Automobiles have a lot of areas that require extremely tight or true tolerances and checking for true flatness is necessary for things like cylinder heads, engine blocks, intake decks, and bearing surfaces. Using your eyeball or an old carpenters level isn’t the best choice if you want a good reading.
With a Precise 24 inch Straight Edge you are able to lay it across a surface and use feeler gauges to check for any gaps under the straight edge. On precise engine components any gap at all could mean the surface is warped and needs to be machined or isn’t usable. These straight edges are also great for doing final bodywork on a vehicle where you want to make sure the panel is dead flat like factory. For less tight tolerances like in body work you can use a flashlight on the back side of the straight edge to visually look for any light leaking around gaps under the straight edge. No matter what a good precision flat edge is a must have around any garage or workshop and should be kept with your other measuring devices for easy access.
You can find all of our measuring devices for your garage HERE.