A retired carpenter told me to never use a speed square for rafter cuts and he was dead right

He said the pivot point wears down after a few years and you'll be off by an inch on a long run. I ignored him for 6 months and ended up recutting 12 rafters. Anyone else had an old timer's advice save you a ton of headache after you finally listened?

2 comments

2 Comments

lewis.mila28d ago

Wow, that seems a little dramatic! I've been using the same speed square for like 8 years and my rafters still come out fine. Maybe you just got a cheap one or it got banged up somehow. I've seen guys drop them off roofs and they still work good enough for framing. An inch off sounds like maybe your tape measure was stretched out or you just messed up the math. Old timers give advice that worked 40 years ago but tools are better now.

riverknight28d ago

Yeah fair enough, I feel you on that one honestly.