try square question

[Leon]

Never heard of a tri-square before??? That was like 8th grade shop class

101... LOL

[Australopithecus scobis]

Nice comeback, but it's a miss, I think. Isn't it the case that better quality ruled squares use etching for the divisions? I agree that stamping the divisions could have unhappy effects on the rule's accuracy. Viz my POS framing square...

[Tom Veatch]

Got to come down on Scott's side in this mini (I hope) controversy. I've known about "try" squares for a long time, but this is my first exposure to a "tri" square.

Tom Veatch Wichita, KS USA

[CW]

Not a miss at all. The OP specified both stamped and etched. In any case, stamping does not necessarily have any detrimental effect on accuracy. It depends on the sequence of operations.

[Candice Markham]

[Chris Melanson]

Sorry I sent the last reply from my wifes laptop I should of sent it from my PC so it would of showen from myself sorry once again.

Chris

UMBER=46-502&SDesc=8%22+Blade+Plastic+Try%2FMitre+Square+(English)>

[AArDvarK]

incorrect...

In any case,

[AArDvarK]

Looks like Miller's falls knew that, eBay (in the pictures): 6106079531 Alex

[CW]

Yes, you usually are.

[AArDvarK]

You are plonked you creep, I don't chat in here to put up with your ancient redneck crap.... Alex

[Bill Rogers]

suggested the definition of "try" square. The difference is really an agreement among those who posted, just looking at two only slightly different tools. The Try square has a base at right angles to the steel part, and the Tri square has the same, but also with a 45 degree bevel.

Here's one site that offers **both**:

[Chris Melanson]

Take a look at the spelling in the link if you have never heard of a Tri square unless I need glasses it says Tri nor try.

Chris

[CW]

Tool dealers make as many nomenclature mistakes as anyone. How do you think scroll saw and jigsaw got switched over the years? Try is correct. tri is a misspelling. The 45 has nothing to do with it.

UMBER=46-502&SDesc=8%22+Blade+Plastic+Try%2FMitre+Square+(English)>

[Leon]

From the dictionary,

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

try square n. A carpenter's tool consisting of a ruled metal straightedge set at right angles to a straight piece, used for measuring and marking square work.

And I always thought it was tri square until I could not find it in the dictionary

[Bill Rogers]

I knew that. At least there is some agreement. :-)

Bill.

[Bill Rogers]

Bugger it! I checked a little more, and Ebay is listing Tri Square, and Try square. However, they show little difference, except in one case they show a Combination Square set as a "Machinist's Tri Square." I give up. But I've known all of my life a "try square" to be a simple tool for checking if 90 degrees, period. ....and I'm a senior.

Bill.

[J. Clarke]

FWIW, the Oxford Unabridged does not mention the existence of a "tri-square" but they do define a "try-square" for which a synonym is "trial-square", and define it as "a carpenter's tool for laying off short perpendiculars". On the other hand we may be observing a linguistic shift in progress.

[Australopithecus scobis]

I have now, however, added "tri" to my mental vocabulary to describe those try squares which include the 45 bevel. (I hate them.) "Tri square" could be a useful, although internally inconsistent, neologism.

[George E. Cawthon]

This thread is hilarious. Some one suggest that is spelled a certain way because that's the way it is on e-bay. Ha, any using billboard to check their spelling? English is in a constant state of change, both in the meaning of words and the spelling of words, so anything is possible and generally is when you look at the way people spell in news groups and e-mails. Just saw a reference to not "paint the floor into a closet." What the hell is that? The saying is "painting yourself into a corner."

If you want to see a "standard spelling, or standard meaning" use a dictionary, and if that isn't entirely satisfactory use your knowledge of English. Anything is is just opinion which is very little value. "Tri" is a prefix that means 3, it is not a word. So a Tri Square (two words) is inherently substandard. A try square is simply two legs at a right angle, there is no 3 of anything.

A machinist or combination square, may have three parts, but there aren't 3 angles as someone suggested. The cast part with the level does has a right angle on one side and a 45 degree angle on the other side as measured against the slide. So you could call it a bisquare, but what the hell would that mean. If you have the common third piece fits on the slide, you end up with two 45 degrees from the slide or 90 degrees with itself. So now it could be call a tri-something since it has three pieces, of if you count angles maybe a quart- or quintsquare, but again, what the hell would that mean? Maybe that's why the correct name makes some sense, a square used by a machinist or a square with a combination of uses.

Discussion is great for amusement, but if you want the correct meaning or use of something, consult a dictionary or an accepted or noted technical manual. Still, people make mistakes, so also use your brain. Hell, the Third International Websters, even forgot to put Uranus in the original printing. Maybe someone didn't make a mistake but was just trying to be being politically correct?

[nospambob]