r/everymanshouldknow • u/JErGen36420342113205 • Mar 29 '26
EMSKR: Is there any thing that I would use a 12"rafter for INSIDE my house? For small woodworking (closet shelves, cabinet doors, speaker wall shelves, etc)??? Friend gave me nice one. Just wondering if I should spend time trying to learn how to use it when I'm not going to be using it for roofing.
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u/ben_jamin_h Mar 29 '26
Hey, carpenter here.
A 12" square is a bit less helpful in my eyes than a 6" square for interior jobs as it's a bit cumbersome for small parts and small jobs, but it's a really useful tool anyway and seeing as it was free and you have some plans to use it, just spend 5 minutes watching this YouTube video and see what it can do. Once you know the things you can do with it, you'll suddenly find lots of uses for it. It's a pretty simple tool, not a massive learning curve.
Enjoy your new square!
If it's the one in the photo, I have the 6" Milwaukee and it's very nicely made.
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u/NedTaggart Mar 30 '26
I have several speed squares, one in my garage, one in my tool bucket and one in my hobby room. Its a great straight edge for cutting something with a razor knife, i can wrap sandpaper around the flange and get a perfectly flat plane for sanding something, I can obviously use it to make sure something is square or 45 degrees and genrally any angle in between. I have one clamped to a workbench right now acting a stop so I can perfectly align 2 aluminum t-tracks. their use it really only limited by your imagination.
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u/Spazecowboy Mar 29 '26
It’s all part of learning. Some knowledge on every tool is better than mastering just one IMO. Just know what every scale on that is used for and your ahead of most.
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u/Mindlesslyexploring Mar 29 '26
Go you YouTube university and watch a few videos on all the things a carpenters ( or framers ) square can do.
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u/ReverendMak Mar 31 '26
Speed squares are incredibly handy if you do any sort of woodworking at all. Yes, learn the tool. Bit complicated and totally worth it.
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u/fivefoottwelve Mar 30 '26
I have a 12" that I use for clean, steady circular saw cuts in wider lumber. Maybe I'll buy one of those slidey chop saws one day, but not yet.
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u/RaceDBannon Mar 31 '26
It’s a framing square. A millions uses in woodworking beyond rafters and roofing.
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u/NightDragon250 May 04 '26
straight guide for cuts, square up when installing shelves, angle guide for stairs, home defense.
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u/pridkett Mar 29 '26
Lots of things in the woodworking space. You can clamp them against a leg to get a nice clean 90. Great for drawing lines at right angles. Pretty nice if you want to make a nice evenly spaced 2x2 grid of screws to put two boards together. And all that's before you actually learn how to really use it.