c/carpenters

Got a crazy splinter out with a trick from a 90-year-old retired framer

Last week I got a piece of oak about an inch deep under my thumbnail, the kind that makes you see stars... I was ready to go to urgent care. My neighbor, Frank, who used to frame houses back in the 50s, saw me and just said 'go get the white glue.' I slathered a thick layer of Elmer's over it, let it dry completely for maybe 20 minutes, and when I peeled it off, the splinter came right out stuck in the glue. Has anyone else heard of this one, or have a better fix for the really deep ones?

A retired framer in Boise showed me his trick for finding studs with just a finishing nail.

He said to tap the nail lightly along the wall until you feel the pitch change, then mark it, which saved me a ton of time on a trim job last month (and saved the drywall from my usual probe holes).

Appreciation post: I was cutting my crown molding wrong for months until a client in Boise asked a simple question

I was always trying to match the spring angle perfectly on my miter saw before making the cut, which took forever. The homeowner in Boise just asked, 'Why don't you just cut it upside down and backwards?' I tried it on a 38-inch piece, and the fit was perfect on the first try. Has anyone else had a simple tip completely change how you do a common task?

Showerthought: I tried two ways to keep my miter saw table flat and one worked way better.

For years I just screwed a sheet of MDF to my sawhorses, but it always sagged after a few weeks. Last month I built a simple torsion box frame underneath from some scrap 2x4s, and it hasn't moved a hair. What's your go-to method for a solid, portable cutting surface?

My 20-year-old framing nailer finally quit on me last Tuesday.

Everyone says to just buy a new one, but I'm going to try rebuilding it because the new ones feel cheap. Has anyone had luck finding parts for a Paslode 3500 lately?

Shoutout to the old guy at the lumberyard who told me to wet my cedar fence boards

He saw me loading up for a job in Phoenix and said to hose them down before I started. I thought he was nuts, but it was 105 degrees. Did it anyway. Boards went on smooth, no splits at all. Saved me a ton of time and waste. Anyone else have a weird tip that actually worked?

Remember when you had to sharpen every chisel by hand before a big job? I just pulled my old set out of storage and realized I haven't touched a sharpening stone in maybe 8 years.

I was cleaning out my garage in Tacoma and found my first set of Marples chisels in a rusty toolbox. The backs were all pitted. It hit me that I switched to a Tormek system around 2015 and just buy replacement blades for my main set now. The edge is perfect every time, but I kinda miss the quiet ritual of it. Does anyone else still do the full hand-sharpening routine, or is that skill pretty much gone from the daily grind?

Rant: I bought a $400 laser level and it just collects dust

Everyone says you need one for layout, but my old chalk line and a 4 foot level get the job done faster. It feels like a gadget for people who want to look fancy, not actually work. What specific task do you guys use a laser for that a string can't handle?

Just hit 1,000 linear feet of crown molding installed in my career

I was cleaning out my truck and tallied up all my old job sheets, and the number really surprised me. Some guys say that much trim work is a waste of time compared to bigger framing jobs, but I think it's a solid skill that pays the bills. Do you see a high trim count as a badge of honor or a sign you should branch out more?

Rant: The way people treat a speed square like it's just for marking 90s...

I was helping a buddy frame a shed roof in Tacoma last month, and he kept reaching for a framing square to lay out his rafters... I asked why he didn't just use the speed square he had on his belt. He said he only uses it for marking lines on boards. I showed him the pivot point and the degree markings, and his mind was blown... It's a rafter square, people. It's meant for laying out common and hip cuts without all the extra math and tool switching. I see it all the time, even with guys who've been at it a while. They own this super handy tool but only use 10% of what it does. It matters because you waste time and introduce more chances for error when you use a bigger, clunkier tool for a simple job. How many of you actually use your speed square for its full set of jobs?

I had to choose between a miter saw and a table saw for a big trim job

A client in Everett wanted all new baseboards and crown molding in a 12 room house. My old table saw is great for ripping, but moving it room to room felt slow. I thought about buying a new sliding miter saw for about $600 to make the cuts faster on site. I decided to stick with my table saw and a good miter box, because I could set up a cutting station in the garage and batch all the pieces. It took an extra half day to measure and pre-cut everything, but the install went smooth with no gaps. The money I saved went towards better molding. Has anyone else done a full house trim job with just a table saw? How did you handle the longer crown pieces?

My uncle always said to soak cedar shingles overnight... I thought he was nuts until a job in Seattle last month.

Vent: My 'genius' idea to use a paint roller on a glue-up went exactly how you'd think

I was putting together a big panel for a bookshelf and thought, 'Hey, a small foam paint roller will spread the wood glue fast and even.' It worked for about three feet before the roller swelled up, fell off the handle, and stuck to the board like a weird, fuzzy pancake. I spent the next forty minutes scraping it off with a putty knife and re-doing the whole seam. Anyone have a better method for a thin, even glue spread on a big surface that doesn't involve a disaster?

Shoutout to the guy who showed me the right way to set a post

I keep seeing people set fence posts with just gravel at the bottom and then backfill with dirt. Did a job in Tempe last month where the homeowner's old fence was leaning because of that. The guy I was working with dug down 24 inches, put in 6 inches of concrete, set the post, then filled the rest of the hole with gravel. He said it lets water drain away from the wood. That fence isn't going anywhere. Anyone have a different method that works just as well?

My brand new miter saw blade chipped on a simple pine cut and I'm fuming

Just yesterday, I was finishing up a window trim job in a house over in the West End. I put a fresh 80-tooth Diablo blade on my saw that morning, cost me about $75. First cut into a piece of clear pine, nothing crazy, and I heard this awful ping. A whole carbide tooth just flew off and put a nasty chip in the wood. I checked the setup twice, no pinched wood, no nails, just clean wood. It makes me think the quality control on some of these 'premium' blades has really gone downhill lately. I had to stop everything, drive back to the supplier, and argue for a replacement. Has anyone else had a new blade fail on them like that out of the box?

I thought those magnetic wristbands for holding nails were just a gimmick until I got one free with a tool order.

Used it on a fence rebuild last month and it saved me a ton of time not having to keep grabbing from my pouch. Anyone have a better system for keeping fasteners handy on a ladder?

I reframed a basement wall in my 1920s house last month and the difference in how solid it feels is night and day.

The old wall was just 2x4s nailed flat to the stone foundation, no real plate or studs. I tore it out and built a proper pressure-treated bottom plate with 16-inch on-center studs, all anchored with concrete screws. Has anyone else found that older homes often have framing that's more like an afterthought, and what's your go-to fix?

My kid asked me why I always start with the same corner on a deck build, and I couldn't give a good answer.

PSA: I just cut my 500th piece of crown molding for a house in Portland

It was for a big custom job with a lot of tricky inside corners, and I kept track on a notepad. Hitting that number made me realize how much material you can go through on a single project without even noticing. Has anyone else been surprised by a count like that on a job?

Serious question, did anyone else used to cut crown flat on the miter saw?

I did that for years in my dad's shop, just laying it flat and using the angle chart on the saw. Then a guy on a job in Asheville last fall showed me how to set it against the fence like it sits on the wall. I tried it his way and the joints just clicked together, no more gaps. It changed everything for me. How do you all handle crown molding cuts?

A client in Phoenix pointed out my miter cuts were off by a hair

He said he could see a tiny gap in the crown molding when the light hit it just right. I switched from my old miter saw to a digital angle finder and started checking each cut twice. How do you guys make sure your trim work is perfect every time?

I finally had a real talk with a cabinetmaker about pocket holes

I was at a supply house in Tacoma last week, and a guy I know who does high-end custom cabinets saw me buying a big box of pocket hole screws. He just shook his head and said, 'You know, for something you want to last fifty years, that's just a band-aid.' I've always used them for face frames and thought they were fine, but he walked me through how the wood movement in a solid maple frame can actually stress those little screws over time, leading to splits or a failed joint down the road. He wasn't rude about it, just firm, and showed me a picture on his phone of a failed frame from a repair job he did. It made me stop and think about when I'm building for speed versus building for keeps. For quick shop furniture, sure, but maybe not for a client's heirloom piece. Has anyone else moved away from pocket screws for certain jobs after seeing long-term issues?

I finally looked up the actual weight of a sheet of 3/4 inch MDF

I was loading some sheets into my truck yesterday and my back was killing me, so I googled it when I got home. Turns out a 4x8 sheet is about 96 pounds, which is way heavier than I thought it would be. I found that on a random lumber supplier's spec sheet online. Does anyone else have a trick for moving these solo without throwing out your back, or do you just always get a hand?

Vent: I see so many guys still using a 4-foot level for framing long walls and it's a total waste of time.

Switched to a 6-foot level on a recent build in Boise and the difference in getting a wall plumb and straight in one shot, instead of constantly checking and adjusting, was like night and day.

Just read that a standard 2x4 hasn't been 2 inches by 4 inches since the 1960s