That time I misread a tape and cut a 2x12 six inches short

We were framing a deck in Greenville and I was feeling confident, grabbed the tape and yelled out 'eight foot two' without double checking. Ended up having to sister a scrap piece onto the end because I didn't realize I was reading the wrong side of the tape until the sawdust settled. Has anyone else had a brain fart like that on a job that just threw off the whole afternoon?

2 comments

2 Comments

ray_king1mo ago

That tape measure has two sets of marks for a reason and it's tripped me up more than once. Last spring I cut a whole bundle of 2x4's three inches too long because I was reading the bottom scale on my fat tape when I should have been on the top. My buddy still gives me crap about it every time we pull out a saw. Having to recut and waste lumber because of a simple glance at the wrong line is a special kind of frustration.

xena_miller311mo ago

Honestly @ray_king I used to think both scales were overkill but you just convinced me otherwise.