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Many DIYers don't realize that one of their best tools for building and squaring up projects comes with every piece of sheet lumber they buy. This short video from The Honest Carpenter will explain secrets of the FACTORY EDGE!

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This BUILTIN LUMBER HACK Will Help You Build Anything! (Understanding FACTORY EDGEHow To Use It!)

The term FACTORY EDGE refers to the finished edge of a piece of sheet lumber that has passed all the way through the milling process. So, a factory edge is simply one of the four edges of a piece of sheet lumber.

In carpentry in particular, the factory edge is sort of sacred. It's something that we try to protect and preserve on a job site.

This is because, when a piece of sheet lumber leaves the mill/factory, it's squareness is essentially perfect! All of the corners and sides are guaranteed to be square to one another.

Carpenters can then use these perfect edges and corners to lay out lumber in grids extending across floors, walls and roofs, knowing that consecutive sheets will stay square relative to the original edge.

Also, we use factory edges to SQUARE UP the things we build.

I demonstrated ways last week to find and maintain squareness in a structure, large or small. But in the field, carpenters will often use factory edges to quickly find or determine square.

I'll use factory edges to line up the edges of boxes, or even floors. Knowing that the factory edge is perfectly square gives me a reference to trust when I don't want to spend time using the other methods.

Also, factory edges give us reliable points to PULL MEASUREMENTS from. Once a sheet has been cut, it can be hard to determine if the new cut edge is reliably straight or square to the other edges.

So, carpenters and woodworkers will be sure to pull measurements from factory edges when laying out cut lines. They're the only edges we can routinely trust!

Next time, if you're looking to determine if something is square, consider simply using the perfectly square factory edge that comes with our sheet lumber goods.

Thanks for watching!
The Honest Carpenter