Overheard a foreman say he never uses a speed square for rafters

Was on a site last week in Portland helping with a roof. Old foreman walks by, sees me with my speed square. Tells me to put it down and pull out a framing square instead. Said he learned from his dad who built roofs for 40 years without a speed square. I tried it his way. Cuts came out cleaner and faster. Any of you guys skip the speed square for certain cuts?

3 comments

3 Comments

danielh8123d ago

Dropped mine off a roof once and never bothered to climb down for it...

nathan_barnes23d ago

...that's actually kind of funny cause I used to be a speed square guy through and through. I'd tell anyone who would listen that it was the only tool you needed for rafters. But then I worked with this old timer on a barn roof in Vermont and he wouldn't let me touch my speed square at all. Made me use a framing square for everything, even the birds mouth cuts. I fought it at first but by the end of the week my layouts were way more consistent and I wasn't fighting with the edge of the square to get a clean line. Took a while to admit it but he was right, the framing square just gives you a better reference point for long cuts.

alice_harris3511d ago

Oh come on, it's just a square... @danielh81 probably had the right idea letting gravity take that thing. People act like using the wrong square is gonna make the roof cave in or something.