TIL my old clamp-on framing square was off by almost 2 degrees

Was out on a deck job in Raleigh last month. Using my grandpa's old square like always. New guy on the crew pulls out a digital angle finder. Checks my layout. Told me it's off. I laughed. He showed me. Blew my mind. Used that thing for 8 years. Everything I squared was slightly off. Threw it in the scrap bin that afternoon. Anyone else ever trust a tool too long just because it's old?

2 comments

2 Comments

xena_jackson3d ago

You know what got me? My dad's old speed square that he used since the 70s. I trusted that thing completely until I checked it with a digital protractor my brother-in-law got me for Christmas. Turns out it was off by almost half a degree. I felt like I'd been building drunk for years. Had to go back and re-check every rafter tail I cut last season. Some were fine but a few were definitely out of whack. Now I check every square with a digital angle finder first thing Monday morning. Honestly it's kind of a relief to know for sure instead of just hoping.

thomas_roberts19h ago

That building drunk thing hit way too close to home, man. I had the same gut punch when I checked my framing square last year and found it was off by a full degree. Now I feel like I'm gaslighting myself every time I reach for a tool that's older than me, half of them are probably wrong and I just never knew.