Saw a guy at the lumberyard using a speed square to check his miter saw blade angle

I was picking up a sheet of plywood in Detroit yesterday and noticed a framer pull out his speed square to double check his miter saw before cutting crown molding. He said 'it only takes 5 seconds and saves me from recutting a $40 stick of trim.' Has anyone else ever bothered to check their saw like that or am I the only one just trusting the detents?

3 comments

3 Comments

charles7202d ago

Did you check if his speed square was actually square before he used it?

lee6892d ago

Did you even check the corner of his square against a known straight edge before he started cutting? I once borrowed a buddy's speed square and found out the hard way it was off by about a degree, messed up a whole row of rafters for a shed. It's one of those things you don't think about until you're fighting gaps and nothing fits right.

felixhenderson2d ago

Well, hold on now. I get where you're coming from, but I see it a little different. Most speed squares from the big box stores are pretty square right out of the package, and checking it against a known straight edge is smart, but I think it's easy to overthink things. That fellow's issue sounds more like he was rushing or pressing too hard, not that his square was off by a hair. I've made my share of messed up cuts and it was almost always my own mistake, not the tool's fault. Maybe he just needed to slow down and double-check his line before he started sawing.