Ratings & Reviews for Swanson Tool Company 8.33-ft Metal Ruler

A straight edge for sheet lumber & more

I need to replace the T1-11 siding of the chimney chases on 2 of my rentals, and the pickings are slim. Currently, [available] sheets of ~1/2" T1-11, 8" OC is $52, and the same, but with 4" OC is around $100+. I decided to router the extra grooves in an 8" OC sheet, saving me $40+ per sheet. The first cuts I made looked really good, but you can easily see the spot where I had to move my 4' drywall "T" to cut the other half of the groove. I looked at a bunch of 8-foot + straight edges and thi...

if you don't have a tablesaw

this is great. it comes with clamps so you have a guide now and can rip whole sheet of plywood with a skill saw and its striaght.

Use more clamps in the center to keep from flexing

Works well to straighten sides of 8ft 3/4" oak boards

Stays in place for a straight cut

The attached clips keep the straight edge in place. works well for the price paid. Takes a little more work to ensure the edge is straight.

Works as it should. Packaging could be better.

Guide works as expected. My issue came with packaging. The first one I bought had an 1/8" nic on the edge. The nic was covered by the cardboard so I couldn't see it until I opened the package. Since it was not exposed, I figure it could've been there before packaging. The second had a deep scratch on the face caused by the joining bar. The third had a minor scratch caused by the joining bar as well.

Great straight edge that's easily portable

Solid straight edge, easy to transport cause it comes apart, goes back together easily

Works well but c clamps do not work. They get in the way. Solution, screw to the work piece to secure.

Long straight edge

I needed a long straight edge to use as a saw guide on dome rough cut lumber. It worked great

A little better than my old one

Wedge lock-up on connector seems to work well. Will see after multiple disassembly/reassembly rotations. Included thumb screws are a nice touch, but not sure if their extra height may interfere with some tools. My saw, when set to lowest position, bumped over them, so I put in the lower phillips head set screws. after that, no problem. Only other problem was with the included c-clamps. Quality is 1 star, maybe. Only useful for very rough work due to "imprinting" on what ever they are clamped on...

Wonderful tool

This is a great tool for anyone who rips large sheets of plywood / melamine that don't have a table saw! Works great!

Bad Unit -Flex renders it useless for precise cuts

When joining the two pieces with the joining plate for long rip cuts, which is why I purchased it, there was a noticeable 1/16th inch bow in the middle that could not be corrected by flipping the joining plate or flip-flopping the two halves. Obviously a manufacturing defect, but as others have had this issue, it's kind of hit and miss in the quality department. I'm returning this and getting the Kreg rip guide.

I should have bought this long ago.

This product is a great adjunct for a circular saw. The low profile allows it to fit under the saw motor when making cuts.

Excellent tool and customer service from Swanson

I've owned this tool for several years, and it does a great job of guiding my circular saw over sheet goods to break them down. Make sure you secure it well and you'll get laser-straight cuts. The convenient adaptability is also its only drawback: to break it down you must loosen screws that hold a binding plate in place. I lost my screws, and had to contact Swanson to ask them to sell me some replacement screws. Instead, the representative I reached merely offered to send me some at no char...

Joiner bar came defective with untapped holes

I bought this a month or so ago and used it for the first time this weekend on a 4x8 sheet of plywood. The splice/joiner bar intended to connect the two pieces had 4 untapped holes, so I couldn't use it. without the screws (and I suspect even with the screws based on other reviews) the "straight" edge bowed in the middle and wouldn't give a straight cut