Header banner
Revain logoHome Page
Macaiah Arreola photo
1 Level
759 Review
61 Karma

Review on Swanson Tool S0101 7 Inch Square by Macaiah Arreola

Revainrating 4 out of 5

For the first time with rafters and bird's mouth.

Always trying to expand my knowledge of construction and carpentry, I recently decided to include a rafter design (with a bird's mouth) in my window awning project. The Swanson square was perfect for the job and with the help of the book that came with it I was able to learn the "one number" rule which makes assembling rafters a lot easier. I would advise any beginner to do this on a smaller project like a doghouse or a small shed on the roof of a house. I'm not a fan of integers, so I just read a few parts of the book, watched a short video about Swanson Square, and then got to work. a rafter to lean against a ledger on a wall, and a bird's mouth to land on the lower "entry plate" that would support the window roof. I think my "ONE" number for pitch was 9 (I used grade {36}), and you can build a proper roof from that number. It turned out great and I'm sure that with this one project I can build a real roof for whatever structure I'm designing at the moment. If you know your "One" number before the new project was built, but we didn't because of other problems, such as shades for the window. As a result, my assistant and I had to test the cuts at an angle (and then press them against the frame) until we reached an approximate 36 degree angle that would make all the rafter cuts plumb. Then with a square we got step 9. More importantly, you can use a simple formula to find the distance to your bird's mouth (where your "seat" and "heel" intersect with the outside edge of your hill/sill). Before this project, I only used my squares for 90 degree cuts. Now he has opened up a whole world of building possibilities. Thanks for the book, Swanson.

Pros
  • Best in Niche
Cons
  • I'll add later