8 Ways to Find Square Faster (+Without a Square!)

The ability to make a square corner is the first and one of the most important tools in your kit!
More info on this here: • Make it Square Ep.45
There are more ways to do this than you might think!
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[@Cowboy_moonman396]

I’m starting to appreciate the beauty of math 11yrs after graduating HS. Just wish high school math class wasn’t so rushed and disconnected from real world scenarios. Would’ve been cool to have math class mixed with shop or welding/ag class.

[@SmickyD]

We need teachers who care about education in general before we start coming up with any good ideas 😅

[@Cowboy_moonman396]

@ hate to admit it, but you’re right.

[@CuriousCrow-mp4cx]

Please go and train then work as a teacher in the public school system, then come back and give us an informed critique. Public Education is like a football game where there are more coaches than players on the field. And those coaches don't understand why those who once wanted to play enough to incur thousands of dollors of student loan debt, decide after getting on the field, that it not a place they want to be. Or, even the players who commited years to playing get burnt out and leave the profession. Its regrettable but this how it is. Not even the best tailor can make a silk purse out of a pig's ear, and Education is becoming a pig's ear, because those in charge of education have lost the plot. Its strange, no-one would ask a nurse to buy the equipment their patients need out of their own pocket, but hey, everyone expects teachers to provide stationary for their pupils, when their school's budget comes up short, even they like a lot more workers, have suffered stagnating real wage growth for decades, and their schools have been underfunded and neglected likewise. It's so bad, that the teaching profession in schools, colleges and universities is like a revolving door. People go into the profession and are lasting for about 5 to 7 years and then leaving. In my opinion, the french diplomat who said people get the governments they deserve, could have added education to that list, because its the same symptom of the same problem. And a final thought, some of those teachers are here on KZbin - the Uber of the Content Creation industry - because their first love - teaching - broke not only their hearts, but their spirits too. They left to come here, even though there's no security of a regular salary, and they are still teaching, they are still putting more than 40 hours a week to create content, they are still dealing with the trolls, the people with no netiquette, and the faceless google machine, and everything else in this industry, producing some of the best content out there. But not in your children's classrooms. And you should really be asking why that's happening, and what you could be doing about it. Just a few thoughts.

[@trawlertravels6376]

Often time's, it's the curriculum handed to the teacher from the administration, NOT the teacher

[@IrbyLangley-oh4ji]

I distinctly remember asking why I had to learn it. How will pi or anything come in handy. I learned the hard way.

[@69adrummer]

I've always liked the 3 4 5 or even the 6 8 10 method. The better I've gotten with math over the years, the more fun it is to do these projects! It just works!! Also, the "golden ratio" makes beautiful furniture... and music!!

[@dk3062]

That's the Pythagoras theorem

[@Ham68229]

@@dk3062 which is still called the golden ratio. Cheers :)

[@420people]

Every wall I’ve ever squared has been done with a building calculator. On a 35’ long wall, it’s massively underrated when it comes to sheathing. Get it right the first time and ever successive sheet lands exactly where it needs to. Lord knows I failed grade 10 math. But the basics have proven themselves time and time again within my framing world. I love this.

[@TinekaJasonPalmer]

Kia ora from nz. You will save even more time if Americans employ the metric system. Love your efforts over the years to give us valuable food for thought. Thank you sir

[@dbevit]

The metric system is far superior to the imperial system.

[@daiblaze1396]

Bonjour, je suis français...so used to the metric system. I do a bit woodworking when I can. Decimal are always hard to cope with when I want to be accurate. Always wondered why others would bother with the feet system. Now thanks to his explanations. I would say that I've just found a nice way to use this system. Can you elaborate on why the metric is still faster?

[@dbevit]

@@daiblaze1396 Metric is decimal, so everything can be divided or multiplied by ten. Picometer Nanometer Micrometer Millimeter Centimeter Decimeter Meter Decameter Ectometer Kilometer and so on...

[@kellyinfanger9192]

Nice thought, but it will never happen. For instance, the entire country is laid out in square miles. To convert would require relabeling every section of land and by default millions of the roads and streets into their metric equivalent. Virtually nothing would land on an easily inferred metric reference. Very confusing, and I am sure you can understand why we are not going to move those roads to the nearest metric reference point. Another issue is harder to explain. Laying some things out in feet and inches actually takes a lot of the arithmetic out of the calculus.

[@daiblaze1396]

@@dbevit Precisely what is painful in woodworking. Decimals do not lead to precision for my liking even though it's great in other fields.

[@ibdiesel44]

I'm a old school carpenter foreman and the first thing I would do when starting a new job, is check Everybody's 4' Level against it's self to see if the level was true. And remember that horizontally, the level has to be checked end for end and not flipped.

[@chrisevans2645]

I was just going to say I have bought an Empire drywall square at home Depot and found out it wasn't square. The next trip there after I realized that I checked the others and they weren't square either. I then got a Mayes from either rural king or Menards and those were square, despite being identical to the Empire brand. I always try to check levels before I buy now too

[@claudew2899]

Being a Machinist I've used Pythagorean Theorem many times for hole layout. BUT, now there's a APP for that. Saves a lot of time. Great video's. I watch every one.

[@simonbmr]

Genuinely love watching your videos, thank you. I can't think of a more compelling demonstration for the metric system watching you fathom the fractions 😀

[@jamesengland7461]

Metric system won't fit the past century of American construction.

[@Maxb49]

By far one of the best construction videos on KZbin of all year. Bravo.

[@skylinevspec000]

I love the filming. It has the 90's vibe of NTSC to PAL video. Id say because of your lights and the flicker

[@kendavis8046]

I'm old enough to recall those days when we had geometry classes in high school that taught us these lessons. Thanks again, for teaching folks some basic math. (Though that might not have been your intent. Still valuable!) 3/4/5 is easier, but perhaps too easy for folks who may not understand squares and square roots.

[@tangarden9750]

Thanks for the video. Very educational. Love your teaching videos. I’m trying to learn how to square a post on frame structure. So far my efforts have been back and forth as you described in the video. I know all four batter boards have to be level across the field and to make things worse, it’s on a slope. And my string comes untied. Haven’t got that string tips video to the wood shed enough. Spent hours back and forth, resetting batter boards, straightening stakes, remeasuring etc. I used square 24 x 16 to set stakes. I’m 75 and this is all new for me. But, I enjoy doing instead of sitting. So as Dylan said “I’m pressing on”.

[@daiblaze1396]

"Now aren't you guys still depressed that you stuck on the metric system?" This got me good! French here so metric system all the way. I was wondering how you would work with the decimals to stay accurate. Then I saw all the calculation. That's was a bit of a "aha" moment. Yeah finally understand why you can stay on this system. I guess that the best is use both according to what we have in mind. So I am now eager to learn a bit of the systems of yours. Maybe it will suit me more in woodworking. Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@FreekHoekstra]

Love these!, but not sad that I’m stuck with the metric system haha I just don’t need to do the conversion to sixteenths or feet, I just use the numbers as they come out of pythagorean theorem directly :) That said I do really love these videos. These are by far my favorite of the content you make. The pro tips the convenient insights.

[@rolfbjorn9937]

I'm in a metric system country, but I still need to roll my eyes... The imperial or US Customary Unit System has decimals you know? 3.795" isn't any harder to measure or calculate from than 96.39mm. A rule with 1/32" can be read down to 1/64" and so does a rule with 1 mm increments, can be read down to 0.5 mm Respectively .794mm, .397mm and 1mm, 0.5mm The relative, absolute and cumulative uncertainty of using either rule are the same. But fractions with a common denominator is much easier without a calculator than finding the mid point of a 1357 mm board.

[@dbevit]

The metric system is far superior to the imperial system.

[@Goalsplus]

​@rolfbjorn9937 678.5 is a very quick mental calculation. Maybe a different divisor would illustrate your point better.

[@FreekHoekstra]

​@@rolfbjorn9937 is it, because that converts to 4ft 5" 27/64th and getting to half that gets kinda tricky lol

[@herzogsbuick]

it's been a while since i caught one of your videos, this one is absolutely fantastic. one recommendation: video chapters, so we know where to look for each technique. thanks as always!

[@TheRealFOSFOR]

There actually is an easier and maybe even more convenient way to make perpendicular line straight from the point where you need it. It's hard to explain without an image. But here we go: put the compass somewhere above the existing line. Draw a circle (an arc at specific areas is enough) so that the circle intersects the line at two points. Draw a straight line through one of the intersections and the centre of the circle. Lastly, draw the perpendicular line by going through the last two intersections on the circle.

[@the56bear]

Nice demonstration. I always drew the hypotenuse on my drawings before starting a job, saves time and mistakes in the field. Math is taught in school in such an abstract form that students miss the practical uses of it. If you were to walk into a math class with your levels and squares and give this talk, many students would see the light. thanks for your lesson.

[@AlanTheBeast100]

This is far, far, far quicker in metric. No need to multiply out feet to inches, and then again to fractions of inches.

[@michaelwitt7984]

You missed it... It was a joke

[@AlanTheBeast100]

@@michaelwitt7984 I doubt it. Americans clinging to imperial measures is the real joke here. New "president" in Jan is the biggest American joke - or tragedy. Pick one.

[@ChrisM-ku1tf]

Great knowledge share and video edits. Big thanks to you and the team!❤

[@williammrdeza9445]

Great information as usual, Scott! Thank you.

[@tonyn3123]

I loved to see the stand and extend your arms front and back to achieve relatively square by eye. The interstates in my state used this method for slope staking highways, typically every 50 feet along centerline. That approximation was "square enough" for initial staking and rough grading. More sophisticated and accurate methods were used when the roadway was close to grade such as the 3-4-5 rule to layout grade stakes driven individually to grade. You might be surprised just how accurate both is in a relative sense. Of course, GPS has changed all that, but there are still errors from time to time. Little really changes. Thanks.

[@stuffguy7]

thanks for another great video.

[@wesbuckley5535]

A blinking laser is a laser that is turned on but has the gimbal locked. The lines are straight and should be 90° but they may not represent level and plumb. A locked gimbal allows the user to mark or follow grade or slope. In your video the OSB is on a slight backwards lean which would require the plumb line to be set up 90° to the OSB. If the OSB is leaning back and the plumb line (plane) is not square to the sheet then the plumb line will *appear* on the sheet as "out of plumb" It all in the math! 😁

[@aroncarvajal7080]

Saludos from Mexico 🇲🇽

[@ryanolson4525]

I enjoy the Next Level Carpentry pencil - he’s wonderful!

[@TrevorDennis100]

I used a framing square to set up the panel saw at my Menz Shed a while back, and wondered why it wasn't working out. When I flipped the square to check it, it was not just out, it was WAY out. At least 0.5mm over the length of the square. I went home and started checking all my squares, and the two framing squares that I owned were not much better. I have three Moore & Wright engineering squares that looked spot on, and interestingly, a relatively cheap combination set that was also pretty good. A Chinese (Bangood) 'precision' square was nearly as bad as the framing squares. It was a real eye opener for me. Needless to say, I take nothing for granted now.

[@jackjetpilot]

Another outstanding video. Thank you!

[@horneygeorgeforge7079]

i dont remember if you have talked about the Tape measure, specifically the nib, that "little loose thingie" at the end and the why it is meant to be loose. after 30 plus years in plywood manufacturing, i educated the QC and my supervisor why it is so important to leave it loose, ans how to test the accuracy of a tape by burning an inch or a foot.. and sometimes if they are dropped that can get bent as well. a 1/16 of an inch either way, can bite you.. just a thought keep having FUN!

[@gtbkts]

Thanks for all the amazing videos and epic content!!

[@firemanj35]

Lots of good tips in here thanks EC

[@garychaiken808]

Great job. Thank you 😊

[@HEZARFENN]

Great video, great information, great joke (about metric). Thank you old master.

[@jacksonbennett6151]

There are even more "Pythagorean Triples" that are not 3,4,5 based. Harder to remember but work just the same. (3, 4, 5),(5, 12, 13), (8, 15, 17),(7, 24, 25), (20, 21, 29), (12, 35, 37), (9, 40, 41), (28, 45, 53), (11, 60, 61), and (16, 63, 65).

[@coachtommy]

3 4 5 is the simplest way of expressing Pythagoras' theorem. Needless to say quicker when we are talking about real life applications not just homework

[@joelyoung8006]

I use that final trick quite a bit for preparing to bend curve stair handrails😅

[@ianpearse4480]

I wonder if you have ever come across the "Square of Thales" to check for true? Ancient geometry for sure but I have made several of them and they never fail. When used with a rebated fence against the base they will give square very quickly and easily.

[@zachary3777]

He showed the inverse of this in an older video by using a square and two nails to draw a circular arc.

[@ianpearse4480]

@@zachary3777 Ah, cool.

[@RandallSoong-pp7ih]

Thank you!!

[@cliffhaupt5413]

When I first started carpentering in the 70s everyone used a tri square, they always came apart and fell out of your tool belt. The speed square came along and was a game changer. But the old tri square still has its place.

[@russedmonds227]

using a punch to square a square is very interesting. Never seen that one!

[@familyonamissiongo4790]

You can also get pretty close to square on conventional lumber if you line up the front of the table of the saw with the far edge of your lumber and plunge cut. Don’t do this if you are a novice, but after a while a person can do it safely and accurately

[@jimellis1496]

I once used this method to find the right angle to lay out a baseball field in open field.

[@evocarti]

The way modern hand saws are built you can get a perfect square by offering up the top of the handle to a piece of plywood and mark/score a line along the dull side of the blade.

[@cpzmelbs]

The handle? I don’t understand this. Does this technique have a name, for searching a video example

[@familyonamissiongo4790]

Great video Thank you

[@tristanconnolly5675]

Very nice.

[@jrpefx]

Measure with String, Mark with Chalk, Cut with AXE!!

[@PhotonFlightTeam]

yeah Man. when it's Cool, to be so Square. Righteous vid Dad!

[@leithholness6287]

Could get a surveyors tape and save the converting to inchs and 16ths using decimal feet. Depends on how you think i guess

[@zach.b.nimble]

I’ve long thought about using the metric system for work. If I typically work by myself and am doing all lay out, building and cuts solo, would this be an issue? I mean obviously if I’m calling out metric numbers to someone using imperial that would be an issue, but if I just one day decided to switch to metric full time what are the possible outcomes? I generally like using mm cm when I’m doing drawer slides and pulls because the hardware is typically built in Europe and is designed for metric

[@jamesengland7461]

All the lumber and most of the buildings would mean you still need to use Imperial, so I'm not sure you want to switch entirely.

[@Fallenarches]

Every instrument needs only to be checked by itself. Make a level line, flip that level 180*; half the distance between those two lines is how far your level is off. A plumb bob is always correct, no need to check it.

[@olneydetail1487]

A plumb Bob is only accurate too the gravitational centre of our planet, so the further apart 2 plumb Bob's get the larger the variation.

[@Ham68229]

Nothing beats the "golden ratio" or as many know it by, Pythagoras theorem. I never trust framing squares, too easy for them to not be accurate and be a pain to fix, even speed squares can be "off". Now, the Japanese squares, those are superior if you know how to use them properly. Now, levels and water levels, best ever, same with a string bob. But today's world, lasers. Thank you for sharing, cheers :)

[@TheRealFOSFOR]

PS: the weird fact I noticed once, was that if you have a bisector of a circle and a "radius-hand". The points of these three points always make a 90 degree angle, no matter where the "radius-hand" points. So a stick attached exactly to the midpoint of another stick of double the length makes a novel angle gauge that shows you 90 degrees.

[@jamesengland7461]

Isaiah 28:17 NIV I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line.... Now line those up, justice horizontally and righteousness vertically, centered on the t in each word. It forms a cross! A fun visual device for you.

[@2JustMe1]

So in the construction calculator, 3' rise, 4' run, by diagonal = 5'

[@familyonamissiongo4790]

New blade, and watch where the blade cuts next to the line, and don’t watch the marks on the saw when cutting and you will cut a straight line, that saw May have been dropped and is out of alignment but as long as the blade is not out of balance you can cut a very straight line by watching the line in conjunction with the blade when you cut

[@essentialjudge2279]

For a large right angle.... Tools needed Lots of string, 7 wooden stakes, rock for hammer. Building pad. Drive two stakes in the ground very far apart( east and west)and connect with string. Drive another stake approximately half way between the first two but to the north several feet. Connect a string to that stake and draw a large circle that will intersect the first line at two points. Stake them points. Connect string to the eastern stake and pull a line northwestward passing over the center stake in the circle and out the other side and stake that intersection. Connect that intersection to the intersection of the first line and the circle (west) and I believe you have a 90° intersection Large scale no numbers or units. You can do the circle first but to align the first line in a desired direction (equal Knox) start with that line.

[@mikewatson4644]

And your way beats his way. He neglected to tell how to get 2 parallel lines set so that he could get the 90° angle that he talked about.

[@MichaelPlag]

Between you, and my father in law, I am receiving an opportunity to renew squandered time and opportunities. I am soaking up knowledge, and accepting my mistakes in the pursuit of confidence. Thank you!

[@keithparady2594]

My old man used to teach me the same things you just taught us

[@stevemurnane1892]

Those Egyptians were pretty bloody clever to be able to use the Pythagorean Theorem TWO thousand years BEFORE Pythagoras was born!!! Perhaps they had time travel. Or did Pythagoras steal the idea from the Egyptians. 🤔🤫

[@charlesviner1565]

It's hip to be square ⬛️

[@ensen89]

"If it looks square, it is square" Diresta 🤣🤣

[@barryomahony4983]

IMO the "drywall" square is totally unappreciated in construction. With that and a speed square, you can do most things. I don't need the hard-to-read tables on a framing square; I have a phone for that.

[@danielstorey2129]

I wish I was high on potenuse

[@bonniebon7335]

Thanks for this. Why “16” x .8? Edit: got it. It’s calculated based on the truth that there are 16/16 in an inch.

[@Jim-Wade]

Lots of applied common sense condensed into 20 minutes. Young guys, years of experience shared here, pay attention and understand the principles, and you'll be glad you did.

[@olneydetail1487]

The mental gymnastics converting too a fraction is hysterically funny. Pythagoris would turning in his dusty grave listening to this conversation of converting a decimal equation into fractions

[@77gmcnut]

I've thought for years that the metric system is the proper way. Eventually it'll happen. The bigger question is why are we on 24 hour days with each hour having 60 minutes and each minute with 60 seconds?

[@darkhavenwoodworks]

Yes metric much much better

[@brianfong5711]

4:58 and that is why the imperial system is stupid it is base 12 system (goes up by 12) and everyone else uses base 10 (goes up by 10 or just add a 0).

[@omaoileoinb9]

You cannot beat metric as a rule of measure.

[@countysecession]

Converting 6.4' to inches almost makes me want to use metric.

[@0YouCanCallMeAl0]

You lost me at "lets convert .40 into a fraction" xD

[@mrc9967]

Lol happy to know he Measures like me "45 a little less" 😂

[@MilanR222]

nice joke with the metric system

[@jbcwoodwork6730]

math are more simple in metric

Over complicating imo 345 method works for everything if u want bigger go 6 8 10 u want bigger go 9 12 15 or 12 16 20 in which the hypotenuse is always the third number. It works for absolutely everything

[@mookie0921]

The Egyptian didn't build the pyramids the Israelite slaves did.

[@charlesviner1565]

👍📐

[@berndheiden7630]

I‘m rolling on the floor seeing you suffer through your imperial system! Sorry, I can‘t imagine how much time and how many errors you waste in a lifetime. Not to count the millions that NASA lost from an error in converting decimal to imperial in a space mission that failed!

[@jarjarprime]

As a US science teacher I was in the exact same scenario! Why we haven’t converted is beyond me. I use metric in my personal shop.

[@briansd6869]

Caltrans (calif. DOT) changed all their standards and specifications to the metric system to get out in front of what we all thought was going to be a change to metric, but the change never took hold and these documents reverted back after the next issuance.

[@briansd6869]

Part 2: we would all have to buy in, every industry plus all grandma’s recipes and all you measuring devices at home. It was easier to use the metric but Imperial isn’t that bad unless you are adding odd fractions (17 11/16 + 12 13/16)

[@RobertCro]

It just gets harder the more time passes. You'd be doing your future generations a massive favour!

[@jamesengland7461]

In almost any industry EXCEPT construction, switching makes sense. However, in construction, all the structures and all the materials and all the tools are already in Imperial. It's not like working on a car whereby the whole modern car [except wheels and tires!] is built in metric, and you just use your metric tools on the metric fasteners. You almost never need to measure anything but torque when working on a car. Construction materials are meant to be used for new construction AND any structure every built here, so you'll want 4'x8' sheetrock, for example, not 1.2m x 2.4m, because it'll be too small, and 1.2192m x 2.4384m sheetrock would negate any measurement benefits. There's simply no benefits to switching here. Almost never just even numbers anyway. Same goes for aviation.

[@Edition89]

The pyramids were built wayyyyyy before the Pythagorean theorem was discovered.

[@psidvicious]

Your proof of that? The equation was made famous by the Greek mathematician Pythagoras but there is no reason to believe the Egyptians weren’t already employing it. Pythagorean theorem has the luxury of already knowing the right answer. Then it’s just a matter of backtracking to figure out why it’s true and applying a formula to it for future use.

[@BumpDockLoadStock]

Many of my past careers I would blow peoples minds by doing something with math. They would look at me like I was some type of genius but truth be told you lost me in the first 3 minutes and I know it’s all just simple math