Its history is fascinating. Sometimes referred to as a rafter square, the Speed Square facilitates any number of layout operations from marking out and cutting walls to laying out rafters.

A speed square is handy for marking cuts, finding angles, and more. Here are a few good reasons why no toolbox should be without one.

Saw guide Perhaps the most practical—and practiced—use of the Speed Square is not as a square at all, but as a straightedge guide for a portable circular saw.