Old framing square I got from my grandpa has markings I can't find online

Last month I was cleaning out my garage in Phoenix and found his old Stanley square from the 1950s. It has a weird set of rafter tables on the back that don't match any modern square I've seen. Anyone know where I can find an old manual or something that explains these?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_henry1mo ago

Hang on, say that again. A Stanley square from the 50s with rafter tables that don't match anything online? That's wild. You sure it's not a special order or a contractor's custom stamp? I've seen some oddball squares at antique shops, but nothing that threw me off like that. Those old Stanley catalogs from the 50s sometimes had pages of options you could pick from. I'd bet money somebody ordered it special with a different set of cuts, maybe for a specific roof pitch they worked with all the time.

milarodriguez1mo ago

Yeah, @the_henry is probably right about it being a special order, but those old Stanley catalogs are actually from the 40s not the 50s.