Do know the value of a compass; a piece of string with a track on one end and a pencil on the other is sufficient. Instead of arithmetic or a square, the old-timers made square foundations and perfectly square rooms with such a device. Collectors have often wondered why there were few rulers or squares to be found in colonial carpenters’ tool kits, yet so many large and small wooden compasses. For a few examples of how the compass was used instead of arithmetic, do observe the following two pages of drawings: where by squares, right angles, octagons, etc. can be made with a simple compass or compass string.