The Pro Reference
The deeper field manual for hips, jacks, stair stringers, and the corrections every roof needs.
Six chapters of advanced framing, the material a working framer reaches for after the basics. If you are new to the Speed® Square, start with the Little Blue Book. This volume picks up where it leaves off: jack rafter spacing, building-width corrections for inch fractions, the Big 12 + Layout Bar for stair-stringer work, and every pro-level cut the Speed® Square method has been refining since 1925.
Table of contents
The chapters, in reading order.
- Chapter
01
Common rafters at production speed
Lay out a common rafter from rise + run + length, with the right plumb cut at the ridge and the right tail cut at the eave.
- Chapter
02
Hip and valley rafters: the second column
Lay out a hip or valley rafter from the same rise + run as a common rafter, with the right plumb cut at the ridge, the right cheek cut at the corner, and the bird's mouth that lets it sit on the corner of the wall plate.
- Chapter
03
Jack rafters: spacing and the production cut
Cut a series of jack rafters off one piece of stock, with the right length increment per 16, 18, 20, or 24 inch spacing, and the right plumb + cheek cut where the jack meets the hip.
- Chapter
04
Building-width corrections for fractions
Look up the rafter length for any building width from 12 to 40 feet, including the add-ons for the inch fractions in between.
- Chapter
05
Stair stringers from layout to install
Lay out a stair stringer of any height with risers within 1/8 inch of each other, treads at the right run, and a stringer that ties cleanly into the joist header.
- Chapter
06
The Big 12 + Layout Bar
Set up the Big 12 with its Layout Bar to lay out a stair stringer, mark long rafter cuts that out-reach the standard 7-inch Speed® Square, and use the integrated 12-inch ruler edge for 2x material width.
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The same chapters indexed by task instead of reading order. Useful when you know the cut you need but not where in the book it lives.