The Most Useful Carpentry Trick I Ever Learned

I learned this from an old-time carpenter back in the 1980s and use it all the time. Once you perfect the technique, you will find so many different applications for it.

[@marvinmartin4692]

I’ve been a carpenter for 50 years now, I’ve learned to measure as little as possible. He’s showing how! Measure twice cut once still prevails though. He knows his stuff!

[@billycuenca742]

Learned this trick in 1969 wood shop. It's something I take for granted. Happy that you are bringing it to a new generation. We call it a finger gauge. I bet you know how to use a thumb gauge, very helpful with a razor blade knife. Glad men like you exist.

[@serenemachine9110]

When I was 17 I started doing carpentry work and an old timer taught me these tricks to save time. The best thing about this method is that it doesn't take much practice to do it right. I haven't been a carpenter for many years now but occasionally I do still get to use this trick in my home wood shop.

[@astrorad2000]

That was wonderful! I worked as a Journeyman electrician for 39 years until retirement, and I appreciate all the techniques trades people utilize in their everyday work life. Thank you for sharing with those of us who are life long learners.

[@mattedwards4533]

I am retired now but used that method to mark cut lines. I also was using a folding rule as well. The folding rule takes it to an even higher level. You rarely see a folding rule on the job anymore. I would be lost without one if I was able to work again. Thanks for the video. I am sure some up and coming wood worker will appreciate learning this method of marking a board.

[@l.slayer551]

Oh yeah, the folders! I haven’t used one in years. I’m going to look for one of those... perhaps save a trip to town and just make one.

[@lupinbrabablebix9840]

I’ve also done this for years as a carpenter, it’s fine on smooth surfaces but you get a few ‘skiffs’ in your fingers on rougher lumber

[@JAYJAYJAY53]

I have gotten some bad ones on rough plywood edges !

[@rahtikone]

My fingers feel and remember 🤕 prkle!!!

[@kiernoify]

Sewing thimble could help?

[@susansullivan7816]

I always individually tape my first 2 fingers at about the 1st joint. No ragged fingers that way

[@aservant2287]

I wear a work glove on my right hand if I want to use this

[@iplayzthegames6968]

Saw a carpenter doing this a few weeks into being an apprentice, practiced it a bit and I've never looked back. I must use it near daily on site

[@juliohernandez1526]

You have blown my mind So simple, but I would have never thought of it without your video.

[@gbwildlifeuk8269]

8:33 the method on plywood is also very good for filling your finger with splinters! 🤣🤣

[@davidwiley3440]

Using on OSB will make you woodpecker bait too....

[@booyakada123]

Your video was very well done, and I am especially grateful how many different applications you demonstrated. 👍👏

[@williamboyd776]

I learned this technique hanging drywall n have continued to use it ever since learnin it. Excellent tip Sir, thank you for sharin it n God bless

[@kirkdunn1379]

member when i learned this trick but been using it for years and years, cant even count how many times or ways i use this on a daily basis for working, it is so valueable in countless applications the less you have to pull out a tape measure the faster the process

[@yevgeniyminakov1017]

I use that trick all my life, I paid attention when my father used in his shop,I was about seven or eight years old. Can’t say thanks enough to him showing me all those tricks I use now ✊🏻✊🏻

[@leehaelters6182]

God bless your dad, Yevgeniy, and mine too, and all the dads that passed their wisdom down to their sons and daughters.

[@timc8913]

Voice of experience talking here...not book learning. Love it. Thanks for sharing.

[@Meme-zc4cw]

That $7 Stanley tape measure is still the best one I ever had.

[@rickymeadows5176]

Thanks for the vid, keeping these old tricks & tips alive is priceless. It also used to amaze me watching them cut in a roof with compound angles, figuring the slope, pitches and degrees without a day of trig or geometry class under their belt & no calculator. Now days it comes to the jobsite precut, just stick the puzzle pc.'s together & nail it down. We are being dumb-downed with pre-fab & the old-arts are being lost .

[@jxk7712]

I’m very experienced but watched anyhow and enjoyed your show. I pray that you are providing your knowledge to the younger folks. Thanks

[@tednisbeth3088]

nice job teaching , I am an old carpenter and use all of these tips .

[@rodbambauer3041]

Great shortcut!! But now I see why you need a Whiz Bang Splinter Removal Kit.

[@kimskluckers5665]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@rorycubaking9572]

great video, i do all these myself as a carpenter of 27 years, my Dad taught my all these tricks.

[@bobholtzmann]

Very useful tool. In addition to using a tape, a yardstick or ruler can be used, too. Back in my high school days, I saw a carpenter building canvas set panels for a play, and used a yardstick with a paint brush fixed on its end (using your method), and glided along the panel edge to paint parallel lines for a stage set depicting building fronts.

[@hannahswann747]

Fantastic to know this handy short cut. Thank you SO MUCH! Just like you've always remembered Bob, we'll all be thinking of you forever 😄🙏

[@johnwhiteman7483]

I Miss You My Old Shop Teacher. You're Now My Replacement. :)

[@fancitickler]

*Thanks Mr Herrick Kimball.* Always wondered why I was never a fan of the marking studs. Preferred my roofers square over a set square too.

[@bvrod]

Just straight up great advice - especially for drywall where you don’t have to be so precise. Is saw a builder doing this once. He was so efficient it was nice to watch. This vid is inspiration to just start doing it, thanks.

[@140ex5]

My dad demonstrated this technique 50 years ago. I still use it often.

[@cbak1819]

Great technique for measuring with a tape measure and pencil wow. Thank you.

[@KennyP88]

Used it all the time. Great to see it shared.❤

[@oleboy4332]

So much wisdom in experienced carpenters. Thank you!

[@aleisterlowenstein9526]

You can lock your finger similar as a quide while using a circle saw too.

[@mannyvega7726]

My old man taught me that trick , he's an old school drywaller.

[@romycruz4498]

Excellent tutorial. I am not a carpenter but i do some diy and this video is so helpful. This method will speed up the measuring and cutting. Thanks - from the Phils.

[@raydodson6675]

I can see this method will save tons of time. Thank You.

[@danmcdonagh8924]

Thanks . Been using that for about 50 yrs.

[@tima.478]

Great tip. I also love how he went a lil bit 'carpenter gangsta' with his cap... 🤣

[@michaelhoodleeder]

Lovely intuitive way to work. ❤

[@wolverine1694]

I've been using the trick for years now... very handy and efficient... very accurate also... keep up the good work brother... God bless

[@jacquesfarouche7962]

I am an apprentice carpenter and my journeyman won't even allow me to use another technique than this one! Great technique indeed.

[@matthewshannon6946]

​@@johnfischer_2I was a Union Carpenter in Chicago for 22 years. You can kiss my ass!!

[@cptsil90221]

I greatly appreciate you sharing this technic. Its going to come handy with all the cutting I am going to have to do to build an enclosed garden.

[@ron6625]

I'm an experienced enough Surveyor that I know in order to get better at my trade, my time spent learning about carpentry will go much farther than learning more about surveying. This one is amazing. I learned a lot from an older surveyor, who even 18 years ago was using "old techniques", that I'm still using to this day. Technology is killing the skill and understanding behind my trade, and it's such a shame, because it's small things like this that brings so much personal satisfaction from the job. Thanks a bunch for sharing this.

[@aswclassicsiow8588]

learnt this at school in wood work class back in the late 60s, used it most my working life i

[@brendaking737]

Thank you so much for sharing this helpful measuring skill.

[@64maxpower]

Out of despiration to finish a job but still work with quality as tradesmen we are always coming up with new methods

[@jaylewis8789]

My father taught me that at about 8 years old, I'm 70 now. I like that old speed square!

[@frankostmann]

Thank alot for video. I like the carpentry bag u r using.very usefully. Not freely available or used here in south africa

[@stancano814]

My dad showed me that when I was a kid, and I'm 73

[@leehaelters6182]

Drat, Stan, I was about to write the same words, 'cept 71 years.

[@ron1martens]

Your video came up in my suggestions. I like the way your saw horse is made. I remember using this technique in setting out gauges around steel frames in plastering. You have a very stable hand as you run your pencil along the wood. I like the carpenters square which you showed at the beginning of the video. Once when I was a young man working on a site, I walked past a carpenter kneeling hanging a door. I accidentally kicked his knee with my boots. I said sorry. The carpenter said that's alight, I like been kicked in the knee. I worked with carpenters setting up dry wall and used the technique you showed in this video. Great video, well done and thankyou for posting the video.

[@markoshun]

Yup. Great tip. Most often I use this for ripping drywall with knife and my tape, but also ripping 2 bys using my fingers as a guide for circular saw, best with gloves for splinters.

[@Seafariireland]

Excellent lesson!

[@HappyScience-wp8cn]

Excellent. The best ideas are usually the simplest!

[@jayumble8390]

What a great video! Thank you Herrick...man this is so cool!!

[@jimmcgee3111]

I’ve been doing construction for 40+ years and have used this technique several times. Collected a few splinters on the edge of lumbered through the years.

[@Ukepa]

good technique and quick when you get used to it!!!

[@MrRDVIII]

Learned that technique in the 60,s. It was very commonplace

[@justtruth467]

Thanks for the handy tricks.

[@robertharris8912]

As a time-served Bench Joiner, I can confirm these techniques as a quick and easy way to mark parallel lines. Be cautious when doing this, and make sure that your marks are parallel by measuring afterwards.

[@phillhart2990]

Thanks for sharing. Super useful.

[@georgelee6857]

Excellent tip! Thank you!

[@whomadethatsaltysoup]

Great tip with the thumb holding the tape to the blade! I think it only works with a reasonably wide tape, or tends to flex - especially on wider cuts. Thanks for taking the time to share.👍

[@nmatthew7469]

Seems like every carpenter uses that Stanley metal tape measure.

[@coppulor6500]

yeah, you need a sturdy tape.

[@kasiehill7937]

That’s awesome! Thank you for sharing!

[@robertnewell5057]

Brilliant. I'm not a carpenter - I make guitars. I use this technique all the time for scraping finish from an edge (we call it a finger fence) - and you can get accurate to a thou with ease. Funny I never thought to use it for larger dimensions. I can tell you that after seeing this I'm going to use it for whole lot more applications. Also nice to hear feet and inches (originally called Imperial - I'm proudly British!) instead of metric. I'm now off to binge on your other videos, starting with the fractional numbers ones. I'm from a generation where we were taught to just do this stuff in our heads, but it will be interesting to see your 'trick'. I see this is a couple of years old and I may be speaking into the ether, but if you are out there montoring, thanks a lot.

[@paullelys161]

You can stick your imperial where the sun don't shine. It is so messy for want of a better word.

[@G.I.JeffsWorkbench]

Great reminder that you have “tools” literally at your fingertips. Other tips that work in rough framing is to measure the width of your fingers, length from inside your elbow to longest fingertip, and the length of your foot.

[@herrickkimball]

I agree, and I have a video about "hand measuring." 👍 kzbin.info/www/bejne/kILCq31thceaqNksi=ybBK2asENcbj62Vm

[@imaguygolfn]

Beautiful...Thank you!

[@skyriverwalker]

Wow! I love this! Thanks.

[@mariad4183]

Great idea! I will use this!

[@jimhunt1592]

I've been working on getting proficient in using pegs to make furniture. This seems like it would be a great technique for lining up the holes in two boards so the boards will line up the way I want them after putting in the pegs.

[@alduff229]

An old carpenter showed me the trick for keeping a pencil always at your disposal. By putting it under the rim of your hat As l saw you do

[@cbak1819]

Great trick for centering screws and more.

[@wingrider1004]

Brilliant...well done

[@PRLcafe]

Piekna sprawa. Dziekuje

[@skippylippy547]

Very useful method and very fast. Wonderful video, thank you. 👍

[@raymondbarton3931]

I grew up working with my uncle and he used that method all the time , growing up and working with him he taught me a lot . May God rest his soul . 🇺🇸

[@SkyHelmCoopSecurity]

Kent Cleek actually taught me this! Kenneth can actually eyeball the center of a 3/4” board especially on something like a sawhorse where it isn’t crucial. As a DIY hobbyist, I challenge myself frequently on seeing how close I can get eyeballing measurements or finding center on much wider material, it’s pretty amazing how close you can get and sometimes dead on. Kenneth Cleek from Oklahoma can do this every time.

[@markmillers4491]

Great lesson boss!

[@l.slayer551]

This old-timey trick is such a time saver. I’m fairly certain I learned about it from my dad as youngster.

[@jimmyconn7314]

I used my ringers and hands as a measuring tool all the time shaping surfboards,thus not having to make home made jigs.awesome video sir

[@e.t.preppin7084]

I built a set of horses many years ago that the design I got from a very old carpentry book. They were similar to yours but the legs were at a compound bevel and they had a shelf in the middle. A lot of compound bevels involved. I was so proud of myself for building them. I wish I still had the book for the exact design to build them again.

[@paullelys161]

And a sacrificial top.

[@leehaelters6182]

@E.T. Preppin, did that book show the use of the framing square to design and layout the cuts, on a 24 inch high horse? Wonder if it is the same one I read. Yes, an old book.

[@thedieiscast9729]

I'm 73 now and learned this trick when a young apprentice best part of 60 years ago, We called it finger gauging. I suppose the men who taught me had likewise been using this tip for a lifetime.

[@dominicmogridge3920]

thank you kindly for sharing this.I've been using the same myself and was taught it by my grandfather.another one I found particularly handy was when subdividing a piece of timber by using a ruler at an angle that gives me the qbility,when used in conjunction with a t square to accurately divide odd widths of timber,rather than trying to work out dividing something,say would be 17 toand 3 /16 of an inch.May the Lord bless you and ylurs.stay safe and lucky my fdiend.maddog.woodworker,Turner and tree surgeon.I have a headache 395xp.running a 36" bar( she will take a 50" ,but the three footer is good enough for planning most trees I dea! with.it's 97.8cc,so plenty of power and I grind every third tooth off as cheaper than buying a skip chain.thank you and respect.you've a new subscriber anyway and I look forward to viewing more of your information.maddog

[@derrickkershner1237]

Taught myself this one. It's a time saving technique.

[@Netlife-001]

Always used to do this when scribing plasterboard (and wood) Great vid.

[@robgracia509]

thank you for doing this i learned something new thank you

[@frankfry4693]

I'm a carpenter and used this technique for years but great to see this video, it will help a lot of people. I use a finger on a saw to rip boards that look like they were cut on a table saw lol

[@freeradical6390]

I was working for a new guy when he broke out the table saw to rip some plywood, I laughed and said not only can I rip it straighter with my skilsaw but I can rip it faster than the two of you on that craftman tablesaw. The race was on! Well if you could call it a race. It was hard not to laugh as that table saw rocked all over the place and listening to the blade bind. My freehand cuts were laser straight. Theirs +- 1/4 inch. I said "its called a SKILSAW for a reason" lol. Framers Lives Matter!

[@hughtempleton8640]

Fantastic, thanks for sharing ❤

[@RobbsHomemadeLife]

My father was a carpenter. My name is Bob. I approve this video. I'm also very happy to be a subscriber😀😀

[@izzyc.4746]

Beautiful video

[@chrisholt2474]

Great technique, thank you. 👍👍👍

[@JamesJohnson-yh1oh]

Elizabeth said, Yep, when you're around carpentry A LOT, you have an 'eye' for inches, feet, etc. Then, you don't always need a measuring tape. Your trick saves time!!! I see you're working on your new master bedroom!!

[@TruthIsLove.]

That's actually very useful to know. Probably going to get a whole bunch of splinters doing that, but if I'm careful enough, I can see the principle of it, can see how that would save time/energy/tools. Great tip!

[@maniacalmonster2293]

Awesome man! Thank you!

[@livelife4471]

Informative, thank you.

[@RioSul50]

I learned the same "trick" from my former brother in law (he passed away from cancer in 2008) who was a master tradesman from drywall to ceilings to almost anything. It sped up marking drywall, studs, metal ceiling supports, etc.

[@calbreckenridge8526]

Learned this as an apprentice very helpful trick

[@lancerudy9934]

Great video thanks 😊

[@scotttrainer9704]

Figured that out myself many years ago, works great

[@Johnny-ip4mk]

Very useful. Thank you!

[@powdertrax9742]

Good carpenters can eyeball the center of a 3/4” board especially on something like a sawhorse where it isn’t crucial. As a carpenter/custom cabinet maker I challenge myself frequently on seeing how close I can get eyeballing measurements or finding center on much wider material, it’s pretty amazing how close you can get and sometimes dead on.

[@FRHYKDd]

Custom worker goes for eyeballing over using the tools....quality work at its finest by this stud

[@powdertrax9742]

@@FRHYKDd

[@MrAc4321]

Operative word = "sometimes"....lmao

[@rayray8687]

@@MrAc4321: Haha, yep, wait until you’re building a kitchen cabinet and you ‘sometimes’ get it dead on, lol.

[@jamesmaybury7452]

I’ve worked for a wood turner on large batch production. I had ways of ‘centre finding’ but did a load by eye and tested them, I was always within 2mm on 90mm squares(never square) normally within 1mm, though still nervous at times. Amazing the calculations our eyes can do.

[@Reel_change]

Very helpful. Thanks

[@tedhart7708]

Thanks! Good, practical applications.👍🏻

[@MA-un8on]

Incredibly useful!