Had a $200 tool repair bill that taught me a lesson about cheap gear

I bought a $40 combo square set from a discount store about 2 years ago. Figured it was fine for layout work on roofs and gutters. Last month I checked it against my old framing square and found it was off by almost 1/16th over 12 inches. That little error cost me a full day of re-cutting some drip edge on a job in Arlington. Paid $200 to get a professional grade combo square and a torpedo level instead. The square I got locks tight and stays true, no more guessing. Anyone else find that cheap measuring tools end up costing more in the long run?

3 comments

3 Comments

morgan_king361mo ago

Wait, you lost a full day of work over a $40 square being off by 1/16th? That is brutal. I would have thrown that thing across the job site. Two years of trusting it too, that's the real killer. At least you caught it before you framed an entire roof with it or something. A day of cutting and re-cutting drip edge in Arlington probably cost you way more than $200 in labor and material. Cheap measuring tools are a trap, they let you think you're working fast when you're really just building mistakes. Good on you for finally getting something that locks up tight.

jessica7071mo ago

I read somewhere that a lot of those cheaper squares actually get knocked out of square just from being dropped on concrete, so it's almost a waiting game until they fail you.

ward.kim1mo ago

yeah @morgan_king36 that's exactly what it felt like. i kept thinking i was saving time by using a tool i was used to, but really i was just digging myself a hole. a day of redo work on drip edge in arlington was probably close to $400 once you figure in the gas and the frustration. a cheap square is like a bad habit you don't know you have until it costs you.