Squares

When I first started woodworking I used ordinary tools from the local lumber yard's shop and Sears, and didn't even know there was anything better. But as I got into finer work with better woods, I was disappointed by the inaccuracy of these tools and started looking for better quality.

One breakthrough came when we moved near Boulder, Colorado many years ago and I discovered McGuckin Hardware, an exceptional hardware store that carries many fine tools. (Unfortunately, their online store pales in comparison to their exceptional physical store.)

Another breakthrough came when a guy who did some work on our house showed me his beat up copy of the Lee Valley catalog. I was in paradise! I slowly began upgrading my tools. Now I have only myself to blame for the inaccuracies in my work!

Combination squares. I use and love Starrett combination squares. I use the 12″ for regular work, and the 6″ for finer work. I prefer the cast iron heads with the black wrinkle finish to the forged hardened steel with black enamel finish, but both are beautiful precision tools.

Carpenter's squares. I use a pair of very accurate Shinwa stainless steel squares from Japan for gluing up precise right angles and marking wide cuts. (The wood I was using in this photo was so straight and true that I only needed to use one square to glue it up.)

Square Fence. Recently, I got a few of these 8″ long Veritas Square Fences to make it easier to clamp my squares and also align them. The fence has a 1″ ledge on one side and a ¼″ ledge on the other, so it can be used with quite thin stock. In the photo, I'm using two of them of the short leg of a Shinwa square to get a long reference ledge. The fence also has a squared "bottom" that makes the square more stable for the kind of clamping I do, as in the previous image. In the following image, I'm using it to square up a piece of wood to the edge of my workbench. Nice add-on tool.

Double square. Finally I have a small, precise Lee Valley double square that features a narrow stock, which makes it an ideal square for working on the kumiko for the shoji lamps I make.

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