Old timer at the lumber yard corrected my framing square trick

Last Tuesday I was loading plywood at Horton Lumber in Tulsa and this retired framer, Pete, watched me mark a rafter with my speed square held backwards. He walked over and showed me how to use the pivot point for hip roof cuts, something I'd fumbled with for years. He said, 'Son, the square ain't lying, you just ain't listening to it.' That one tip saved me about 20 minutes per truss setup. Anyone else have a random stranger drop knowledge that stuck with you on a job?

2 comments

2 Comments

victorhill21d ago

That chalk line trick is gold. I was framing a deck addition over in Broken Arrow and this old boy, Dale, watched me mark out my beam notches with a tape and a pencil. He just handed me his chalk line and said, "Snap it, don't measure it." I thought he was crazy until I realized the string follows the actual edge of the joist, so even when the lumber was a little bowed it came out perfect. I've used that on every concrete pad and ledger board since. It's one of those things where you feel dumb for not figuring it out yourself, but grateful someone took the time to show you.

william_torres22d ago

Old Mexican guy on a commercial roof in Phoenix showed me the string line trick for setting tile. Not the straight line, the one where you pull it tight and snap it to transfer the measurement. Been doing it that way for fifteen years now. He just pointed at my chalk box and shook his head. Said I was making it harder than it needed to be. Best part is the line never lies, even when the walls are out of square. Cheap lesson, saved my back a bunch of bending over too.