Spyderco Forums

I’ve wanted a surface gauge for ages but always jury rigged something to get by.

I could have easily bought a brand new one but I suspect they wouldn’t be quite like the item I remember from my trade years.

Anyhow, I bought this older Starrett from someone in the US via EBay.

It’s in absolutely perfect working order with a beautiful patina. Most importantly the screws haven’t been marred or the scriber sharpened by some kook with a bench grinder.

I dismantled it and I’m certain no one else had done prior as I’m certain it had the original factor oil in the main pivot, still clean.

Anyhow, I gave it a scrub with Nycolube and a nylon parts brush and lubed in with same.



Wouldn’t swap it for a dozen new ones.

That’s a beaut! I visited my 92 yr ol’ man last week - both him (& his father) were skilled machinists* and his workshop is full of gauges & the like.

What I especially like is that these will literally last & function for ever, if looked after.

*Not me, though. I haven’t a clue what they’re all for, and can’t decipher the non - metric scales anyway!

I learned my trade from fifteen years from men like you describe and yeah, these things are so well made with simple care would last for centuries and still be fully functional.

I’ve used the same surface gauge by Eclipse and Moore and Wright also, both English made and also excellent tools, but I believe Starrett actually patented the design in the very late 1800’s.

Latest thing I bought (and ultimately returned) was a Kobalt electric chainsaw. It actually worked impressively well, I just decided I'd get a better one eventually (or slightly bigger). It's really amazing how far cordless power tools have come in the last 10 years, I never dreamed I'd see a cordless chainsaw that was worth a crap. I think in the spring I'm getting a new cordless chainsaw and a weed eater for around the house.

I’m hearing you D, it is quite amazing how far cordless tools have come. Surprisingly enough they also seem to be reasonable priced also.

Milwaukee-M12-12-Volt-Lithium-Ion-Cordless-1-4-in-Right-Angle-Hex-Impact-Driver-

We have a couple of cordless tools for yard work .We have the small Stihl chain saw and a Black&Decker weed eater for small jobs . They do a pretty good job , but like any tool have their limitations . The Stihl has to have the chain manually oiled after changing out the battery . If battery gets too hot shuts down ( this is good ) , it has a ambi liver above trigger that must be pushed down when pulling the trigger which is a nice safety feature . Works very well on small limbs that are accessible but tight places not so much . Saw is in very high demand and commercial tree outfits are using them as well . The weed eater is a one stringer , the string is small gauge so not really made for heavy work but fine for small residential homes . I like it for small jobs in back because the shaft is adjustable so it fits nicely in back of Polaris bed . Battery life is very good .Leaf blowers will probably always be gas due to the size of yard and trees around our home . I use a Echo 512 back pack and a Stihl F86 commercial handheld . I actually use the Stihl to blow snow off walks if not too deep .

Used my new tungsten carbide bit on the dremel today to make quick work of a piece of steel needing to lose some weight ! It is a good cutting tool, I might add a few sharpening holes to a few knives that have poor plunge grinds relative to their edge.

Speaking to cordless again, the Christmas Tree farmers around here have went to cordless chainsaws
They put out more Christmas Trees here (Douglas Fir) than any other place in the Country.
Granted, Christmas Trees don't present much of a challenge in the felling dept but, they cut so many of them. So yeah, those cordless chainsaws work great.
Stihl, Husqvarna & Makita are used a lot around here.
I'll be getting a little Makita for lite stuff around the house. But, I'll always have my gas&oil Husqvarna 562xp and my big Jonsered 2094 too
There's only so much battery saws will do now....who knows what the future holds.

MacLaren wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:23 am

Speaking to cordless again, the Christmas Tree farmers around here have went to cordless chainsaws
They put out more Christmas Trees here (Douglas Fir) than any other place in the Country.
Granted, Christmas Trees don't present much of a challenge in the felling dept but, they cut so many of them. So yeah, those cordless chainsaws work great.
Stihl, Husqvarna & Makita are used a lot around here.
I'll be getting a little Makita for lite stuff around the house. But, I'll always have my gas&oil Husqvarna 562xp and my big Jonsered 2094 too
There's only so much battery saws will do now....who knows what the future holds.

Jonsered = Top Fuel chainsaw! One of my techs here at work has one, I've never heard a chainsaw sound like that before!

Just bought a Snap-On 3/8 four way angle head open end wrench for the #8 cylinder rear header bolt on my Z/28, bought some nice ARP header bolts.....I hate headers!

Unless you count cordless hole punches, my newest tool is this cabinet hardware jig that I purchased about a month ago to end 10+ years of procrastination. When I purchased my house, the cabinet doors and drawers had no handles on them. Builder claimed that was what was in style. Bought handles, then tried to figure out how to make a jig to insure they'd all line up. Thought about it every so often over the next ten years, never came up with anything. A few months back, I got the bright idea to see if anyone made such a jig and found one on Amazon, but it cost over $200. Then, last month, this one showed up on the Amazon home page for $28 and, three days after it arrived, all 34 doors and drawers finally had handles.

I think as battery tech progresses we're gonna see gas chainsaws and weed eaters die off entirely for all but full on lumberjacks. The ease of operation (never having to deal with one not running right) and low noise are huge advantages for the average person. Once they get a battery pack that doesn't weight 20lbs that will last as long as a tank of gas and doesn't take 4 hours to recharge it'll be a done deal.

I purchased some German hand tools a few weeks ago. I'd like to use them, but they never seem to ship. Still pending Chad!

benben wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:46 am

MacLaren wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:23 am

Speaking to cordless again, the Christmas Tree farmers around here have went to cordless chainsaws
They put out more Christmas Trees here (Douglas Fir) than any other place in the Country.
Granted, Christmas Trees don't present much of a challenge in the felling dept but, they cut so many of them. So yeah, those cordless chainsaws work great.
Stihl, Husqvarna & Makita are used a lot around here.
I'll be getting a little Makita for lite stuff around the house. But, I'll always have my gas&oil Husqvarna 562xp and my big Jonsered 2094 too
There's only so much battery saws will do now....who knows what the future holds.

Jonsered = Top Fuel chainsaw! One of my techs here at work has one, I've never heard a chainsaw sound like that before!

Just bought a Snap-On 3/8 four way angle head open end wrench for the #8 cylinder rear header bolt on my Z/28, bought some nice ARP header bolts.....I hate headers!

Lol, I hear ya benben!
The Jonsered 2094 (94cc) was made only few years. 1989-1993 or 94 if not mistaken.
What's really interesting about the 2094 is that the first couple years she was made, she didn't have a decomp button!! Now, these 2094's were something to behold in their day (Dennis Calhoun Stihl Timbersports Hot Saw man used a Jonsered 2094 as personal saw) well these dam things came stock with 200 pounds of compression!! It is incredibly hard to start a saw with 200 pounds of compression without a decompression button! We would have to drop start the dam thing. It's wander me or my dad didn't cut our leg off!! Because when you drop start one - your keeping the throttle held wide open!! When it starts its at max power!
That's why Jonsered made the change mid production to add a decomp button. Wish they would've started making them with a decomp button. That saw cuts like no other though.

MacLaren wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 22, 2021 10:13 am

benben wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:46 am

MacLaren wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:23 am

Speaking to cordless again, the Christmas Tree farmers around here have went to cordless chainsaws
They put out more Christmas Trees here (Douglas Fir) than any other place in the Country.
Granted, Christmas Trees don't present much of a challenge in the felling dept but, they cut so many of them. So yeah, those cordless chainsaws work great.
Stihl, Husqvarna & Makita are used a lot around here.
I'll be getting a little Makita for lite stuff around the house. But, I'll always have my gas&oil Husqvarna 562xp and my big Jonsered 2094 too
There's only so much battery saws will do now....who knows what the future holds.

Jonsered = Top Fuel chainsaw! One of my techs here at work has one, I've never heard a chainsaw sound like that before!

Just bought a Snap-On 3/8 four way angle head open end wrench for the #8 cylinder rear header bolt on my Z/28, bought some nice ARP header bolts.....I hate headers!

Lol, I hear ya benben!
The Jonsered 2094 (94cc) was made only few years. 1989-1993 or 94 if not mistaken.
What's really interesting about the 2094 is that the first couple years she was made, she didn't have a decomp button!! Now, these 2094's were something to behold in their day (Dennis Calhoun Stihl Timbersports Hot Saw man used a Jonsered 2094 as personal saw) well these dam things came stock with 200 pounds of compression!! It is incredibly hard to start a saw with 200 pounds of compression without a decompression button! We would have to drop start the dam thing. It's wander me or my dad didn't cut our leg off!! Because when you drop start one - your keeping the throttle held wide open!! When it starts its at max power!
That's why Jonsered made the change mid production to add a decomp button. Wish they would've started making them with a decomp button. That saw cuts like no other though.

They're basically a balanced & blueprinted Husqvarna...right? And I may be wrong but I think I've either read or heard that.

Here you go .

benben wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 22, 2021 10:36 am

MacLaren wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 22, 2021 10:13 am

benben wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:46 am

MacLaren wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:23 am

Speaking to cordless again, the Christmas Tree farmers around here have went to cordless chainsaws
They put out more Christmas Trees here (Douglas Fir) than any other place in the Country.
Granted, Christmas Trees don't present much of a challenge in the felling dept but, they cut so many of them. So yeah, those cordless chainsaws work great.
Stihl, Husqvarna & Makita are used a lot around here.
I'll be getting a little Makita for lite stuff around the house. But, I'll always have my gas&oil Husqvarna 562xp and my big Jonsered 2094 too
There's only so much battery saws will do now....who knows what the future holds.

Jonsered = Top Fuel chainsaw! One of my techs here at work has one, I've never heard a chainsaw sound like that before!

Just bought a Snap-On 3/8 four way angle head open end wrench for the #8 cylinder rear header bolt on my Z/28, bought some nice ARP header bolts.....I hate headers!

Lol, I hear ya benben!
The Jonsered 2094 (94cc) was made only few years. 1989-1993 or 94 if not mistaken.
What's really interesting about the 2094 is that the first couple years she was made, she didn't have a decomp button!! Now, these 2094's were something to behold in their day (Dennis Calhoun Stihl Timbersports Hot Saw man used a Jonsered 2094 as personal saw) well these dam things came stock with 200 pounds of compression!! It is incredibly hard to start a saw with 200 pounds of compression without a decompression button! We would have to drop start the dam thing. It's wander me or my dad didn't cut our leg off!! Because when you drop start one - your keeping the throttle held wide open!! When it starts its at max power!
That's why Jonsered made the change mid production to add a decomp button. Wish they would've started making them with a decomp button. That saw cuts like no other though.

They're basically a balanced & blueprinted Husqvarna...right? And I may be wrong but I think I've either read or heard that.

Yes. Although, they used to be solely Jonsered.
I love Husqvarna/Jonsered bro.

I love chainsaws too! Although mine is definitely not remotely "new". I've owned it for about 15 years, and I think my buddy bought it a few years prior, before he sold it to me.

I'll never get rid of this old gas saw - too much nostalgia. I've cut so much wood with my dad over the years that I always think of those times when the smell and sound of the gas engine starts up.

But it is still a giant hassle to run/maintain, and I look forward to when the average mid range electric saw is as capable and long-lived as my old Stihl. Then I'll own both.

Apologies for the slight derail.

Stihl MS310

Capt'n Boatsalot wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 22, 2021 4:01 pm

I love chainsaws too! Although mine is definitely not remotely "new". I've owned it for about 15 years, and I think my buddy bought it a few years prior, before he sold it to me.

I'll never get rid of this old gas saw - too much nostalgia. I've cut so much wood with my dad over the years that I always think of those times when the smell and sound of the gas engine starts up.

But it is still a giant hassle to run/maintain, and I look forward to when the average mid range electric saw is as capable and long-lived as my old Stihl. Then I'll own both.

Apologies for the slight derail.

Stihl MS310

Nice saw, Cap'n! We have a few Stihls and we love em.
Can't go wrong with a Stihl

Capt'n Boatsalot wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 22, 2021 4:01 pm

I love chainsaws too! Although mine is definitely not remotely "new". I've owned it for about 15 years, and I think my buddy bought it a few years prior, before he sold it to me.

I'll never get rid of this old gas saw - too much nostalgia. I've cut so much wood with my dad over the years that I always think of those times when the smell and sound of the gas engine starts up.

But it is still a giant hassle to run/maintain, and I look forward to when the average mid range electric saw is as capable and long-lived as my old Stihl. Then I'll own both.

Apologies for the slight derail.

Stihl MS310

No worries , I have a Farm Boss , and only problem ever was replacing primer bulb . Chain saws are fun !