Spring retractable rule assemblies have been available commercially for many years. One of the most desirable characteristics commercial rule assemblies can possess is a relatively long blade standout. To date, as a practical matter, that standout length of most blades has rarely exceeded 7 feet or at most approximately 9 feet. Standout is generally measured by the length of the rule assembly blade that can be extended in a self-sustaining manner without the blade buckling under its own weight. An important characteristic of standout relates to the vertical bend that the blade takes in its maximum self-sustained extension. This is generally expressed in terms of the height the housing assumes from a horizontal surface when the free end of the blade is just touching the horizontal surface. The vertical height of the housing above the horizontal surface, the position at which the free end of the blade touches the horizontal surface and the vertical projection of the position of the housing onto the horizontal surface roughly define three points of a right angle triangle. The hypotenuse of the triangle represents a close approximation of the actual length of the blade extending from the housing and the horizontal leg of the triangle represents the linear horizontal extension of the blade. It is generally recognized to be desirable to maintain the ratio between the linear horizontal extension to the actual extension as near to one as possible. There always exists a need to provide a retractable rule assembly that will provide greater standout with a greater ratio of linear horizontal standout to actual standout.