Miter square

For the square in London, seeMitre Square.

Miter square

A mitre square with a wooden stock, a steel blade, and brass rivets
Other names	Mitre square
Classification	Hand tool Square (tool)
Used with	Pens, pencils,marking knives
Related	Square (tool)

Amiter squareormitre squareis a hand tool used inwoodworkingandmetalworkingfor marking and checking angles other than 90°. Most miter squares are for marking and checking 45° angles and itssupplementary angle,135°.

A miteris a bevelled edge – usually 45° – used, for example, for makingmiter jointsfor woodworking.Squaresare 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 with90° squares,there are many different types of miter square. Miter squares are usually made from two fixed parts, astockand ablade(sometimes called atongue).

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 outdovetail joints,and the Japanese miter square, a flat piece of metal with a thin metal stock along one edge – similar in construction to aspeed square.

Some othertypes of squareincorporate miter squares, such ascombination squares,speed squares,andtry squareswith a mitered stock.

Examples

• 
  Square with a wooden stock, a steel blade, and brass rivets.
• 
  A metal miter square
• 
  Atry squarewith a miterd stock
• 
  Combination squares incorporate a miter square
• 
  A square similar in design to historic woodentry squares.
• 
  Square made from beech
• 
  A miteredT-square
• 
  Amiter bevel.