I spent 10 years squaring lines with a speed square wrong

Finally watched a video from a trim carpenter and realized I was holding the flange backwards for layout marks. Been doing it that way since trade school and never questioned it. Anybody else discover something basic they messed up for way too long?

2 comments

2 Comments

mitchell.wade6d ago

Nah, I gotta be honest, I don't really buy that one. The flange works the same way no matter which side you hold it from, it's just geometry. Feels like you were probably making the same marks either way.

drew_grant521d ago

Yeah, I kinda see it different though, @mitchell.wade. The angle your arm sits at changes how you apply pressure, which can shift the mark more than you'd think. Plus if you're marking from the wrong side the whole time, you're basically fighting your own tool instead of working with it.