TIL a cheap speed square can mess up your whole cut

I was framing a shed roof last Saturday in Spokane and kept getting 2 degrees off on every rafter. Turns out the plastic speed square I grabbed from a bargain bin had warped in the sun. Has anyone else had that happen with budget tools?

2 comments

2 Comments

nelson.gavin14d agoMost Upvoted

Yeah but I gotta push back a little here. A plastic speed square from a bargain bin isn't really a "cheap speed square," it's more like a toy you grabbed by accident. I've had a basic metal Swanson square for like 12 years now and it's been through rain, snow, and getting dropped off ladders and it's still dead on. Plastic squares are fine for drywall or quick layout work inside but they'll warp if you look at them wrong. I don't think the tool itself is the problem, it's just that plastic isn't gonna hold up to real framing work, especially not in direct sun.

rowan84914d ago

True! Nobody's thinking about how plastic squares melt in a hot truck bed.