How to Tune a Framing Square

All framing squares should be tested from time to time. They can lead a hard life, bouncing around in the back of trucks, falling on the job site, and generally being abused. Even a brand-new framing square may not be perfectly square. Truing your square is an easy process you can do with tools you probably already own. The square consists of the body, which is 2-inches wide and 24-inches long, and the tongue, which is 1 1/2-inches wide and 16-inches long.

Framing square
Pencil
Surface with a straight edge
Center punch
Hammer

Instructions

- 1
  Test the framing square for proper alignment. Place the body along a straight edge (the factory-cut edge of a sheet of plywood works well), and draw a line along the outside edge of the tongue. Flip the square's body 180 degrees. Line up the outside edge of the tongue with the nearest point of the line previously drawn. Again, draw a line along the outside edge of the tongue. If the two lines are coincident, the square is true.
- 2
  Adjust the framing square. If the lines diverge at the top, the angle of the framing square is less than 90 degrees; you'll have to open up the angle. Using the center punch, make one or two dimples along the inside of the tongue, near the corner of the square.
- 3
  Close the angle using the center punch if the lines converge at the top. Make one or two dimples along the outside of the tongue, near the corner of the square.
- 4
  Test the framing square as in step 1. Repeat step 2 as necessary until the square is true.

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