How to Use a Speed Square | Ask This Old House

so tommy i'm pulling all the guys about their favorite tool and i am shocked that yours is the humble little speed square i figured with all the tools you have this is your favorite it's a tool that i carry with me all the time it's a speed square also known as a rafter square it's not just for cutting rafters but i think it's a tool that everyone should have when they hang on a second i know who you're hanging out with but there's a lot of homeowners cutting rafters or building roofs you think people should have this absolutely it's a very handy tool like i say it's not just for cutting rafters but it has a 90 degree angle right here and a 45 degree angle right here if you look at the bottom of the square there's this lip right here right so you push that lip tightly to the edge whichever edge you want you now have a square line with this edge or if i flip it like that i can go from this point right here i now have a 45 degree angle like that but it's not just for marking i can use it as a guide if i want to cut a straight line with my saw i can draw the line i can then take my saw put my saw blade on my line bring the speed square over hold it tightly against the edge now i have a nice square straight cut instant fence for your saw anywhere in the field nice now it's not just for cutting 90 degree or 45 degree cuts it's actually a protractor too and right here is a pivot point so if i hold my square tight to the edge and i swing it these measurements right here are degrees so if i swing it like this i've got 50 and if i stop right there for example there's 22 and a half if i mark that right there that angle will be 22 and a half degrees off of that right that is terrific all right okay now i use it a lot for framing and let's say i want to frame a wall and i want the studs to be 16 inches on center so i just go along and i mark my stud all right and i put an x where i want the stud to go but i also want to make sure that i have a square line across the stud so i hold my square on there and mark it like that and i've seen you guys just go straight down the line when you're framing up a wall you're flying oh yeah speed is the issue here all right so now let's say i want to put another stud beside this one let's say i want to do a double stud or a jack stud on this edge of the speed square there's other marking increments this is one inch from the edge this is an inch and a half from the edge this is two inches from the edge well i know that a stud is an inch and a half thick so i slide this over put it on my inch and a half mark all right so now that's my jack stud and it's going to go right there an inch and a half from this edge okay so you've shown us a bunch of these measurements we've got basically a ruler here knife tools is another ruler on this side but there are notches here i see a diamond lots of markings on this right well this diamond right here is at three and a half inches that's the width of the two by four if i put my pencil in there and i drag it keeping the square tight to the edge over here i have a nice straight line that's three and a half inches from this edge so as if you laid a two by four on the flat right there right now let's say i wanted to scribe a line down the edge and i want it to be an inch or an inch and a half or two inches from this edge i put my pencil in this notch right here and i drag the square down the edge and i have a straight line that's two inches from this edge that i could rip off a piece or i could put something on that line so that actually replaces that little trick you do with your thumb right now all right and it saves on splinters all right so a great device to have when you're framing would you consider it appropriate to use it to find out if a two by four is actually put square to the plate below like that it's a quick reference it tells you that that one was square and that one isn't no it isn't maybe that's the one i did all right so let's talk about holding this thing on your apron because you know you i see you've got a little funny contraption there but some guys opt for a hook some of them have even opted for a fancy little holster sure and whatever works not your choice though right what is this thing that you've got i've had this one for years and you cannot believe the people that write me that want it but i don't think the company's in business anymore no kidding what is this contraption well it's like plastic it has a slot in it with a metal stop the speed square goes into and i can put it in either way it has a spring-loaded clip here to clip it on my belt very handy tool wait so if they're not in business anymore where are you going to get another one now that you've given this to me yeah well i haven't given it to you but i have figured out a way that you can actually make one this is a square ballast it's a pvc piece of ballast that you get at the home center okay so i've taken that balancer and i cut it to length i put a piece of three-quarter inch plywood in there to stiffen it up put a little slot in it with a screw on the bottom to stop it when you drop it in place reinforce it on this side with a screw and screw the belt clip on the other side and you have yourself a speed square holder i am going to take that as a gift offer from you tom thank you very much for this and for all the great information oh you're welcome you

Channel: This Old House

Views: 2,085,713

Keywords: This Old House, Ask This Old House, DIY, Home Improvement, DIY Ideas, Renovation, Renovation Ideas, How To Fix, How To Install, How To Build, speed square, rafter square, hand tool, workshop tool, carpenter tool, woodworking, construction, home repair, home renovation, do it yourself, diy, remodeling, house, norm abram, tom silva, kevin o'connor, richard trethewey, roger cook

Id: gNhWpuWvtEA

Length: 5min 12sec (312 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 03 2016