Entries from Stuff tagged with 'layout'
Marking - Knife vs. Pen vs. Pencil vs. Brush vs. Crayon!
Choosing a Marking ToolMarking the work is done in a large number of ways. For carpentry and woodworking the most common tools are the pencil, the knife, the crayon and the brush. But which is best? The Construction Pencil The... read more.
Japanese Framing Square (Sashigane) vs. American Steel Square
The American steel square dates from the industrial revolution. It served as a form of calculator in the pre-electronic days and was the subject of a number of treatises and innovation. In contrast, the Japanese square - called a "sashigane"... read more.
Using the Swanson Speed Square for Plumb and Seat Cuts
The speed square has a couple advantages over a normal steel framing square for marking and cutting rafters. Because of the pivot point at the corner of the square, you only need to line up one number rather than two.... read more.
How to Use a Framing Square to Draw an Ellipse
Most people use a square to make things straight or square, but it doesn't have to be that way. It can be used to make graceful curves as well. Here is how to draw an ellipse with a framing... read more.
How to Check and Adjust a Framing Square
Framing or carpenters squares last a long time and are big enough that they can get stepped on or dropped or have something put them out of square sometime over their life. Fortunately it is easy to check and adjust... read more.
The Pencil is Dead - Long live the .9mm
I'm not sure who uses pencils any more. I see architects sketching in pen and drafting with computers. But there are some who still use pencils once in a while. I'm one of them. My personal favorite is the... read more.
Using the Rafter Table on a Framing Square
At first glance the rafter table stamped into the side of a framing square can be a bit tricky to understand. But it is not so difficult once you get the hang of it. The first thing to understand... read more.
How to use the Swanson Speed Square as a Framing Square
Since I published the first review of the Swanson Speed Square, many people have been wondering how to use it. There are actually a large number of things you can do with it, but the most common is probably to... read more.
Swanson Speed Square Review
The Swanson speed square is an old favorite. It was invented in 1930 by Albert J. Johnson and has had a few additional features added over the years. The one I'm showing is from around 1988. They had just... read more.
Setting Things Straight - Stabila 187 Level Review
I've used bad and good levels. Some with broken or misadjusted vials, some "I-beam" levels which catch stuff in the flanges and the brand I finally settled on is Stabila. I haven't found anything better. I prefer the 187... read more.
Compasses, dividers and Scribes
Geometry is an important part of a lot of woodworking. Most of the time, the work is based on straight lines and a fixed set of angles (90, 45, 22.5 ...) but still a compass can be useful to... read more.
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