the_emma•1mo agoMost Upvoted

I was sure this old-school trick for marking rafters was a waste of time

For years, I just used my speed square and a pencil to mark my birdsmouth cuts. A guy I worked with on a job in Bellingham last fall kept insisting I try the 'story pole' method with a scrap piece of 2x4. I thought it was just extra steps. After watching him lay out a whole roof in about half the time it usually takes me, I gave it a shot on a small shed project. It saved me at least an hour and a half on the cuts and everything fit perfectly on the first try. Has anyone else switched to a method they used to think was pointless?

3 comments

3 Comments

king.aaron1mo ago

My buddy swore by using a chalk line for deck joists and I always brushed it off. He finally showed me on a small porch how it kept everything dead straight in one shot. I haven't used a tape for that job since.

beth_webb761mo ago

My uncle was the same way with his old wood plane. He'd spend hours setting up jigs I thought were a waste of time. Then I saw how every cut was perfect without measuring twice. Sometimes the old school method is just the right tool.

mason.brian1mo ago

My grandfather's framing square had the corners worn smooth from sixty years of use. He could lay out rafters just by walking the square down the board, no math book needed. The tool was an extension of his hand. We get so focused on new gadgets that we forget the real skill is knowing one simple tool inside and out. That old knowledge gets the job done quietly while we're still looking for batteries.