Customer Reviews for Empire 12 in. Laser Etched Aluminum Rafter Square

It is an excellent tool, it helped me to have more precision in the wood strokes.

I brought it home and tested it for accuracy. It was off by 1/16” over its 7” length. That’s more than 1/4” over 3 feet. Terrible product.

As the saying goes you get what you pay for. If you're looking for accuracy for fine woodworking this is not the tool for you. Spend the money on good tools for accuracy. the Milwaukee version is more square than this version. This was the best looking one and more accurate when it was picked up at the store.

I wished I had this extremely useful rafter square ruler when I welded steel channels in my last project. This ruler would have saved me multiple mis-measurements prior to cutting. I think this is as necessary as a measure tape.

Worked as it should. Seems to seat easily against any wood you are trying to make up & cut

Love it works great

Works exactly as it should.

the color blue makes it easy to read the measurement.I highly recommend this product to all trades in the industry

Nice high visibility blue. Lightweight. All the standard hip and valley markings. We like empire at work. Great value and quality. This 12” square has a nice feel thats hard to describe.

Numbers are easy to read and it’s square.

I have been using this square it works great for me easy to use and I recommend for everyone

This was exactly what i needed and is very useful.

Great product!

Required accuracy for woodworking, this square is on the mark. Its my go to for framing and worth every cent spent! Recommended....

The Empire 7 inch etched rafter square is well made and easy to read. I purchased the laser etched one over the less expensive one by Empire simply because it is easier to read with the blue contrast and white lettering. It will be a sure time saver when planning cuts and is light weight.

Empire created a quality product that looks and feels very durable for field or homeowner type work.This thing is sturdy, I have dropped it in many occasions without causing any damage to it. The base of the rafter is large enough to allow it to stay in place. There is a bar code on the rafter that will take you to a user manual for this tool. As with any product, there is room for improvement. The edges/corners can be a bit sharp. This could cause some damage if using the rafter on a softer material than aluminum.

The thing that's different about this square is that It's fully laser engraved, so unless you scratch off all the paint, you'll always be able to see the markings. But even so, you could run a marker or paint over and then sand off the surface and you would still have visible markings. I really like the fine etching on this, as the smaller your measurements are, the more precise your work, and less chances of inaccuracy and problems down the road. The aluminum is nice and light, but it will bend easily at the tips, therefore leaving a small burr which may affect performance if used for fine woodworking and angles, needing to be constantly filed down smooth, but that's the price you pay in exchange for weight. Besides, just about every tool needs some sort of maintenance sooner or later. You can be rest assured that it's fully made in the USA. It has the inch to foot conversions along with the common rafter conversions in degrees of inch rise/foot engraved right into the back, which comes in VERY handy. The notches make it very easy to score lines through with your pencil. This square is quite thick too, so it works great as a saw guide!

I am very happy with the weight of this tool and also the sturdiness of it. It is very easy to read so therefore becomes the tool for me because my eyesight weakens with years. I am able to step on the square without breaking it. I know stepping on it is not too smart, but somehow I always manage to do it. if you want a square and do not want to make that purchase again for life I would definitely recommend this one.

This is a classic rafter square with a few new twists and easy to identify markings and features. A rafter square is a versatile and priceless tool. I've used this one like a work horse for renovations. You can't miss it on the job site - the blue color really stands out. I use it as a straightedge to make short cuts with a circular saw. I use it to drill pilot holes in cabinet doors and drawers for hardware. I use it to mortise door jams and strike plates. I use it to score drywall by setting my knife on a point and dragging the square down the sheet. I use it to frame square stairs treads, risers and bracing. Ironically it's called a rafter square and I've never used it for rafters. This square has a wider than normal base plate. Not sure if the wider plate adds more stability or squareness but I like that it's wider. One of the best features that comes with this square is the in-depth users guide. Lots of tables for determining the correct dimensions for your rafters. Lose the booklet? No worries. Use your smart phone's QR scanner app to scan the bar code printed on the square itself and you can pull up the rafter tables on your phone at the job site. Brilliant feature! She's a keeper.

Bought for a project. The etching made it easy to read

Does exactly what I need and high quality materials. Good purchase

It is easy to read and has all the features i need.

Haven't used it for much framing yet. Mostly, using it to make square marks for cuts and also as a guide for a multi-tool to ensure a straight cut. Very clear markings and basically every marking you could ever want.