I found it interesting learning about Pythagoras’s theorem and Trigonometry while at school but couldn’t get my head around where it would be applied later in life. Years down the line I became a carpenter and joiner, which is all about calculations, especially when it comes to roofing geometry.
Roofing squares have been around a long time and have numerous variations. I was recently introduced to Faithfull’s Adjustable Quick Roofing Square and, as I was seeing a job where the roof had been blown off by the strong storms earlier in the year, it came at the right time. So, I was looking forward to seeing if it left me blown away.
The roofing square can obviously be used to mark out 90- and 45-degree angles. Just like other roofing squares it has degrees, which means you can use it as a protractor, and the relevant calculations to determine the plumb cuts and seat cuts for all the roofing timber members from common, jack, hip and valley rafters. However, the pivotal feature on this one is that Faithfull’s Roofing Square has a swinging arm, which means you no longer need to pivot the square from the corner to the required angles.
So – once you know your unit of measure – you simply lock the arm into place and away you go. When you want to make repetitive cuts this is incredibly quick and, more importantly, it’s been CNC machined, so you know that there will be a high level of accuracy and won’t be any discrepancies.
You can feel the quality of this product and, thanks to a thick gauge aluminum manufacture, it’s both robust and light in weight. The thickness of the aluminum makes it ideal for the saw to run against when making 90 o, 45o and even angled cuts.
I also admire the laser etched scale, which makes it clearly legible. Everything is marked out from metric on one side and imperial on the other side. It even states which edge should be used for the plumb cuts and seat cuts, so you can’t go wrong. Finally, it is available in a 7in. and a 12in. model, which is perfect for when working with big lumber.
I can see why this Faithfull Adjustable Quick Roofing Square is in the manufacturer’s Prestige range. The quality has once again been proven with a very useful and easy to use tool.
For further information on the Faithfull Adjustable Quick Roofing Square visit https://www.faithfulltools.com
Tibby Singh – www.TibbySingh.com
