whenever i needed a piece of sandpaper of a specific size, I used to simply tear it on the edge of my workbench. But as the edge of the bench became worn and rounded over the years, I couldn’t tear the sandpaper cleanly. I screwed an old metal bench rule to the front of my workbench, and whenever I need to tear sandpaper I just slip the sheet behind the rule and give a sharp tug on the sandpaper to tear the sheet to size with a clean-cut edge. As an extra benefit, I’m never at a loss when it comes to measuring short workpieces – I just hold them up to the rule attached to the front of the bench.
