An old guy in a hardware store told me to always carry a 6 inch level

I was picking up some adhesive at the place on 5th Street about ten years ago. This retired installer, must have been 80, saw me looking at levels and just said, 'Kid, the big ones are for the truck. The little one goes in your back pocket every single job.' He tapped his own worn-out jeans. I've carried one ever since. What's the one piece of advice that stuck with you from a veteran?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jenny10h ago

Check your level before trusting it.

robinmason11h ago

Stumbled onto the same kind of wisdom from an old carpenter who told me to always check my work with a speed square before cutting, saved me so much wasted wood. Honestly it feels like that old school advice is always about the simple, constant checks we skip. They spent decades learning the hard way so we don't have to. That little level in your pocket is a perfect example, a tiny tool that stops a big mistake before it happens.