T HE ST E EL S UARE AND I T S USES Q , I NT RODUCT ORY REMAR! S. DI V I SI ON A . to I will not attempt in this small treatise , o cc of o t give an hist rical a ount the rigin , grow h a n d o of ct devel pment the square , as the subj e has been treated of at length in my larger wo I to out rks , as do not care pad these pages with matter that is not of a severely practical n ature. S f to a re fi u fice it say , th t while iron squa s , g ured ori e an d their faces in inch s feet , and small o E and er divisi ns , have been made in ngland B f or 200 e elgium y ars or more , the genuine s n ow o teel square, as we kn w it , is a purely A c has no a n o meri an product , and it equal , s Europea n manufacturer has as yet been able to turn out a square anything like as good or per e o et-u fe t in finish , graduati n , or general g p, as S Cc. of Ha e Co . argent , New v n , nn ; Nicholls Co. Ot u T S o , t mwa , Iowa ; and he Peck , t w 8r co Cc. So to Co . r Wil x , uthing n , nn Squa es made one of by any these firms named , may be relied u pon as being as near perfect as it is possible to 3 4 T HE L . A B C OF STEE SQUARE make them in everythin g that pertains to ac . curacy , durability and general finish The American workman sho uld feel proud of the fact that he possesses a Steel Square of purely Home production which has no equal in the world . There is nothing of more importance to a young man who is learning the business of - house j oinery and carpentry , than that he should make himself thoroughly conversant with the capabilities of the tools he employs . i n It may be that , in some of the rules shown this work , the result could be attained much readier with other aids than the square ; but the progressive mechanic will not rest satisfied with one method of performing operations whe n others a re witli in his reach . In the hand of the intelligent mechanic the square becomes a simple calculating machine of the most wonderful capacity , and by it he solves problems of the kind s continually arising in mechanical work , which by the ordinary meth ods are more difficult to perform . ‘ The great improvement which the art s and manufactureshave attained wi thin the last fifty i eh years , renders it essent al that every person gaged therein should use his utmost exertion s to obtain a perfect knowledge of the trade he 5 A B c or THE ST EEL SQ UARE r to . a p ofesses follow It is not enough , now r days , for a person to have attained the characte of a good workman ; that phrase implies that o quantum of excellence , which consists in w rk d of ing correctly and neatly , under the irections - others . The workman of to day , to excel , must b e understand the principles of his trade , and able to apply them correctly in practice . Such a one has a decided advantage over his fellow workman ; and if to his superior knowledge he o p ssesses a steady manner , and industrious hab ' it s f d. , his e forts cannot fail of being rewarde i s It is no sin not to know much , though it can ' an d a great one not to know all we , put it . Yet ow few all to good use , h mechanics there ! are who will know all they can hlen apply f or employment daily who claim to be finished me chan i cs , and profess to be conversant with all a re the ins and outs of their craft , and who noways backward in demanding the highest o ~ wages going, who , when tested , are f und want ing in knowledge of the simplest formulas of t . heir trade They may , perhaps , be able to per form a good j ob of work after it is laid out for them by a more competent hand ; they may have a partial knowledge of the uses and application t o e of heir t ols ; but , generally , their knowledg ends here . Yet some of these men have worked 6 A B C or T H E STEEL SQ UARE f or c at this trade or that a third of a entury , all a i fi and are to appearances , s t s ed with the little they learned when they were apprentices. o so True , mechanical kn wledge was not always easily obtained as at present , for nearly all works on the constructive arts were written bv o s e pr fes ional architects , engine rs , and designers , a n e e t d however un xceptionable in other r spec s , t n hey were generally couched in such la guage , e to e technical and math matical , as be p rfectly u nintelligible to the maj ority of workmen ; and .n stead of acting as aids to the ordinary ui rer s q , they enveloped in mystery the simple t s - o olutions of every day problems , disc uraging nine-tenths o f workmen on the very threshold of inquiry , and causing them to abandon further efforts to master the intricacies of their respect ive trades . Of o late years , a number of b oks have been c published , in which the authors and ompilers hav e made commendable eff orts to simplify mat ters pertaining to the arts of carpentry and - j oinery , and the mechanic of to day has not the difficulties of his predecessors to contend with . The workman of old could excuse his ignorance h of the hig er branches of his trade , by saying that he had no means of acquiring a knowledge of . them Books were beyond his reach , and A B c OF T H E STEEL SQUARE 7 a a t rade secrets were gu rded so j ealously , th t to o m only a limited few were allowed kn w the , a nd unless he was made of better stuff than the of hi s o - was orced to most fell w workmen , he f plod on in the same groove all his da ys . ' Not so with the mechanic of today ; if he is n all ae ot well up in the minuti of his trade, he has to f or 1 8 but himself blame , although there o royal r ad to knowledge , there are hundreds of Open ways to obtain it ; and the you ng me chanie who does n ot avail himself of one or other e h of thes ways to enric his mind , must lack be e i ff o energy , or altogeth r ind erent ab ut his de tra , and may be put down as one who will nev er make a workman . I have thought tha t it would not be out of l “ ” p ace to preface this work on the Steel Square , w o ith the foregoing remarks , in the h pe that t they may s imulate the young mechanic , and urge him fo rward to conquer what at best are only imaginary difficulties. A willing heart and a clear head will most assuredly win honorable d i n h o 0 istinction any trade, if t ey are nly pr p . e e erly used Ind ed , during an exp rience of many years in the employment and superintendence of “ e cs m e m chani of every grade , fro the gre n wood ” haggler to the finished and accomplished work I h man , have invariably discovered that t e fin 8 A B C OF T HE STEEL SQUARE i shed workman was the result of persistent o study and application , and not , as is p pularly o . supposed , a natural or spontane us production It is true that some men possess greater natural o con se mechanical abilities than thers , and quently a greater aptitude in grasping the principles that underlie the constructive arts bu t , as a rule , such men are not reliable ; they r may be expert , equal to any mechanical eme en c e g y , and quick at mastering details , but th y are seldom thorough , and never reliable where long sustained eff orts are requ ired . The mechanic who reaches a fair degree of c perfection by experience , study and appli a who tion is the man rises to the surface , and whose steadiness and trustworthiness force themselves on the notice of employers and su peri n ten den t s. I have said this in order to give encoura gement to those young mechanics who find it u p- hill work to master the intricacies of the various arts they are engaged in , for they may rest assured that in the end wo rk and ap pli ca ti on will be sure to win ; and I am certain that a thorough study of the Steel Square and its capabilities will do more than anything else to aid the young workman in mastering many of the mechanical difficulties that will confront him from time to time in his daily occupation .