Another Old Starrett rarity

rivett608 · Feb 6, 2005

A while ago I posted Starrett's first combination square...... here is another tool that is pretty rare..... it is the 5" protractor head.... while millions have been made in the 7" (wide across the bottom) the 5" was made for only a short time....... it was never illustrated in the catalogs, just listed and later only a very small mention at the bottom of the page..... these are marked with the patent date of Aug. 7 1883 and only take a special 9" rule.... the catalog page is from the 1884 catalog which was only 10 pages.... how things have changed....

rivett608 · Feb 6, 2005

This picture shows this oddity a little better..... a standard model 7" Starrett protractor head on the top and this rare 5" on the bottom....

jim rozen · Feb 6, 2005

That's a really sweet little protractor!!

I wish they still sold those, I find that
the starrett ones today are a bit large and
clunky for what I do with them. I also
really like the fact that the blade is
purely exterior to the body of the protractor,
and can pivot around at any angle without
worrying about a slot.

Jim

rivett608 · Feb 7, 2005

Thanks Jim........ while this 5" is hard to find, the early 7" ones are quite common and have that feature allowing the blade to rotate all the way around....... try eBay, but try to buy one with the blade..... the first few years they made these they took a thinner blade and a modern (past about 1915...) one will not fit.

I've even seen 7" ones cut down as the smaller size is perfect for some work.... so get a cheap one and take aa hack saw and file to it, you won't be the first.

bryanrj · Oct 26, 2020

Not mine. One of these 5" protractors is up on eBay now, 10/26/2020. Minneapolis location, Asking $300, taking offers. Has a link to this thread in the listing... https://www.ebay.com/i/224096607608...2sWBy3MWCVb-vb7MixHfCrVqZS4j_dLMaAgPfEALw_wcB

1potatoe · Dec 2, 2020

Another 5 “ protractor — I had this for 25-30 years—-kept it in my open toolbox at work as a user

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

rivett608 · Dec 2, 2020

That is one of the nicest I’ve seen.

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