It is customary, when cutting off weatherboarding. to fit up against the corner strips of a frame house, to use the long square or carpenter's rule. The square is sometimes held along the edge of the weatherboard, or down the side of the corner strip. Either method necessitates carrying the square along, or fetching it from where it was laid down.

Fig. 99 - Gage for cutting weatherboards.

One-quarter the time can be saved, saying nothing of the convenience gained, by making a little gage, as illustrated in Fig, 99, from a piece of board about 9 inches long and 2 inches wide, which can be carried in the nail or apron pocket. The notch in the piece is 6 1/2 or 7 inches in length and about 2 inches deep.

The weatherboard is held in position, the end not shown being set up firm against the last hoard in the same row, the other end extending beyond the corner strips. The gage is slipped over this end of the board, and held firmly against the inside face of the corner strip, while a pencil line is quickly drawn across the board as it is held against the gage. The saw cut is made a little inside the pencil mark.