Old timer showed me why my corners kept splitting after 15 years

I was on a job in Portland last month, framing up a closet. This retired carpenter named Bill was walking his dog, stopped to watch me. He pointed at my miters and said, "You're cutting too fast, the blade's burning the wood." I listened, slowed down my saw feed, and the splits stopped. Has anyone else had some random stranger on site save them from a dumb mistake?

3 comments

3 Comments

faith_smith6d ago

Did Bill actually stick around to watch you slow down and see if it fixed it, or did he just drop that wisdom and bounce?

blair_dixon4d ago

Heard that trick years ago and it never fails me.

paul_burns6d ago

Faith Smith, he didnt stick around to watch. He said his piece, nodded, and kept walking with his dog. That said, the fix was immediate - I slowed my cut feed to maybe half speed and the blade stopped singing and the wood stopped charring. Its a small tip but it saved me a lot of wasted trim.