An el-square having arms of equal thickness and width, is made of a piece of sheet steel; this is marked to show the place of the intended square, and afterwards heated to redness a few times to be cut out with chiselling. A pedestal square requires to be made with fullers, if both arms of the tool are to be of one piece, but if of two pieces, the only forging which is necessary is the reducing and cutting to length of the blade and pedestal as two straight pieces, these being afterwards made into a right angle by means of drilling, filing, and riveting ; and if forged too large, planing also is necessary. To forge a square of only one piece, a piece of steel is selected which is amply large enough for both blade and pedestal, and in most cases it is convenient to forge the square at one end of a square bar, and when partly made, to cut off the tool to be separately finished. After this the smith reduces and shapes another square of the same bar, if more than one are wanted. The fullering commences at a short distance from one end, a pair of top and bottom fullers being applied to make two hollows opposite each other, as in Fig. 481 ; the work is next bent at the hollows, and with bending, portions are squeezed up opposite the hollows, this place being the intended inner corner of the square. During the angling, the squeezed-up parts are chiselled off to promote an easy bending, and the work is made to resemble Fig. 482 ; when sufficiently angled to produce the right angular form, the short end is upset to make the outer sharp corner ; fullers are next driven from both sides of the blade, and the work appears as in Fig. 483; after this the lump for the blade is thinned and cut to its intended length.

Another mode of making a pedestal square of one piece, consists in first bending the bar without fullering, to make it resemble Fig. 484 ; it is then upset by hammering the short end, in order to square the outer corner; this operation makes it resemble Fig. 485, and at this stage fullers are driven in to commence the reduction of the lump for the intended blade; this fullering is shown by Fig. 486; after which, the tool is completed by lengthening the blade to its proper length and trimming off the superfluous metal.

To avoid a lengthy reducing of metal when a large square is to be made, soft steel which will partly weld may be used; of such metal a thin piece for the blade is selected, and a thicker piece for the pedestal, both pieces being of the intended finished dimensions of the square. At one end of the pedestal a gap is made with chiselling, and punching, if necessary, and into the gap the blade is put; a square rivet-hole is next made through both pieces, and a rivet put in. When thus prepared, the joint is heated in a clear fire to welding, and the welding is effected with a few light blows. A joint thus made will not be solid, but if the mouths of the hole are coned, and a rivet made to fit, the blade will be securely fixed, which is the principal consideration.

An el-square which is to be made of two pieces without forging, is united by means of a joint-gap that is drilled and filed. The blade is securely fixed to its pedestal either by means of a square rivet-hole and rivet, or by means of three small wire rivets. The holes in the pedestal are deeply coned at the mouths, and the rivets are of soft steel; these are properly riveted by hammering the centres of the ends first with a ball face, and finishing with a flat face, and when all the conical recesses are filled, a good joint is the result. To shape the square after forging, it is planed and filed, or filed only, if but little metal is to be taken off. A square thus made is denoted by Fig. 487.