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Stair gauge in position on a wood scrap (C) Daniel FriedmanFraming Square Manuals & Downloads
Framing square history, how-to- & guides

How to use a framing square.

A framing square is a lot more than a simple square-cut saw guide. This simple device is crammed with tables, data and tricks that allow a carpenter to lay out roof rafters, stairs, or other building features.

A carpenter's framing square includes tables stamped right into the tool itself. This article explains how to make quick use of a framing square and its imprinted data to get some basic roof measurement data like roof pitch or slope, rafter lengths, and end cuts, stair stringer cuts, lengths of braces and other construction measurements.

Roof measurement methods: these articles explain various methods for measuring all roof data: roof slope or pitch, rise, run, area, and other features. This article series gives clear examples just about every possible way to figure out any or all roof dimensions and measurements expressing the roof area, width, length, slope, rise, run, and unit rise in inches per foot.

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Framing Square History, References Articles & How-To Manuals

Chappell Framing Square by Steve Chappell, see current versions at chappelluniversal.com cited & discussed at InspectApedia.comFor a complete on-line guide to identifying and using all of the tables on a framing square

see FRAMING SQUARE USER'S GUIDE - our online tutorial.

Here we provide downloads of framing square instructions, historical documents, and more information about the framing square or carpenter's square or steel square, including early framing square patents, and framing square use guides. Illustrated here, the Chappell framing square by Steve Chappell, cited just below.

[Click to enlarge any image]

Hawes framing square copying Silas Hawkes - cited & discussed at InspectApedia.com

Howards Carpenters Square US Patent 247353 September 20 1881 cited and discussed at InspectApedia.com

Pexto Framing Square shown at InspectApedia.com

Above: a Pexto steel framing square.

Stanley AR100 Framing Square at InspectApedia.com

Above: Stanley AR100 framing square

Radford Steel Square and its Uses at InspectApedia.com

Framing squares of various types including the Empire blue steel framing square and Swans's Speed Square - original model (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

How to Use the Framing Square Rafter Length Tables - the Rafter Tables

Roof rise or pitch or slope measurement on the roof surface (C) Daniel FriedmanThis explanation has moved to FRAMING SQUARE RAFTER LENGTHS

Roof Framing Example 5: Location of the Bird's Mouth Cutout in the Rafter

This discussion now has its own page at FRAMING SQUARE for BIRDS MOUTH CUT

How to Obtain Roof Pitch or Slope by Using the Rafter Tables on a Framing Square

This discussion got promoted to its very own web page

at FRAMING SQUARE DETERMINES ROOF SLOPE

The Brace Triangle Table on the BACK of a Framing Square TONGUE - The Diagonal Scale

The framing square Brace Triangle Table , also referred to as the Brace Rule - is discussed in a separate article now found

at FRAMING SQUARE BRACE TABLE

What is the Essex Board Measure on the Back of a Framing Square Blade: Board Feet

Found on the back of some older framing square blades the Essex Board Measure - discussed in detail

at FRAMING SQUARE ESSEX BOARD MEASURE

Octagon Scale on the Front of the Framing Square Tongue

This discussion just got a promotion! It's got its own web page now found

at FRAMING SQUARE OCTAGON TABLE

At the end of this article atReferences or Citations you'll find more texts and articles on using a framing square and written by other experts.


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Continue reading at FRAMING SQUARE USER'S GUIDE - topic home, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Building & Roof Measurement Articles

Suggested citation for this web page

FRAMING SQUARE HOW-TO MANUALS at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.


Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to BUILDING ROOFING

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Citations & References

In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.



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