c/carpenters

Crown moulding blowout - cheap mitre saw let me down big time

I was fitting crown in a 12x14 bedroom in Cleveland and my old mitre saw was off by almost 2 degrees on a compound cut. The third corner had a gap you could stick a nickel through. Any tips for dialing in a budget saw without spending on a Festool?

Picked a framing nailer over a finish gun for my first big trim job in 2003

I went with a Bostitch framing nailer cause I figured it'd be faster, but it left these deep dents I had to fill for two days straight. Anyone else ever pick the wrong gun for a job and pay for it with extra sanding?

Old growth fir or engineered lumber for floor joists? I keep seeing guys rip out solid 2x10s for I-joists.

I was on a reno in Portland last week and the contractor insisted on pulling out perfectly good 1950s Douglas fir joists to put in engineered I-joists. He said it's for consistent span ratings but those old fir boards have been holding up for 70 years without a sag. Which side are you on, keep the old growth or swap it for the new stuff?

Am I the only one who thinks miter saw stands are getting way too complicated?

At a job site in Austin last month a guy showed up with a stand that had like 8 different levers and folding arms. Took him 15 minutes just to set it up for a couple cuts on baseboards. Meanwhile an old timer was just using a pair of sawhorses and a piece of plywood and had his work done in half the time. I get that some stands have nice features but when does all the extra hardware just become a hassle? Has anyone else dealt with a stand that took longer to set up than the actual cutting?

That client who insisted I build a deck with pressure treated lumber that was still wet from the store

Three months ago in Denver I framed a 16x20 deck with green lumber straight from the lumberyard and now half the joists have twisted so bad the deck boards are cupping, has anyone else dealt with a homeowner who wouldn't wait for the wood to dry?

Wasted $400 on a fancy miter saw stand before I learned the simple trick

I was convinced I needed that big folding stand with the rollers for my jobsite. Dropped $400 on it at Home Depot last March and honestly it was a pain to set up every time. Then I saw a guy on a job just using two cheap saw horses and a piece of plywood. He had his saw clamped down and it was rock solid. I tried it myself the next week and now I can't believe I wasted that money. Has anyone else found a cheaper setup that works better than the expensive stands?

Overheard an old timer at the lumber yard say something that changed how I measure twice

He said to always mark your first measurement with a pencil dot, not a line, because lines can throw you off by a 1/16th or more. I tried it on a cabinet build last week and my joints came out tighter than ever. Has anyone else heard this trick or got other measuring hacks?

Shoutout to the guy who pointed out my miter saw was off by 3 degrees

Ngl, I been cutting crown molding for like 5 years and always had to shim stuff or fill gaps with caulk. Last Tuesday I was on a job in Nashville and this older framer walks by, watches me make a cut, and says 'your saw is out of whack man.' Pulled out his digital angle finder and sure enough it was 3 degrees off. I felt like an idiot. How do you guys check your miter saw accuracy on site? I don't wanna carry a whole tool just for that.

Lost $200 on a bad batch of LVL beams from Home Depot last summer

I bought 4 LVL beams from Home Depot in Portland back in June and 2 of them had hidden delamination that I didn't catch until after they were installed. The supplier blamed me for not inspecting them on delivery but who has time to comb through every inch of a 20 foot beam. Cost me an extra half day of labor to tear them out and reorder plus the wasted material. Has anyone else had luck getting a refund from a big box store on defective lumber like this?

Tried that spray foam insulation in my workshop walls and got a nasty surprise

I thought I was being smart last month by sealing up all the gaps in my shed workshop with that expanding spray foam from the hardware store. Figured it would keep the drafts out and save me some money on heating. Well, the next morning I walked in and it smelled like someone had been painting with industrial chemicals. Turns out I used way too much and the stuff didn't cure right because it was too cold outside. The fumes gave me a headache for two hours and I had to leave the doors open for three days to air it out. Now I gotta rip some of it out and start over with the proper stuff. Has anyone else had this problem with foam insulation in unheated spaces?

Stopped by a new build site in downtown Austin last weekend

I was checking out a new townhouse project off East 6th Street and noticed every single floor joist had the exact same knot pattern. Like carbon copy identical across 4 units. Turns out the framing crew used LVLs from the same batch but didn't stagger the placement at all. Has anyone else seen a builder skip over proper layout just to save a few minutes?

Debate: Should we charge for measuring and quoting or build it into the final price?

I was at a job site in Austin last month measuring for a custom bookshelf and the homeowner asked how much just the quote would cost. I told her free and spent 2 hours measuring and drawing up plans, only to lose the job to a guy who undercut me by $300. Now I'm wondering if a small fee upfront would weed out tire kickers or just scare away serious clients. What do you all do with your time on estimates?

Hot take: I realized I was over-sanding everything for years

Last week a guy at the lumberyard told me I was wasting half my time sanding joints that would be covered by trim anyway. He showed me a $5 scraper that got the job done in 2 minutes instead of 20 with the orbital sander. Anybody else been doing some stupid time-wasting habit they just noticed?

Tried a pull saw for dado cuts after 20 years of using a chisel set

I always figured Japanese pull saws were just for dovetails and fine box work. Grabbed a $40 one on a whim for a shelving job in Austin and it cut a perfect dado in half the time. Anyone else switch cutting methods later in their career?

Chat with an old framer out in Phoenix last month changed how I think about layout

I ran into this guy who's been framing since the 70s at a job site out in Mesa. He told me he never uses a speed square for hip rafters, he just marks everything by eye and checks with a level. Said he learned that way because his first boss couldn't afford a square. Honestly, it hit different because I've been relying on my tools so much I forgot you can figure stuff out with just experience. Has anyone else tried going back to the basics like that just to see if it works?

Just realized my miter saw station finally works right after adding some simple stops

I got tired of measuring and marking every single cut for crown molding on this kitchen job in Raleigh. So I tried making a simple flip stop from some scrap plywood and a hinge. Took maybe 20 minutes to rig up but it saved me like 30 minutes of measuring over the course of the day. The cuts were way more consistent too since I wasn't resetting my tape every time. Anyone else have a jig that just clicked one day after months of doing it the hard way?

My worst framing day ever was last Tuesday and I still can't believe it

I was working on a garage addition out in Maplewood and everything went wrong from the start. My compressor died about 30 minutes in, then I dropped my favorite speed square off the second floor and it cracked on the concrete. On top of that, I cut a whole stack of rafters 2 inches too short because I misread the plans. I had to run to Home Depot twice that day for a new square and more lumber. Has anyone else had a day where literally nothing goes right?

Hit 10,000 board feet ripped this month and my body is wrecked

I don't even track it usually but my apprentice added it up from the cut lists. That's a lot of lumber for a small shop like mine. My shoulder's been popping since Tuesday and my back is just done. How do you guys keep up with big production runs without burning out after a couple weeks?

Rant: I almost gave up on scribing a tricky baseboard until I tried a trick with a compass and a scrap of cardboard.

After messing up the cut three times on a 100-year-old uneven wall in a Boston brownstone, I traced the wall's profile onto the cardboard with the compass, transferred that exact shape to the board, and it fit perfectly on the first try, so has anyone found a better way to handle those crazy old walls?

Pro tip: I think everyone's wrong about using a 4-foot level for everything

Last week on a deck job in Boulder, I watched a guy spend 20 minutes trying to get a perfect read on a 16-foot beam with his little level... when a string line would've shown the whole crown in 30 seconds. Anyone else think we over-rely on that tool?

A client in Boise told me my miter cuts were 'off by a hair' and it changed my whole setup

He pointed out a tiny gap on a crown molding joint I was proud of, saying 'I can see daylight.' I stopped using my old 12-inch sliding miter saw for finish work and bought a dedicated 10-inch non-slider just for trim, and my joints are perfect now. What's one piece of feedback that made you change a tool or method you trusted for years?

Finally figured out why my miter joints kept opening up on the last job

I was cutting everything with the saw set to zero, but my old blade had a tiny bit of wobble I never noticed. A guy on the crew pointed out the cuts looked a little 'hazy' and sure enough, a new blade fixed it. Anyone have a good way to check a blade for runout without fancy tools?

Question about old school framing squares. I was cleaning out my grandpa's garage in Boise last week and found his old steel one from the 50s. It weighs like 5 pounds.

Appreciation post: My old boss in Phoenix said to always check the grain before cutting a curve, and a job last month finally made it click.

I was cutting a curved apron for a bar top from some figured maple, rushing to finish before lunch. I ignored the grain direction, and the piece split right along a twist, ruining a $80 board. How do you guys quickly read tricky grain on expensive stock?

Just hit 5000 hours on my miter saw and the motor started making a weird noise

I track my tool hours for taxes and this Makita LS1019L gave out right after the big number. It's a clear sign the brushes are probably shot, which is a cheap fix if you catch it early. Anyone else have a tool that failed right after a big hour mark?