Link: http://HarborFreightReviews.com

Item: 16" x 24" Steel Square
Item number: 9541
Retail price: $7.99
Regular sale price: $4.99
Target price: $4.99
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This quality steel square is a great bargain at our target price and won't easily become lost amongst the boards thanks to its bright yellow color. Both English (hum, I see this is now being called by some at Harbor Freight "SAE" but really?) and metric scales are etched clearly into the steel, but both edges still produce smooth straight lines for drawing. Admittedly we do little more than draw simple perpendicular lines on pieces to be cut, but we get more than our money's worth at that. For lines 10" and less, we often use our stripped-down combination square.

Bottom line: A great buy at the target price, brightly colored and well marked for easy reading.

Link: http://HarborFreightReviews.com

Item: 12" Combination Square Set
Item number: 92471
Retail price: $7.99
Frequent sale price: $5.99
Target price: $4.99 (with coupon)
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This review is more of a price advisory than a real evaluation of the product. An unadvised shopper should easily walk into the store and pay full price for this item if they weren't aware that it can often be purchased for half of the normal retail price. If you think you might use it, buy it while it's on sale for half the normal retail price.

We normally remove two of the slides and keep only the 90-degree arm on this tool. We use it to draw simple, perpendicular lines on wood and other material. We've reattached the protractor a few times and used it to draw angled lines. It too seems to work very well, securely locking the desired settings. Unlike the aluminum angle rafter square which has gradations etched into the drawing surface, this combination square makes perfectly smooth lines. We still like the rafter square for 'squaring up' our machinery, but this is the tool for measuring and drawing small lines. For drawing perpendicular lines on larger pieces, we use Harbor Freight's 16 x 24" steel square which can be found on-sale for as little as $4.99.

Hint: We use this combination square far less since we've purchased a 12" sliding compound miter saw (click here for the review). The miter saw cuts perfectly perpendicular cuts without having to draw out the cut-line first on the work piece. This is much quicker and more accurate than when we use to draw a perpendicular line on a board and then cut it with a handsaw or with a hand-held power saw. Of course there are materials not suitable for cutting with our miter saw and we still use this combination square on occasion.

Bottom line: A good, inexpensive combination square which locks firmly and has clear, smooth gradations for marking work pieces. Buy it on-sale for half its normal retail price.