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NM Freemason · Skills & Drills · Chapter 10

Working Tools of the Entered Apprentice

Drawn from published Masonic monitor content. See site Credits for source citations.

Vocabulary (5)

Twenty-four-inch gauge
A two-foot ruler divided into twenty-four equal parts. In speculative use, an emblem teaching the wise division of the day into three parts: for the service of God and a distressed worthy brother, our usual vocations, and refreshment and sleep.
Common gavel
A stone-mason's hammer used to break off the rough edges of stone. In speculative use, an emblem of the moral labor by which the workman fits himself for that spiritual building made without hands.
Rough Ashlar
A stone in its rude and natural state, as taken from the quarry. It is emblematic of the candidate before instruction has formed his character.
Perfect Ashlar
A stone made ready by the hands of the workman to be adjusted by the working tools of the Fellowcraft. It is emblematic of the cultivated Mason fit to be tried by the Square of virtue.
Three divisions of the day
Service of God and a distressed worthy brother; usual vocations; refreshment and sleep. This is the moral instruction attached to the twenty-four-inch gauge.

Sequences (2)

The three divisions of the day

Order in which the three divisions of the day are taught in the lecture on the twenty-four-inch gauge.
  1. Service of God and a distressed worthy brother
  2. Our usual vocations
  3. Refreshment and sleep

From rough stone to perfect ashlar

The moral progression by which the Mason fits himself for the temple not made with hands.
  1. Rough Ashlar: the candidate in his natural state
  2. Common gavel applied: moral labor on the character
  3. Twenty-four-inch gauge applied: wise use of time
  4. Perfect Ashlar: cultivated and fit to be tried by the Square

Multiple-choice (5)

1. What are the working tools of an Entered Apprentice?
  1. The square and the compasses
  2. The twenty-four-inch gauge and the common gavel ✓
  3. The plumb, the level, and the square
  4. The trowel and the chisel
2. Into how many equal parts is the twenty-four-inch gauge divided?
  1. Three
  2. Twelve
  3. Twenty-four ✓
  4. Forty-eight
3. Which of the following is one of the three divisions of the day taught by the twenty-four-inch gauge?
  1. Study of the liberal arts and sciences
  2. Service of God and a distressed worthy brother ✓
  3. Attendance upon the Grand Lodge
  4. Travel in foreign countries
4. What does the common gavel teach the Mason to break off?
  1. The chains of ignorance
  2. The rough and superfluous parts of his character ✓
  3. The bonds of unworthy companionship
  4. The fetters of selfish ambition
5. The Rough Ashlar represents the Mason in what state?
  1. Before any instruction has formed his character ✓
  2. After he has been raised to the sublime degree
  3. Upon being installed as Master of his Lodge
  4. Upon receiving the working tools of a Fellowcraft