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Try square

A try square is a woodworking or a metal working tool used for marking and measuring a piece of wood. The square refers to the tool's primary use of measuring the accuracy of a right angle (90 degrees); to try a surface is to check its straightness or correspondence to an adjoining surface. A piece of wood that is rectangular, flat, and has all edges (faces, sides, and ends) 90 degrees is called four square. A board is often milled four square in preparation for using it in building furniture.

A traditional try square has a broad blade made of steel that is riveted to a wooden handle or 'stock'. The inside of the wooden stock usually has a brass strip fixed to it to reduce wear. Some blades also have graduations for measurement. Modern try squares may be all-metal, with stocks that are either die-cast or extruded.

'Try square' is sometimes spelled 'tri square' although its etymology is from 'trying', in the sense of testing, rather than the prefix 'tri-' meaning three.