Starrett 505A-12 ProSite 12-Inch Dial Protractor
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List Price: Our Price: $49.00 You Save: $14.00 (22%) Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 4 weeks Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Starrett 505A-12 ProSite 12-Inch Dial Protractor
Customer Review: Great tool
Summary: 5 Stars
Dont order it on the internet....go to the tool store with your speed square. 1st 1 I checked was out a 1/2 degree, 2nd 1 was on the money.Customer Review: Great tool!
Summary: 5 Stars
I read several old reviews here of the 505A-12 - and its smaller 7" sibling - and became nervous about the suggested lack of accuracy due to poor decal placement. So I contacted Starrett to verify if - as their web site claimed - the scales are now laser engraved and don't still employ simple decals. They assured me that the laser engraving was an enhancement implemented a few years back, and expressed frustration that Amazon reviews never expire due to age and this has lead to much confusion about their products.
Based upon this information, I bought a 505A from Amazon. It is, indeed, a great tool with a highly-accurate scale that exhibits none of the inaccuracies that others mentioned here years ago. One of the qualities that I like most - in addition to the accuracy, of course - is the very smooth yet snug action of the pivot, i.e. the pivot action is tight enough that the protractor will easily hold its position. You can use it in tight places where you can't read the scale until the protractor is removed from the measurement location; it's not going to move.
Wish I'd had this gizmo 40 years ago!
Customer Review: Great tool, at a fraction of the cost of electronic versions
Summary: 5 Stars
I have owned this protractor for a couple of months now, and have had excellent results with it. The early versions (I had one a year ago) that had two arrows on the dial <------> versus a single arrow like they have now }-----> were not as accurate (as much as a half degree difference between the two arrow head readings!). I also have the Bosch electronic miter finder, which is an excellent tool, but this one sees a lot more use these days as it is not as fragile, and is smaller/easier to carry.
There is really no learning curve with this tool, as it is very intuitive and can be used right out of the package without any setup.
I hope the manufacturer quickly comes out with smaller (6") and larger (2')versions of this tool, as there are certainly woodworking applications where this would be useful if it were not as big.
If you are like me, and work on houses where the walls are rarely 90-degrees on the nose, you can get very professional results with this tool.
Customer Review: I really like this tool, but...
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this protractor to use in my woodshop and also for home improvement projects around the house and so far I have very few complaints. The aluminum construction of this tool is extremely sturdy. You can tell just by holding it that it is built to last forever. The legs of this protractor swing easily yet "hold" their setting adequately. Thus no thumbscrews or clamping devices are necessary to keep the angle set while moving the protractor to your miter saw or workpiece.
My only reason for not rating this 5 stars is thus: I was dismayed to see that the graduated scales on my protractor appear to be off by about 1/2 degree. By that I mean when I fold the protractor completely closed, and thus should be "zeroed", the scales do not align but rather they appear to be off the mark by 1/2 degree or so. When I called Starrett about this, they said that those scales are merely stickers that are applied to the protractor body, and as such they are only guaranteed accurate to +/- one gradation on the one scale and +/-2 gradations on the other scale.
Despite this obvious shortcoming, this is still a reasonably accurate tool at a good price (for Starrett anyway).
Customer Review: It's about time!
Summary: 5 Stars
Finally, after more than forty years of professional woodworking, from cabinets to timber frame,I have a tool so simple and a concept so obvious that I could kick myself for not thinking of it thirty years ago myself.. The ProSite is a fool proof short cut to taking a reading with an angle divider, transferring it to a protractor or bevel gauge, setting the chop saw and then having to make at least one test cut before cutting a piece of trim.
My tool was dead on accurate. Not a machinist tool like the old Sarrett tools, but great for woodworking or any other trade that needs to measure or divide angles. I just got one of the new smaller models and my main complaint was answered. I can now measure returns on short corners. These tools more than payed for themselves in one days work.