The Only Rafter Square That Marks Both Sides

A rafter square is a triangular layout tool used by carpenters and framers to mark plumb cuts, seat cuts, birdsmouth cuts, and hip and valley angles on roof rafters. It also functions as a saw guide for cross-cuts, a try square for checking 90° corners, and a pivot for marking any angle from 0° to 90°. Most rafter squares are 7" — they fit in any apron and cover almost all framing cuts.

The Rapid Rafter won Popular Mechanics Gear of the Year 2025 for its patent-pending dual-sided design — it’s the only rafter square that marks both sides of a board in one motion. On a 60-rafter test roof it cut layout time by 33% versus a Swanson Speed Square. See our full comparison of the 5 best rafter squares of 2026 for the head-to-head.

They’re the same tool. "Speed Square" is a brand name registered by Swanson Tool in 1925; "rafter square" is the generic term every other manufacturer uses. The Rapid Rafter is the modern dual-sided rebuild — same triangle, same scales, but with fences on both edges so a single pass marks both faces of the board.

The original Rapid Rafter is $27.99 with free U.S. shipping — same price as a Swanson Speed Square. The Rapid Rafter Pro (machined aluminum) is $79.99, and the Pro Bundle (Pro plus 3", 4", and 6" expandable base plates that handle double 2x stock, LVL, and 4x/6x posts) is $129.99.

The Rapid Rafter Original is designed, engineered, and manufactured in the USA by Peter Toomey, a master carpenter with 40+ years of construction experience in Liberty Hill, Texas. The Pro is the metal version of the same patent-pending design — laser-etched, wider scribe, machined aluminum, built for daily Pro use.