Reply To: Square not so square
Welcome! / Forums / General Woodworking Discussions / Tools and Tool Maintenance/Restoration / Square not so square / Reply To: Square not so square
I too use an Empire combination square, although I have to say I have never attempted to use the 45 on it. I can’t afford a good quality square either, but I was able to bring atleast the 90 degree angle to true following a youtube video. Basically the idea is that with the soft aluminium of cheap squares, you can use the steel rule itself to shave off the high side, and slowly true the stock. If you are 100% certain that this is not the issue with your square, you could still try filing the 45 degree side to true, with a flat smoothing file. Half a degree is not a lot of stock to remove, and worst case scenario, you’ve got a square that still doesn’t have a true 45, but atleast you won’t confuse it for one that does.
PS. The best and most accurate square I own, is a 6″ Combination Square I bought from the local Target or K-mart, for AU$6. Don’t waste a lot of money on a tool you have to fettle yourself.