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The old timer at Fischer Lumber in Cincinnati changed how I think about measuring twice
I was picking up a load of 2x4s at Fischer Lumber over on Spring Grove Ave a couple weeks back and got to talking with this old carpenter named Ray who has been doing trim work for something like 45 years. He watched me mark a board and said 'you measure twice, but you still cut it wrong half the time because you never check your tape against the blade.' I kind of laughed it off at first. Then he showed me his tape, a beat up Stanley he has had since the 80s, and pointed out the little hook on the end had worn down almost an eighth of an inch from years of use. That tiny wear was throwing off every single mark I ever made with that tape. I went home and checked mine, and sure enough, the hook was sloppy and sliding around. I grabbed a new tape and re-cut a set of cabinet face frames I had been fighting with, and every joint came out dead tight on the first try. Has anyone else run into a worn tape hook messing up their cuts, or am I just late to figuring this out?
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laura_lane5h ago
Worn tape hooks are the quiet killer of every woodworker. That little slop of an eighth inch adds up fast and you end up chasing gaps you can't explain. Cheap tapes go bad too, not just the old ones. First thing I do with any new tape is pull the hook tight and eyeball it against a ruler to make sure it reads right. Ray did you a solid and probably saved you a lot of cussing.
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