How to Use a Swanson Tool Co. Measuring Square

Learn the basics of the square. It is a triangle, with a lip on one edge that slides over the edge of a board. The 7-inch side at a 90-degree angle has inches marked in 1/8-inch increments. Inside that are notches at 1/4-inch spacing from 3/4-inch to 2-1/2 inches, so a pencil can be used to scribe parallel lines. A diamond cutout at the 3-1/2-inch mark can be used to scribe 3-3/8, 3-1/2 or 3-5/8-inch marks. The diagonal edge has marking points for angles.

Use it as a try square, to check or mark a 90-degree angle. Put the lip on an edge of a board and it will form a precise 90-degree angle. The lip makes it simple to make repetitive marks for joists, studs or other features by simply sliding the lip along the edge. It also makes it easy to check right angles on cabinets and boxes or other objects formed with square corners.

Mark 45-degree miters with the angled side of the speed square. Again, its lip makes it easy to position correctly along a board to mark an angle on the diagonal edge. There are no adjustments to make and no chance of the square slipping off the proper pitch, as can happen when marking miters with a combination square, which has an adjustable handle to set for 90 or 45 degrees.

Convert the square to a protractor by using the pivot point, a small notch on the side near the fence. Hold the pivot point with a pencil or nail and swivel it to the designed angle marked on the triangular edge of the square. Degrees are marked from zero to 90, so it is easy to figure any angle. A slot inside that angle has tables for marking rafter angles, with separate markings for common, hip or jack rafters.

Scribe perfect lines. Notches in one of the square's slots enable marking of parallel lines in 1/4-inch increments. Put a pencil into the appropriate notch and slide the fence of the square along the end of the board to make a perfect line parallel to the board edge. This is very useful for marking cut-outs in cabinet work or making mortise and tenon joints.

Make it a saw guide. This is not really a square application, but is a frequent use of the speed square by carpenters using a circular saw which does not have a fixed fence to guide the cut. Set the fence of the speed square on the edge of the board with the 90-degree angle across it to guide the side or shoe of the saw plate. It's best to clamp a board before cutting. Some carpenters put the saw fence on the top of the board and pull the board through the saw with one hand, while others hold the square on the near side and push the saw across the board.