I have been renovating a three story home with my brother and after taking dimensions on the third floor and by the time I get to measuring and cutting in the workshop, I either misinterpret the dimensions I put on the paper or forget which board the dimensions go. If anyone has a system that works for them I would appreciate the help.
Thanks Don
- When cutting framing material, make a list of lengths to cut.
- When cutting an irregular shape, make a drawing of the shape with dimensions.
- Come up with a measuring convention/standard. (For example: measure to the nearest 1/8", communicate measurement in inches and eighths. So, a measurement of 41 and a half inches would be communicated as 41/4.)
Not much help but I can relate to the issues you were having.
I was helping No 1 son renovate his bathroom in a Villa so the saws etc were located in the Garage and as such required all the items to be measured and then cut in a remote location.
This situation also provided confusion of which part was which by my son,
As a result it required me to do many passages through the house to verify as I was not sure then either.
His wife Vanessa was not impressed as there was gyproc dust and other crap everywhere along the polished floors !!
As Robcastle experienced, it would make less problems to make the cut in the room with a handsaw and something like a workmate.
Otherwise, make a sketch with dimensions for each piece and label the pieces.
I got in the habit of:
1: Wright the measurement on the piece that is to be cut.
2: wright the measurement where the piece is to be put.
3: Make a drawing of something that has multiple cuts.
Problem I have sometimes is I measure "twenty one and a quarter"...get to the saw and cut "twenty and one quarter"
Sounds the same but one is a inch short. I write down on a scrap of wood and if a angle is being cut, I draw which direction it goes.
Waho609 has the most foolproof method. I worked in the shipbuilding industry and that is how I did it. It takes a little bit longer, but it avoids expensive mistakes.
I draw them out and I also have some dry erase tape on my tape measure. Write down the measurement on the tape and I'm ready to go. I also label with letters and put the measurement beside letter.
Waho609, I have one of those Fastcap tapes. I use it all the time, but it never occurs to me to write on it. it even has a built-in pencil sharpener and again, I never use it.
I usually draw the piece I am cutting, usually on a scrap of wood, with dimensions and kinda over exaggerate any angles that I draw so it is clear where any angle cuts go.
Killing to birds with one stone I began labeling my parts with the Russian alphabet as it has 33 characters, and I might one day be able to read Cyrillic better than a 1st grader. (laughing)
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