Working tools of the second degree

The working tools of the Fellowcraft degree are the Plumb, the Square, and the Level 2. While these implements also serve as the immovable jewels of the lodge's three principal officers, they carry a double significance as working tools given to the Fellowcraft to instruct him in moral construction 2.

With the Square, the Fellowcraft tests the work prepared in the previous stage, symbolizing the duty to square one's actions by an inner conscience or "Square of Virtue" 2. The Level is used to lay horizontal courses, serving as a symbol for the level of time upon which human life is constructed and reminding the Mason that opportunities once passed cannot be unbuilt 2. The Plumb is used to raise perpendicular columns, admonishing the Mason to walk uprightly and straight with the base of life 12.

The symbolism of the Plumb also connects to the scriptural passage from Amos, where a plumb line is set in the midst of the people to teach the criterion of moral rectitude 12. This emblem emphasizes how a Mason should evaluate both his own conduct and that of others, considering the personal circumstances and tools by which the work was performed 2.

The Grand Lodge of India notes that the working tools of the Second Degree explain the importance of morality, equality, justness, and uprightness in life and actions, and that the symbolic principles of the square, level, and plumb-rule serve to improve a candidate's moral rectitude.