I used to measure twice cut once, now I just do it once and move on

Honestly, back when I started framing houses about 8 years ago, I’d mark every single stud with a pencil and check the tape three times before I even touched the saw. Then one day last summer, my lead carpenter grabbed the board out of my hands, eyeballed the measurement, and cut it perfectly on the first try in like 10 seconds. I felt like an idiot but he showed me this trick where you just line up the tape hook on the corner and snap the saw blade at the mark without even looking. Now I do the same thing for most interior walls and it saves me like 20 minutes per room, but I still double-check for window headers. Has anyone else had that moment where a old-timer made you rethink your whole process?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryan_coleman216d ago

Not gonna lie lining up the tape hook and just cutting at the mark is a solid move but that only works if your blade is dead on the line and you're not compensating for the kerf.

reese_fox5d ago

2x4s are real bad for this too because the kerf on a framing blade can eat up a 16th easy. If you're cutting for a tight fit on a stud wall that offset adds up fast across every cut.