A miter square or mitre square is a hand tool used in
woodworking
Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning.
History
Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first mate ...
and
metalworking
Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scale ...
for marking and checking angles other than 90°. Most miter squares are for marking and checking 45° angles and its
supplementary angle
In Euclidean geometry, an angle is the figure formed by two rays, called the '' sides'' of the angle, sharing a common endpoint, called the ''vertex'' of the angle.
Angles formed by two rays lie in the plane that contains the rays. Angles are ...
, 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
File:Slightly rusty mitre square.jpg, Square with a wooden stock, a steel blade, and brass rivets.
File:Verstekhaak.jpg, A metal miter square
File:Cc&j-fig5--try and mitre square.png, A try square with a miterd stock
File:Combination square.jpg, Combination squares incorporate a miter square
File:Vinkelhake, 45 grader gjord av lönn - Skoklosters slott - 99791.tif, A square similar in design to historic wooden try squares.
File:Mitre-rule-for-marking-and-measuring-fixed-angles-01.jpg, Square made from beech
File:Vinkelhake - Skoklosters slott - 99796.tif, A mitered T-square
File:Vinkelhake - Skoklosters slott - 99795.tif, A ''miter bevel''.
References
{{Woodworking
Woodworking measuring instruments
Squares (tool)