Talked to a guy who's been doing this 40 years and it wrecked my brain

Was on a job last week with an old timer who's been a boilermaker since the 80s. He told me he still uses a soapstone for layout work, said the digital stuff is just a crutch. Made me think about how much I lean on my tablet and laser levels instead of just knowing the math in my head. Has anyone else had a moment where some old school trick made you feel like a rookie?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylor_mitchell809d ago

Hold up, I'm gonna push back on this one hard. Relying on old school tricks like doing math in your head isn't some badge of honor, it's just slower and more error prone. I've been teaching middle school math for a decade and I see this same stubborn attitude with veteran teachers who refuse to use online grading tools, and it costs them hours every week. Your tablet and laser level aren't crutches, they're tools that let you work faster and double check your work. There's no virtue in struggling through layout math when a digital level shows you the exact angle in seconds. The old timer might have forgotten what it's like to mess up a layout because he misread his own soapstone marks in bad light.

oscarh169d ago

The 3/4 rule on a speed square has saved me more times than I can count when my digital level died halfway through a job. I keep a small notebook in my vest for quick layout math, not because it's better than a tablet, but because it doesn't need a charge. You're right that tools help, but I've seen guys trust a laser level that was off by a quarter inch because they never checked it against a string line. The trick is using both old and new together, not picking one over the other.