Did you check if the trial had the proper post processor for a Haas? I've seen guys blame the software when it's really the post that's messing everything up. That plunge would scare me straight too, but sometimes it's a simple setting like leaving safe retracts on or picking the right tool orientation. A 10 year old machine should handle Fusion fine as long as you're not asking it to do 5 axis stuff it wasn't built for. Maybe try running the simulation with the actual machine model and slow it down before you trust the default toolpath.

Hold up, are we really acting like a 1/16 inch gap is something a normal person can spot from across a parking lot? That seems like a stretch to me. Most of the time if someone is that picky about a fence it's just them being a control freak, not some special carpenter vision. And blaming the sun for a crooked string line just sounds like an excuse for messing up the measurement.

Totally agree, packing cubes are a total game changer and I felt like a packing genius on my last cold weather trip after I finally grabbed a set. Rolling everything tight in those things is seriously the best travel hack I've ever picked up.

Wait, you laid glue-down LVP over an uneven subfloor and didn't run into issues with the adhesive bonding? I always figured you needed a perfectly flat surface for glue-down or it would bubble up on you over time. That's wild that it worked out so much smoother than click-lock for you.

Worse than my attempts to grow a beard, if you can imagine that.