Was skeptical about using a digital angle finder until a framing job went sideways

I always used a standard speed square and a level for laying out rafters, figured that was good enough. Then last month I was doing a porch roof in Denver where the plans called for a 7.25 pitch on one side and a 9.5 on the other. My layout kept coming out about a quarter inch off after I cut the birds mouths. A buddy lent me his digital angle finder and I checked my speed square setup against it. Turns out my old square had a tiny burr on the edge that was throwing everything off by about 0.8 degrees. I ended up buying my own digital one for 40 bucks and now I check every critical angle with it before I cut. Has anyone else run into issues with worn squares messing up their layout?

1 comments

1 Comment

ward.mason5h ago

Is your speed square actually straight or have you just been trusting it for years and never checked?