A retired framer made me rethink how I mark my joinery

Had a chat last week with a guy who built kitchen cabinets back in the 70s, no CNC, just a table saw and a sharp pencil. He watched me lay out dovetails with a digital angle gauge and said, "Son, your eye will do that faster than that battery ever will." At first I laughed it off, but then I tried his trick on a set of oak drawer boxes, just using a combination square and a scratch awl. Took me maybe 10 minutes longer upfront, but the layout felt cleaner and I caught two marks I would have trusted blindly. Makes me wonder if I lean too hard on gadgets instead of the basics. Anyone else had an older guy make them slow down and it actually worked out?

1 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

1 Comment

reed.ray12d ago

That old timer's got a point about the eye, but the digital gauge catches stuff my fingers can't feel, especially after a long day. Slow and careful layout is great, but I'll take the battery backup when it means less waste on fancy hardwood.

8