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I finally got why my dad always used a story stick for cabinets
My uncle, who ran a shop for 40 years, said 'measuring is for checking, a story stick is for knowing.' It clicked that I was wasting time re-measuring the same wall three times. Anyone have a favorite way to mark them up?
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margaret_lane5mo ago
Oh yeah, I read somewhere that old carpenters would notch a stick for each cabinet so they could feel the layout without even looking. Makes total sense.
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hugo375mo ago
Exactly, that tactile memory is key. My old foreman used to say if you can't read it in the dark, the mark isn't good enough. Those notches become like braille for the whole wall layout.
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olivia3435mo ago
Your uncle nailed it... that's exactly the feeling. I use a sharpie and mark the stud centers with a big "X" and write the cabinet width right on the stick. @margaret_lane mentioning the notches is spot on too... you can run your thumb over them in a dark corner and know exactly where you are. It saves so much brain space on a long run of uppers. Once the stick is right, you just transfer the marks and everything lines up the first time.
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