 A mitre square with a wooden stock, a steel blade, and brass rivets | |
| Other names | Mitre square |
|---|---|
| Classification | |
| Used with | Pens, pencils, marking knives |
| Related | Square (tool) |
A miter square or mitre square is a hand tool used in woodworking and metalworking for marking and checking angles other than 90°. Most miter squares are for marking and checking 45° angles and its supplementary angle, 135°.
A miter is a bevelled edge – usually 45° – used, for example, for making miter joints for woodworking. Squares are tools designed for marking and checking specific fixed angles, usually 90° or 45°, though most squares are exclusively for working with 90° angles.
Description
As with 90° squares, there are many different types of miter square. Miter squares are usually made from two fixed parts, a stock and a blade (sometimes called a tongue).
The blade on a modern factory-made miter square is typically a thin piece of metal which is fixed at 45° onto or into the stock, forming a 'T' shape. The stock is usually much thicker than the blade and is made from wood, metal or plastic. Until the development of factory-made squares in the 18th century miter squares were made entirely from wood, though some woodworkers still make themselves wooden miter squares.
Other forms of miter square include the dovetail square, with the blade set at an angle suited to marking out dovetail joints, and the Japanese miter square, a flat piece of metal with a thin metal stock along one edge – similar in construction to a speed square.
Some other types of square incorporate miter squares, such as combination squares, speed squares, and try squares with a mitered stock.
Examples
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Square with a wooden stock, a steel blade, and brass rivets
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A metal miter square
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A try square with a miterd stock
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Combination squares incorporate a miter square
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A square similar in design to historic wooden try squares
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Square made from beech
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A mitered T-square
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A miter bevel
References
- ^ Salaman, R. A. (1975). Dictionary of tools used in the woodworking and allied trades, c. 1700-1970. New York, USA: Scribner. pp. 472–479. ISBN 978-0-684-14535-8 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "mitre square | miter square, n.". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. July 2023. doi:10.1093/OED/4371811980.
- Truini, Joseph (September 1986). "Measuring Up". Popular Mechanics. Hearst Magazines. pp. 87–90. ISSN 0032-4558. Archived from the original on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- "The Multi-talented Combination Square: A Whole Lot Of Tool In One Small Package". www.woodcraft.com. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- Schwarz, Christopher (27 May 2014). "Melencolia Square, Part 2: An Angular English Friend". Lost Art Press. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
