jade32•25d ago

Hot take: framing squares are way more useful than I gave em credit for

I've been doing carpentery for about 6 years now and always just used a speed square for everything. Last week I was building a set of stairs for a porch in Portland and my speed square just wasnt cutting it for the stringer layout. A older guy on site handed me his framing square and showed me how to use the body and tongue for the rise and run. Took me maybe 20 minutes to figure it out but now I feel like I've been missing out this whole time. I even used it yesterday to check a foundation corner for square on a shed job. Has anyone else switched to framing squares later in their career after sticking with speed squares for years?

2 comments

2 Comments

wade76725d ago

Yeah I read something similar on a carpentry forum a while back. Lot of guys were saying the same thing about framing squares being way more accurate for stairs and rafter layout. I think it's one of those tools that looks intimidating but once you get the hang of it it's simple. Speed squares are fine for quick cuts but the big square gives you way better control when you're marking out a whole stringer or checking large corners.

finley_lopez9824d ago

Oh man, I gotta disagree with you there! I've been using speed squares almost exclusively for stairs and rafters for years and I've never had accuracy problems. The key is just making sure you're holding the flange tight against the board every time you mark. For stringers, I actually find the speed square faster because I can flip it around to get consistent rise and run marks without having to reposition a big framing square. I think a lot of it comes down to what you learned on first, and I learned on the little triangle.