OneTIME Tool - SKILLSQUARE - RETIRED MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2021
Those of us that came to woodworking through remodeling probably cut our teeth on a carpenter’s square. It’s been a fixture in professional and amateur tool belts for close to a hundred years. But, when you transition from remodeler to furnituremaker, the carpenter’s square loses some of its luster. The thick, stamped blade and fat graduations just don’t deliver the accuracy you need for furniture and cabinet work. Woodpeckers newest OneTIME Tool, the SkillSquare, merges the features of the traditional carpenter’s square with Woodpeckers tradition of precision-machined one-piece stainless steel blades and aluminum beams. Now you can have a square that’s just as handy in the cabinet shop as it is when you’re laying out a partition or cutting a rafter.
SKILLSQUARE
We laser-cut the SkillSquare blade from 1/16" stainless steel plate, then machine the edges on CNC mills to a tolerance of .0085°. At one-third the thickness of other carpenter’s squares, parallax viewing error is reduced and measurements transfer to your material more precisely. The laser-engraved scale is graduated in sixteenths, not eighths, and the graduations are crisp, dark, easy to read and will never wear off.
We created two sets of scribing guides in the SkillSquare. When you’re working with construction lumber and a carpenter’s pencil, there are large scribing guides on quarter-inch centers to 3". For finer work, there are scribing guides on eighth-inch centers along the entire blade. Each of the finer guides has two triangular notches so you can mark with either a push or a pull. The triangle guides accommodate a wide variety of marking devices, from wooden and mechanical pencils to scratch awls and permanent markers.
We even improved performance in angle marking. The pivot point on the SkillSquare is sharp and well-defined, making rafter and angle marking more precise and more repeatable. The beam of the SkillSquare is 3/4" thick and 1" wide with chamfers in the middle. It’s easy to position on your material and comfortable to use all day.
While we’ve been talking about “the” SkillSquare, there are actually two styles – SkillSquare and SkillSquare XT. Both share all the same features mentioned so far, but the “XT” model adds another wrinkle. The central core of the square extends beyond the cheeks of the beam and has an additional scale engraved on both sides. Flip the SkillSquare XT around and hook the extended scale securely on the edge of your stock to mark accurately when you’re well away from the ends of your board. Both SkillSquare and SkillSquare XT are available with either inch or metric graduations.
SkillSquare and SkillSquare XT are available individually or as a pair. Both include a wall-mountable Rack-It™ to keep your squares protected, but always in plain sight.
Like all Woodpeckers OneTIME Tools, the SkillSquare and SkillSquare XT are built to order, precisely machined and carefully inspected in our Strongsville, Ohio, manufacturing facility (just south of Cleveland). The deadline to order yours is Monday, October 25, 2021. After that, the SkillSquares will be retired from our product line. Delivery is scheduled for March 2022.
IMPORTANT ORDERING INFORMATION: If you're paying by credit card, you will not be charged until your order is ready to ship. However, Paypal and other payment services may charge you at the time the order is placed.
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| Country of Manufacture | United States |
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SKILL SQUARE FAQ
Q: How far does the blade protrude from the cheeks in the Skill Square XT?
A: The blade protrudes ½” from the cheeks.
Q: What are the Metric marking hole increments?
A: 2mm spacing for the mechanical pencil groove openings
1mm for the scale lines
5mm for carpenter pencil