A senior drafter at my old firm pointed out my dimensioning was 'for the machine, not the builder'

He looked at a steel frame detail I was proud of and said, 'You've got every decimal perfect, but the guy in the shop has to add three numbers to find the bolt hole. Put the overall and let him do the math.' I was putting a dimension from edge to the center of each hole. Now I always give the overall length and the on-center spacing in one clear string. It seems so simple, but it changed how I set up almost every sheet. Anyone else have a piece of feedback that flipped a basic habit for you?

2 comments

2 Comments

stella_shah898d ago

My old foreman told me to mark lumber cuts from the same end of the board every time. It seems obvious now, but it saved so many messed up pieces.

taylor_moore8d ago

How many boards did I ruin before someone finally told me that basic rule? @stella_shah89, your foreman was a smart guy. I learned the hard way by marking from both ends like a total rookie, which is how you end up with a pile of kindling instead of a shelf. That one simple habit fixes so many stupid mistakes before they happen. It feels silly once you know it, but man, it changes everything.