Best Square for DIY

Published April 7,

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Most DIY building projects start with a square, even when the goal is to end up with a circle. A square is a layout tool that is used with a tape measure, protractor, level and pencil to mark materials for building.

The best square depends on the project. This guide will help you determine which square, or squares, you should add to your DIY toolkit.

Table of Contents

1. Rafter Square

2. Trim Square

3. Universal Square

4. Framing Square

5. Combination Square

6. Try Square

Rafter Square

Rafter squares are best for framing roofs, just like the name implies, but they’ve earned a permanent place in many tool belts. Carpenters like that this tool functions as a square, protractor, saw guide, line scribe, shim, and miter gauge. The most common size for a rafter is 7 inches, but 4-1/2 and 12 inch models are available as well. Rafter squares are manufactured from several materials, but most are made with aluminum or plastic. Different models will have various features, but most are covered in this basic list.

• Square
• Notches to scribe lines
• 45 degree miter
• Protractor
• Rafter gauges for normal and hip roofs

These tools have a simple, tough design that belies their multitude of features.

Some of the various features from different manufacturers are:

• Extendable straightedge for marking longer lines
• Cutouts in the body for marking lines at common distances like 1-1/2 inches
• Markings, notches or holes at common measurements like 3-1/2 or 5-1/2 inches
• Pivot notch for plumb bob
• Bubble level
• Bottle opener

Trim Square

Using the same triangular form as a rafter square and incorporating some of the same features like scribing notches and a protractor, a trim square is simpler and smaller.

• It’s intended for use by trim carpenters.
• Its length is 4-1/2 inches.
• The heel heights are 1/4 inch and 3/8 inch, as those are common measurements used when trimming windows and doors.
• It fits easily into tool belts due to its small size.

Universal Square

Similar to the rafter square is the universal square. It performs many of the same functions, but has features such as a tape hook slot, chalk line hook and a foot designed to help align 2x material.

Many of its features are designed for laying out framing for buildings on concrete foundations, but it’s also useful for DIY projects.

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Framing Square

Framing squares come in several sizes, but the most common one has a leg that is 2 feet long.

• These tools are useful as a simple square, but the markings and tables allow them to be used to lay out framing for many aspects of a building, from the foundation to the roof.
• Framing squares are usually made of steel or aluminum. They have a wealth of information, by way of tables and charts, printed right on the faces of the square.
• They are easily adapted to mark stair stringers by adding stair gauges.
• When measuring with a framing square, be sure to verify the scale markings. Some of the gradations are marked in tenths (1/10) or twelfths (1/12) rather than the eighths (1/8) or sixteenths (1/16) we are accustomed to on standard measuring tapes. Twelfths are useful for measuring scale drawings and tenths are known as an engineer’s scale.

Combination Square

Combination squares are versatile tools where the head slides on a ruler.

• They come in many sizes, but the most common are 6, 12, and 16 inches.
• The most common materials of construction are an aluminum head and a stainless steel ruler; however, some use cast iron for the head.
• The sliding head often incorporates a metal scribe that screws into a storage hole and a bubble level.
• A combination square is useful for measuring depth by placing the head on a surface, sliding the ruler to the depth being measured, then measuring the length of the ruler that is projecting.
• It’s easy to make repeated markings by setting the ruler to a length, then using that length to measure.
• There is also a 45 degree angle for marking miters.

Try Square

A try square is used more often in the workshop rather than the job site.

• The shorter leg is often heavier and thicker than the longer leg. It can be placed on a work surface and stand on its own. This is useful for squaring a table saw blade to the table or to square the fence of a jointer. It’s good for checking the square of an item that stands on its own.
• It can be used as a reference to help drill a hole that is 90 degrees to the surface.
• It’s often used to check corners of wood for squareness when milling wood for fine woodworking projects, like furniture.
• Some try squares incorporate a 45 degree bevel.
• A machinist’s square is similar to the try square, but smaller. They are most often used in metal work, but are useful in woodworking as well.

Drywall or T Square

A drywall, or “T” square, can be used with any sheet, like plywood or MDF.

• The long leg is 48 inches long, the same as the width of a sheet of drywall.
• It’s useful for drawing long, straight lines across a sheet while only having to mark one measurement.
• It can also be used as a guide for cutting with a utility knife. Drywall is often cut by making a scoring cut on the finished paper side, then striking the back of the sheet behind the line, causing it to snap cleanly. The remaining backing paper is then bent and cut with the utility knife.
• T-squares are available in fixed and adjustable versions. The adjustable model is easier to store and can be used to find angles. Choose the best square for your particular project.

The best square for your project will make your work better and easier. Most DIYers will find that they need several types to cover every job.

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I have an embarrassing confession: I used to use my cast-iron cookware to make almost all of my food. Occasionally some dishes would have a metallic taste, but I had no idea why. Apparently forgetting that the internet existed, I let this go on for years without looking in to the reason. I idly wondered if I wasn't properly caring for the pan, or if there was something wrong with it.

It was only after I brought the problem up in a meeting at Epi that I learned the reason: you're not supposed to cook acidic food in cast-iron pans. Suddenly, I saw the pattern I had been totally oblivious to before. It was only when I made tomato-based recipes, or poured vinegar into my skillet, or added lemon juice that this would happen. In my defense, I loved my cast-iron pan and wanted to use it for everything. And it's true that it's a kitchen workhouse, especially when it's properly cared for. But to help you avoid my mistake, here are some tips about what not to cook in cast-iron cookware:

1. Avoid Cooking Acidic Foods in Cast-Iron Pans

As mentioned above, this was my central mistake. I would stew tomato sauces in my cast-iron Dutch oven for prolonged periods, deglaze my skillet with a pop of vinegar, or add lemon juice to foods while they were still hot on the skillet. You should avoid cooking acidic sauces in cast-iron pans for two reasons: first, the acid loosens trace amounts of molecules from the metal that can then leach into your foods, imparting a metallic flavor. While perfectly safe to consume, these metal flavors can be unpleasant. (The good news is that America's Test Kitchen found after tasting tomato sauce at 15-minute increments while it stewed in a cast-iron skillet that the metallic flavor only started to come through after 30 minutes of cooking.)

The second reason is that acid can cause the seasoning on a cast-iron pan to break down. The seasoned coating on a cast-iron pan is the layer of polymerized fat that comes from heating fat on the pan's surface, and it can eventually make the pan naturally nonstick. To preserve it, avoid cooking acidic foods in your cast-iron pan for longer than a few minutes, or letting acidic foods sit in the pan for a while after cooking. Just finishing pan-fried chicken cutlets with a spritz of lemon juice? Should be fine. But if you're making a slow-simmered Sunday sauce or bolognese, use an enamel-lined Dutch oven instead of your cast-iron skillet.

2. Be Aware that a Cast-Iron Surface Takes on Flavors

A cast-iron pan, especially when it's straight out of the box and hasn't been through several rounds of seasoning, has a porous surface that will take on flavor. Even a really well-seasoned pan is more apt to take on flavor than a stainless steel or nonstick pan, especially since we don't recommend cleaning a nonstick skillet with soap for risk of stripping the seasoning. For this reason, you'll want to think twice about making that skillet cookie directly after the salmon from last night's dinner. If you plan on making a lot of desserts in your cast-iron skillet, it might be smart to buy a separate skillet for them. After all, cast-iron skillets are cheap!

3. Don't Cook Delicate Fish In Cast Iron

Cast-iron skillets are beloved for their ability to retain heat—all the better for getting that perfect browned crust on a steak. But this same asset is a liability when it comes to more delicate meats that won't stand up to heat as well. Flaky white fish like flounder or tilapia are at risk of falling apart and not flipping well when cooked in cast iron. Even with heartier fish like salmon, the skin is likely to stick to the cast-iron surface, making flipping difficult. Instead, cook your fish in a stainless-steel nonstick skillet.

4. Before Your Skillet Is Well-Seasoned, Avoid Sticky Foods

For the first few months that you own a cast-iron skillet (or longer, if you don't use it much) you should avoid cooking foods that are prone to sticking. A French omelet, scrambled eggs, pancakes, and fried rice are all foods that might work well on a shiny, extremely well-seasoned pan, but will likely stick to a newer pan that hasn't been used much. Not only will you over-brown your eggs and have funky-shaped pancakes, but you'll also have to scrub—and, possibly, soap—the skillet to get it clean again, which will strip away the pan's seasoning.

For the first few months of cooking on your skillet, you'll want to set yourself up for success. Cook a lot of steaks and bacon in your new skillet. The fat from these foods will help enhance the coating of hardened fat on the skillet. Eventually, after it has been used to cook fattier foods and washed and cared for properly, your pan's surface will become slicker and more nonstick, and will be able to handle foods like pancakes and eggs.

5. And, Whatever You Cook, Avoid Storing Food in Your Cast-Iron Pan

With a cast-iron skillet, you should always remove food from the pan and store leftovers separately. (No sticking tin foil over a pan of food and just popping it in the fridge.) As a general rule, you want to keep your cast-iron pan very dry to preserve its seasoning and prevent rust. The acids in food left in the pan will break down the seasoning, plus storing food in the pan for prolonged periods makes it more likely to impart metallic flavor.

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