from a school supply bin. It's getting frustrating when you need a reliable straightedge for measuring or marking and all you find is flimsy stuff.

jamief671mo ago

Well, I don't know, is it really that serious? I've been using the same metal ruler from a big box hardware store for maybe ten years and it's held up fine for basic measuring and marking. It's not like I'm doing precision machining in my basement, so a little flex doesn't bother me. I wonder if maybe the real problem is that we're just expecting too much from a $3 ruler when most folks just need something to draw a straight line on drywall.

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the_brian1mo ago

Man oh man, this takes me back to when I was trying to build a custom frame for a poster I found at a garage sale. I went to three different hardware stores in my little town and all they had were those flimsy aluminum rulers that bend if you look at them wrong. One guy at the counter actually tried to sell me a yardstick from the school supply aisle. I ended up having to order a stainless steel one from out of state and paying like double the price for shipping. It's wild how hard it is to find a solid piece of metal that's actually straight. I swear the last time I found a good one was at a flea market and it was probably made in the 1960s.