Old Stanley No. 20 Try Square - How to restore the "squareness"?

[Quesne Ouaques]

My Dad just gave me his old try square that he got from my grandfather. A very nice 8" Stanley No. 20 in rosewood and brass.

When I use the old tried-and-true method of testing the accuracy (scribe a line, flip it and scribe another), it fails miserably. When I compare it to one of my other squares it is noticeably off-square.

Can I restore this tool to it's old glory? Is it even worth the trouble? Note that I'm not a collector. I do love to use old tools, though, especially when they were passed down by my grandfather.

[Eric Parham]

I know how to fix a framing square by hammering it but I don't know of a way to correct a wooden and metal square. I am interested to hear if any other users have any ideas.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Depending on age and conditon, it is not likely that you would want to go to the trouble of drilling out the retaining pins and disassemble the square. This is a fair amount of workand then there is the real possibility of ending up wit the same problem once it is "fixed". The first thing is to do your squareness test over again, this time on both the inside and outside of the blade. Remember that the old squares were only guaranteed to be square on the inside. You will also want to measure the width of the blade at several places along its length to see if the sides are parallel.

My simple approach to squaring is to use a file or sandpaper on the edges working carefully on a granite or glass surface to retain the straightness along the blade length. If you are concerned with the blueing being removed on the edges pf the blade, you canbuy blueing at gun supply stores. As much as possible, stay away trying to sand or file the brass, it's easier and less trouble to work the steel blade rather than the stock.