How to use a classic sliding bevel square

Founded in 1843, the Stanley Works of New Britain, Connecticut, has a long and rich history as one of the world's leading manufacturers of quality hand tools and hardware items.

Having grown up not far from New Britain, I always took great pride in knowing that many of the tools used by my dad, a remodeling contractor, were produced just up the road.

In fact, several of my most treasured tools were made by Stanley and handed down to me by my father, including a Yankee spiral ratchet screwdriver (the original cordless screwdriver), a low-angle block plane, and the sliding bevel square shown above.

To hear how I use this one (and why they don't make 'em like they used to) read on.

This particular model square, the No. 18 Stanley, was produced in the early 1940s, and features an 8-inch-long slotted blade that's fitted to a precisely machined solid steel handle.

It has a heft and rock-solid feel that you just don't get with modern bevel squares, which typically have plastic or wooden handles. I recently saw an identical bevel square to my No. 18 Stanley for sale on Ebay; opening bid: $60.

However, what I love most about this tool (besides the fact that my dad gave it to me) is its locking mechanism, which is positioned at the end of the handle, well out of the way of the blade.

Most modern bevel squares have a thumbscrew located at the intersection of the blade and handle, which I'm sure is cheaper to produce, but it's a terrible design.

The thumbscrew always seems to be in the way, preventing the square from laying flat against a surface.

It doesn't sound like much of an inconvenience, but you'd be surprised how many times during a job that the obtrusive thumbscrew requires you to flip over the square and reposition the blade.

The sliding bevel square, which is also known as a T-bevel or adjustable bevel square, is an indispensable tool for laying out, copying, measuring, and marking virtually any angle.

I used mine recently to determine the angles of out-of-square wall corners during the installation of interior trim, including chair rail and crown moldings. I measured the angle, locked it in, and transcribed it to my miter saw to make the cut.

The T-bevel's also great for accurately setting the blade angles on table saws, circular saws, and for adjusting the drilling angles on drill presses.

More:

See our gallery of heirloom tools

And a few router bits that reproduce an antique Stanley plane