# Seen in my local hardware store, didn't even buy - feedback please!



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Sounds like it may have some finish on them.try extending the extention and sanding the sides with some 600 grit sand paper and the bottom if you feel it's necessary,it shouldn't take much sanding.


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## Dreek (Oct 31, 2014)

> Sounds like it may have some finish on them.try extending the extention and sanding the sides with some 600 grit sand paper and the bottom if you feel it s necessary,it shouldn t take much sanding.
> 
> - a1Jim


Didn't buy them, these were in the store, Jim. I guess my point is that I don't feel that I need to be repairing new goods, especially something so simple that I've been able to use right off the shelf for decades.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Dreek
I get your point and I agree,but in today's marketplace the quality and care in making many things is just not there anymore so sometimes we have to work with what we can get.


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## Dreek (Oct 31, 2014)

Unfortunately, Jim, you're right. It makes me sad. I repeatedly struggle with whether to fight the good fight or give in and buy from the foolish people who put profit above everything AND fail to see how quality can bring them profit.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

I don't see a sticking slide as lacking quality. Is it fit and finish? Maybe, maybe not, but going all in and calling it repair of new goods seems extreme. Don't buy a chisel, then, as it will need to be sharpened for best use. Or even a handplane from Veritas or Lie-Nielsen as those irons don't come as sharp as they could be.

Plenty of quality gripes to be had out there, don't get me wrong, it just seemed like an overreaction in this case. Oh, and I'm not a stockholder for Lufkin or anything. I use their stick rules, but favor the Two-Way models vs. the extension varieties.

A bit of bee's wax in the track would likely be a fine 'repair' to the slide, if you decide to buy another. If not, I'm sure there are some broken-in examples on ebay.


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

Curmudgeonly as I am, I agree with Smitty.

I haven't bought anything made in the US, Japan, China or the EU, in the last 10 years, that I haven't had to fix in the the long run.


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## Dreek (Oct 31, 2014)

I'm thinking that this has morphed from a discussion of whether the modern incarnations of my beloved Lufkin folding rulers have degraded in quality (which was really my intended exploration) to one much more philosophical in nature.

The consensus seems to be "everything is going to hell in a hand-basket, so accept and get over it." From a practical standpoint, I have to agree. (Don't sweat the small stuff, and it's all small stuff yadda yadda yadda.) But the notion still rubs me the wrong way, especially when I hear that kind of sentiment from folks who indulge in a hobby (or profession for many of you) that presumably places high value on quality of product workmanship.

My idealism makes me appear foolish or downright anal at times, I know, but I wear it with pride because it is distinctive and on balance positive, and I know from the past that these rulers can be and have been, over and over again, made right. It's not a lost art, just lost good attitude, IMO.

So…has anybody bought a good (by my standards, non-sticking  Lufkin (or any brand) of folder recently?


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

I have a lufkin slide-extending rule of the exact (I think) kind you posted above. Bought it more than a decade ago, actually, for some job where I didn't have one of my regulars with me. The slide doesn't slide, it's a real pain to move. I thought, at that time and now, they were all that way, and wondered why anyone would see it as a useful thing to have when it's so difficult to use.

Honest.

And I didn't propose 'all is going to hell in a hand-basket.' That's too depressing an outlook. I just reacted to your conclusion that the rule was outright broken / needed fixing. EDIT: With handplanes needing work, new or otherwise, it's accepted as needed 'fettling' to get thing optimal. The best tools need little of this; others, quite a bit more. In the case of Sliding Lufkin, the slide may need wax or 600 grit paper, and the joints some fine machine oil to be optimal. That's all I'm suggesting.


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## redryder (Nov 28, 2009)

This is the first review I have seen from someone who has not purchased the product.
This could start a whole new topic of people who go to the store and just pick it up off the shelf and give it a "consumer reports" review of products that are never bought….................................


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## Dreek (Oct 31, 2014)

I'm so sorry I ever started this.

@redryder Why don' t you enlighten me and tell me what I needed to do in order to do a *proper* review of a folding ruler, that I couldn't do in the 20 seconds I handled it in the store??? Sheesh.


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## longgone (May 5, 2009)

> I m thinking that this has morphed from a discussion of whether the modern incarnations of my beloved Lufkin folding rulers have degraded in quality (which was really my intended exploration) to one much more philosophical in nature.
> 
> The consensus seems to be "everything is going to hell in a hand-basket, so accept and get over it." From a practical standpoint, I have to agree. (Don t sweat the small stuff, and it s all small stuff yadda yadda yadda.) But the notion still rubs me the wrong way, especially when I hear that kind of sentiment from folks who indulge in a hobby (or profession for many of you) that presumably places high value on quality of product workmanship.
> 
> ...


I Agree 100%. There are No acceptable excuses for lack of quality except those having no standards or pride.
No excuses are ever necessary when a product is of quality.
I have a Lufkin folding rule with the slide and also have a Starrett folding rule with the slide extension. The Starrett is of slightly better quality but they both do operate smoothly without tweaking.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

I used mine today. Works just like it did when new…but I can't recall if it was in the 70's or 80's. :-( 
The slide moves with a little thumb pressure and stays put when it is set.


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## Nickdarr (Nov 2, 2012)

I saw one at the red big box store and was showing my 8 y/o son how they work. The slide was snug, but moved easily enough for him to use. Maybe it is a case of excessively tight tolerances in a dry factory that gets out of whack in any type of humidity. We are in a dry climate with heat in the store this time of year, making it very dry. We also only used one, so I can't speak for the rest of the batch they had on the shelf. Just my .02¢


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## timbertailor (Jul 2, 2014)

I love my old tools. When things were still made with pride and quality, and no sign of plastic anywhere.

The only vote you have in this country that is worth a damn is with your dollar. I agree with you Derek. We should not have to lower our standards, just because the majority of the population has accepted mediocrity as a given.

I call it the "McDonald's Syndrome" A company that makes some of the worst hamburgers on the planet making billions of dollars because it is inexpensive, semi convenient, and cheap. Quality is no longer required to generate revenue from those who suffer from this affliction.


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## Magnum (Feb 5, 2010)

> I m so sorry I ever started this.
> 
> @redryder Why don t you enlighten me and tell me what I needed to do in order to do a *proper* review of a folding ruler, that I couldn t do in the 20 seconds I handled it in the store??? Sheesh.
> 
> - Dreek


We usually do reviews based on something we've bought and used and have had experience with.

How can you do a Review on something that all you did was hold it in your hand for 20 seconds? 
Forget the "Proper" part.

I don't know what "Sheesh" is suppose to mean, other than being Sarcastic, but the answer to your question is you CAN'T do a "Review" of any kind on something you've never used.

Have you ever bought a Table saw that didn't take a week or so to get it set up and running properly? A Band saw, a Drill Press?

You should have bought it/them and spent 10 minutes "Fixing" it/them.

EDIT: Just had a look at your Profile:

*36 posts in 34 days
Location: Gone
Website:

"Wish I could say it was fun."*

So. You Left LJ's? Did we hurt your feelings or something? ... LOL ….. BYE!


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## MarkDavisson (Apr 26, 2009)

I understand that organic food is better for me and that some vehicles will last longer, but I can't afford to buy the highest quality products on the market, so I buy products of less quality and try to make them work for my purposes. So far, so good.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

He left. Huh. Not sure what he was looking for, anyway. Good riddance.


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

Bought one of these back in the mid seventies…still use it today with no issues. Sad to see your 3 star "review" on them.
I guess I'll have to do a review on mine at *5 stars *to help boost them back up where they belong.


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## HMWWAWCC (Jun 26, 2011)

On a couple of the preceding remarks:
I have several of folding rules that work fine. If one lays them next to any tape rule one would note disagreement after several inches but which of them, folding or tape, is true and which is not isn't clear to me since I don't live near NIST to prove any of them.
I bought a Milwaukee 1/2" Right Angle drill 24 years ago. Built three houses and renovated several more using the drill A LOT - one house was a log cabin whereby the frequency of drilling may have surpassed sawing. It stripped a gear a few months ago and needs repair. I remember hearing 24 years ago how they don't make stuff like they used to. It's someone's opinion that has no base in reality for me.


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## Magnum (Feb 5, 2010)

OH! He came back and even changed his Profile Message.

"Just lurking, mostly. (You can't argue with a sick mind, after all, and they seem to be in endless supply in online forums.)"

HUMMM?


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