c/carpenters

My new $300 Japanese pull saw is just sitting in my toolbox because I keep grabbing my old Stanley.

I bought it thinking it would change my life, but the muscle memory for my regular saw is too strong, and now I feel like an idiot every time I see that fancy handle.

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faith_shah88•3d ago

Question about a custom built-in that failed after only a year

I built a floor-to-ceiling bookcase unit for a client in their den about 14 months ago, using what I thought was a solid method. I used pocket screws and glue for the main carcass, thinking it was plenty strong for a static load. Well, the client called me last week because the whole center section had sagged almost an inch under the weight of their books. I had to go back and add a full plywood back panel and some serious vertical supports to fix it. Everyone swears by pocket hole joinery for casework, but I think it's just not enough for something that tall carrying real weight. What's a better joinery method for a built-in like this that won't let me down?

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price.ben•4d ago

Finally caved and bought a cordless track saw

Always thought they were a luxury for cabinet guys, but dropping $600 on the Makita kit changed my mind after a kitchen reno last month. The clean, splinter-free plywood cuts on site saved me hours of cleanup and recuts. Anyone have a good method for storing the track without it getting bent?

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diana_kim66•4d ago

Saw some really odd framing in a new build over in Springfield

I was helping a friend check out a house he was thinking of buying last week. In the attic, the roof rafters were all toe-nailed with just two 8d nails at each joint, no hurricane ties or metal connectors anywhere. The whole crew there swore it was 'the old way' and just as good. How is that even up to code now? Has anyone else run into this kind of work lately?

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drew_hart4•4d ago

My apprentice argued with me about using a 4-foot level for everything

Honestly, I was showing him how to plumb a door frame in this new build in Franklin, and he straight up said 'Why not just use a laser for the whole wall and check the level with your 2-footer as you go?' Tbh, it made me pause because I've always just grabbed the big level out of habit, but maybe he's onto something about speed without losing quality. How many of you guys have switched to lasers for basic layout and only break out the long levels for final checks?

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irisowens•5d ago

Am I the only one who just found out the average carpenter in my state makes 15% less than the national median?

I was looking at the Bureau of Labor Statistics site for a totally different reason and that stat just jumped out at me, so what's the deal with pay in your area?

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diana_kim66•5d ago

For years I swore by my old framing hammer, but a broken wrist made me switch to a titanium one.

I used a 22-ounce steel Estwing for over a decade, thinking the extra swing weight made me faster. I was wrong. After I broke my wrist on a job in Tacoma three years ago, my physical therapist flat out told me to stop using a sledgehammer all day. I switched to a 16-ounce titanium model, and it was a game changer. The lighter weight lets me swing all day with no elbow pain, and the balance is just better for hitting nails straight. I'm not any slower, and my body thanks me every evening. Has anyone else made a switch like this after an injury, and did it change how you think about 'traditional' tools?

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morgan_king36•6d ago

Just finished my 100th custom cabinet door and it made me rethink everything

I was keeping a rough count in my head, but when I actually wrote it down last night, I hit exactly 100 doors made since I started my own shop. I always thought volume was the key to getting good, just pump them out. But looking at door number one compared to door one hundred, the difference is crazy. The first ones took me forever, the joinery was tight but not perfect, and I sanded the profiles by hand. Now, after that many, I don't even think about the steps, my hands just know. The real shocker was timing myself on a simple shaker door last week. From rough stock to finished, sanded piece ready for finish, it was under 90 minutes. That number changed my whole view. It's not about making a hundred things, it's about what you learn making the same thing a hundred different ways. Anyone else have a specific job count that flipped a switch for them?

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annajenkins•6d ago

Shoutout to the old school hand plane I found at a yard sale

I was fixing up some oak trim in a house from the 1920s and the modern planer was just tearing up the grain. I remembered this rusty Stanley No. 5 I got for $10 last fall, so I spent an hour sharpening the iron and setting it up. On a whim, I tried a super light pass with the grain, and it came out glass smooth, no tear-out at all. I guess sometimes the simple tool is the right one for the job. Anyone have other tricks for working with really old, cranky wood?

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jamieb80•7d ago

My old way of cutting trim was costing me time and material

For a long time, I would just measure and cut each piece of crown molding for a room one at a time. I'd end up with a bunch of short leftovers and it took forever. About six months ago, I started laying out all the cuts for a room on a single long board before making any cuts. I use a story stick for the wall lengths and mark everything with a pencil. This lets me nest the angles and use the board more efficiently, saving about 15% on waste. It also makes the whole process faster since I'm not running back to the saw after each measurement. Has anyone else switched to a similar cut list method for trim work?

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logan_wells•9d ago

I bought a cheap miter saw stand thinking I'd save cash, big mistake

Grabbed a $90 stand online because my old one broke and I needed something fast for a deck job. The legs wobbled so bad I couldn't get a straight cut, wasted half a day trying to shim it with scrap wood. Ended up having to run to the store and buy a proper $250 stand anyway, so I was out the $90 plus my time. Anyone have a solid budget stand they actually trust?

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blakestone•9d ago

DAE have a client who changes the whole plan after you've already framed it?

Last week in Denver, a homeowner decided they wanted the kitchen window a foot to the left after I'd already sheathed the exterior wall, so I had to tear out a whole section of Tyvek and OSB.

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rowan_wells30•9d ago

That old oak handrail finally gave out on me yesterday

I installed it on a porch in the North End about fifteen years ago, and I guess the constant moisture from the harbor air got to the joinery. I had to go back and replace the whole lower section with a new piece of ipe, using stainless steel fasteners this time. Has anyone else had a classic project fail after more than a decade, and what did you learn from it?

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sage_moore37•11d ago

TIL a trick for cutting crown that actually works

I was helping a buddy frame a house up in Bend last month and saw him cut crown flat on his miter saw. I always thought you had to use those crazy compound angles. He just laid the piece flat, measured the wall angle, and cut it like a regular board. Took me a second to get it, but we did a whole room in about half the time. Has anyone else tried this method on a big job?

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karencampbell•11d ago

Just realized my trust in pocket screws for that built-in bench was a mistake

After three years, the 8-foot bench in a client's sunroom started to wobble because I relied solely on pocket screws for the long grain joints instead of adding proper mortise and tenons.

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shane_park92•11d ago

My 10-year-old tape measure finally gave out at exactly 100 feet of total pull

I was marking a long cut on some plywood yesterday and the blade just snapped. I keep a little log in my toolbox (a weird habit, I know) and when I checked it, I had pulled the tape out exactly 100 feet over its life. It's a Stanley Powerlock from my first year in the trade. Kind of wild to see a tool hit its limit so clearly. Has anyone else had a tool fail right after hitting a weirdly round number like that?

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beth276•12d ago

Bought a cheap miter saw stand at a yard sale. Big mistake.

Found it last spring for $40. Looked okay. The legs wobbled right away. Tried to fix it with new bolts. Wasted three hours on a Saturday. Then the whole thing tipped with a 12-foot piece of crown. Scratched the molding and bent the blade. Ended up costing me about $150 in materials and a new blade. What's a good, solid folding stand you guys actually trust?

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king.eric•13d ago

This old guy at the lumber yard in Boise gave me a tip I still use

I was picking up some 2x4s for a deck frame last year, and an older carpenter saw me checking each board for crown. He walked over and said, 'Flip it on edge, kid. The bow shows up way better against the light.' I tried it right there, and he was totally right. It's saved me so much time on rough framing since then. Anyone else have a simple trick like that they picked up from someone?

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jakewhite•14d ago

Heard a guy at the lumber yard say he never sands past 120 grit for framing lumber

I was picking up some 2x4s in Springfield last Tuesday and this older carpenter was telling his apprentice that 120 grit is the sweet spot for anything that's getting painted or hidden. He said going finer just wastes time and clogs the paper faster. I've always gone to 150 out of habit, but his point about time and cost stuck with me. It got me wondering about other little time-saving tricks we all do without thinking. What's your go-to grit for rough lumber that's not a show piece?

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aaron740•15d ago

My uncle swore by a 3-4-5 triangle for every layout, but it cost me a day on a big deck job.

He said, 'Kid, if you can't trust a 3-4-5, you can't trust anything.' So I used it to square a 24-foot deck frame last month. The long run was fine, but over that distance, the small error in the triangle stacked up. The far corner was off by over an inch. I had to pull all the rim joists and start again with a laser. When do you guys switch from the basic triangle to a different method for bigger projects?

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cole549•16d ago

An old timer at the lumberyard gave me a tip I still use

He saw me picking through the 2x4s and said, 'Run your hand down the edge, you'll feel the bow before you see it.' I've been doing that for ten years now. Anyone else have a simple trick that just stuck?

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the_olivia•16d ago

Unpopular opinion: The new composite decking is getting too expensive for what it is.

Three years ago I could get a good 16-foot board for under $40 at the local yard. Last month, the same stuff was pushing $70. It's nice, but at that price I'm starting to push clients back toward cedar again. Anyone else seeing this in their area?

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shane_park92•16d ago

The debate on pocket hole joinery versus traditional mortise and tenon

I just finished two identical oak cabinets, one with pocket holes and the other with mortise and tenon joints. The pocket hole build took me about 4 hours, while the traditional joinery took nearly 2 full days. The strength seems similar for now, but my old boss always said 'the glue does the work, the joint just holds it in place.' Which method do you think holds up better over 20 years in a humid garage?

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aaron740•18d ago

Cut a stair stringer wrong on a job in Boise last month

I was rushing and my math was off by a quarter inch, so the top step would have been too short. I had to stop, re-cut the whole thing from a fresh 2x12, and lost about an hour. Anyone have a good trick for double-checking stringer layout before you make the cut?

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evahenderson•20d ago

Appreciation post: The old guy at the lumber yard in Tacoma who saved my project

I was picking up some 2x4s for a deck frame last fall and an older guy, Frank, saw me struggling to check them all for crown. He walked over and showed me his trick: just roll each board on the concrete floor. The high point will always rock, so you can spot a bad one in two seconds flat. I must have saved an hour that day alone. Anyone else have a quick check method for lumber?

3 comments