[Novalug] OT: Rant Engineering Steel Square

[Varol Okan]

So I am trying to build this chess robot and as such I'll have to do
some metal work.

One of the things I was looking to get was a simple "engineering steel
square", which I thought should be easy to find. However after going to
Sears, Lowes, Home Depot, and finally looking at Amazon I came to the
realization that this is the hardest tool to find.

Sure I could have gotten a set of 3 or 4 for about $30,- to $40,- but
since I mostly use one hand to hold the square and one to hold te piece
I am working on, I really only needed 1 steel square and $30,- for a
tool like that seemed too high.

Now why is that ? A simple tool like this ? It's not a trade secret
after all; two steel bars aligned at 90degrees, without much fuss. Go
figure.

What I found however were about two gazillion pliers, the same amount of
wrenches, screwdriver and the likes.

Sorry for the rant but I found that very interesting. I ended up buying
a steel square for wood work, which is covered with a in clear paint
coat to prevent it from rusting. So I guess it'll do ( barely though )
but it is not the perfect tool for the job plus it is a bit bigger than
I needed it to be.


Anyhow,
I am planing in going from Herndon to Arcade Electronics in Alexandria
early this week ( depending on the weather ) and have one or two seats
left if some one is interested let me know. I am planing in staying just
about 30-40 minutes, to look around with my son.
http://www.arcade-electronics.com/

Varol