M Power’s Combination 3-D Square
By Bob Duncan
M Power’s clever new tool combines a highly accuate traditional square with a saddle square and a small bevel square. Calibrated in both metric and Imperial, this is the only square you need to make frames and boxes or to create your own designs. Every woodworker needs a square, and if you have only one, this is the square to own.
Several features combine to make the Combination 3-D one of the most useful tools in your shop. The downward running saddle square allows you to transfer marks from the side of the blank to the top of the blank and vice versa. It also makes it easy to use the pencil holder that clamps onto the main square blade to draw lines perfectly parallel to the edge of the blank. To use the pencil holder properly, you hold the square at approximately a 5° angle. The long edges of the saddle square allow you to keep the square in contact with the side of the blank at all times.
While the square is calibrated at the factory to be accurate within 1⁄100“, a square can easily get out of alignment if it’s dropped. M Power attaches the square blade to the handle with a pair of hex set screws. These set screws make it easy to realign the blade if the tool gets out of square. The instructions include a simple method to test and reset the square without a lot of special tools.
The included bevel square, at the end of the handle opposite the main square blade, is cailbrated with laser-etched markings at the most commonly used angles: 90°, 60°, 45°, 30°, and 15°. You can also use the locking lever to set the bevel angle at whatever angle you choose.
One of the things that initially made an impression was the overall weight of the Combination 3-D Square. The heavy-duty design is comforting to use. The tool is easy to keep against a square-edged blank and slides easily along the edges to draw lines. The laser-etched measurements on the flat black square blades are easy to read and highly accurate. The pencil holder is angled so the center of the pencil lead aligns with the edge of the pencil holder. This allows you to align the inside edge of the pencil holder with the measurement mark on the main square blade to easily make a mark a specific distance from the edge of the blank.
The M Power Combination 3-D Square combines the three most useful squares into one compact but heavy-duty tool. This handy tool has already found a home in my shop apron. I wholeheartedly recommend it for every woodworker!
The Combination 3-D Square is available for $50, free s&h. Visit M-Power Tools at www.m-powertools.com.