Try square¶

projects.try_square

A try square: a thin blade in a bridle slot at the end of a thick stock.

The blade is as thin as the slot (a third of the stock's thickness), so it goes in whole, without cheeks, centered in the stock's thickness.

Try square, assembled

Try square, exploded

Parameters¶

Parameter	Default
`stock_length`	`150`
`stock_width`	`40`
`blade_length`	`250`
`blade_width`	`30`
`stock`	24 mm board, oak

Change them in a design file (see Change an example):

from woodwright.examples import projects

design = projects.try_square(stock_length=187.5)

Drawings¶

The plans in one PDF: plans.pdf.

Assembly

Parts

Blade

Stock

Cut list¶

stock  150 x 40 x 24 mm  oak
       - slot mortise 8 mm, 30 deep, in right_end
blade  290 x 30 x 8 mm  oak

Code¶

From woodwright/examples/projects.py, which imports the names it uses (see From an example to your own design):

def try_square(
    stock_length: float = 150,
    stock_width: float = 40,
    blade_length: float = 250,
    blade_width: float = 30,
    stock: Stock = SQUARE_STOCK,
) -> Assembly:
    """A try square: a thin blade in a bridle slot at the end of a thick stock.

    The blade is as thin as the slot (a third of the stock's thickness), so
    it goes in whole, without cheeks, centered in the stock's thickness.
    """
    asm = Assembly("try_square", root_location=STANDING)
    handle = asm.add(Board("stock", stock, length=stock_length, width=stock_width))
    blade_stock = Stock.board(thickness=stock.thickness / 3, species=stock.species)
    blade = asm.add(Board("blade", blade_stock, length=blade_length, width=blade_width))
    asm.join(
        Bridle(
            tenon=blade.left_end,
            slot=handle.back_edge,
            position=flush_with(handle.right_end),
            tenon_thickness=blade_stock.thickness,
            across=CENTERED,
        )
    )
    return asm

Exported with woodwright 0.9.0 on 2026-10-25.