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Used to lay out everything with soapstone and a straight edge, now I just snap lines like crazy
Man, I remember starting out and the old timers would give me grief if my layout marks weren't perfect. I'd spend 20 minutes measuring twice, checking the square, marking every bolt hole with a center punch. That was the only way I knew. Then about 5 years ago I was on a job down in Baton Rouge, and the foreman, this crusty guy named Ray, just snapped a chalk line and started cutting. Said, 'You're overthinking it, the metal's gonna move on you anyway.' I laughed it off but tried it on the next fit-up. He was right. The tolerances we hold on the drawings, they're nice and all, but in the field, especially with hot plate, you gotta give yourself room to adjust. Now I do a quick centerline, mark my biggest dimensions, and let the welders do their thing. I still use soapstone for final marks, but the whole layout dance is way shorter. Anyone else dump the old school full layout for just getting it close and working it in? Or am I the only one who got called out for "sloppy" by a guy who's been retired for a decade?
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