Wrote off my $15 plastic speed square for 6 years, then a framer in Tulsa used one to fix my whole staircase

Alex Lewis · 2026-09-16T17:25:03.892431+00:00

I always figured a cheap plastic speed square was a toy compared to my old Swanson, so I kept it buried in the truck for years. Last spring a framer named Dale on a job in Tulsa grabbed it to check my stringer layout on a set of basement stairs, and he found I was off by 3/8 inch on two cuts. He marked the rise and run right there on the plastic edge, and the treads dropped in with no wedge shims at all. I still use my aluminum one for trimming, but the ugly plastic one rides in my pouch now. Anybody else got a tool they bad mouthed for years before someone showed them how to actually use it?

HW Forums

Loading…

Wrote off my $15 plastic speed square for 6 years, then a framer in Tulsa used one to fix my whole staircase | Carpenters - HW Forums