kai_chen2•6d agoProlific Poster

Spent 10 years cutting crown molding with the saw upside down because my uncle taught me that way

Finally figured out I was doing it backwards when a young framer named Jake watched me for a minute and just goes... 'why are you flipping the board?' Had to stare at my saw for like 30 seconds before it clicked. He showed me the right way in 2 cuts. Been doing it wrong since I was 19. Anyone else have a bad habit handed down from an old timer that took forever to break?

3 comments

3 Comments

felixm296d ago

Well that stings, doesn't it. I spent eight years using a speed square backwards because an old carpenter I apprenticed under insisted you always hold it with the flange on the left. Never once questioned it until a job site foreman asked me what I was doing. Felt like a fool. Working with your hands is funny because we pick up so much from muscle memory and never stop to think if it's actually right. Good on that young guy for speaking up.

brooke_taylor446d ago

Oh man, I totally feel this! It's wild how we just trust what we're taught and run with it for years. I had a similar thing with measuring tape once - used it wrong for ages because that's how my first boss showed me. Feels so dumb looking back but hey, at least we learned eventually lol.

henry_ross6d ago

Actually I'm gonna push back on this a little bit (respectfully of course). Just because something isn't the standard way doesn't automatically mean it's wrong, you know? That uncle might have taught you that trick for a specific reason like compensating for a wonky saw blade or dealing with weird old lumber that had different angles. There's something to be said for knowing one method so well you can do it in your sleep, even if a young guy thinks it looks backwards. Muscle memory is a real thing and sometimes changing it just introduces more mistakes than it solves (especially on a job where speed matters). I've seen plenty of old timers do things the "wrong" way and still end up with perfect cuts every single time. Honestly the real problem isn't the method, it's people thinking there's only one right way to do something.