Just because it’s called a framing square doesn’t mean it is (square, that is)! And, just because you just bought that square, doesn’t mean it’s accurate. Conversely, having a square in use for a long time doesn’t mean it it’s no longer set to 90 degrees!

In this episode, we show you a quick and easy way to see (literally!) if the square blade and tongue are indeed perpendicular (90 degrees) to each other. If it is, and the square is also flat, you’re good to go.

As you’ll see, the square I’ve had for a long time is still accurate, but the one that I just bought is not. WHAT TO DO?

EASY! With a few well-placed punch dimples, you can literally ADJUST your square so that it is PERFECT. A little bit of “tweaking” in the corner where the blade and tongue intersect will get you what you need at the outer end of each of the straight edges.

This DIY hack has been around a long time but is not widely known. Give it a try and this will be a “keeper” skill for you - and you’ll look really smart to the tradespeople around you!