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I just realized I've been using my marking gauge backwards for like three years

I was watching a video from a shop in Portland and the guy held the gauge with the fence against the work, not the beam. I've been pressing the beam to the wood this whole time, which explains why my lines were always a bit off. My apprentice saw me do it last week and asked why I did it that way, and I had no good answer. Anyone else have a basic tool they were using wrong for way too long?
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3 Comments
valh32
valh321mo ago
My uncle taught me to use a speed square wrong for a solid decade, and I only found out when a guy at the lumber yard saw me. It's a weirdly common thing, like @grant.nina said about the tape measure. I see it all the time with people using can openers or even just putting batteries in backwards. We learn a thing one way and our brain just locks it in, even when it's clearly not working right.
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grant.nina
grant.nina1mo ago
I mean, at least you weren't using the tape measure upside down for three years.
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phoenix29
phoenix291mo ago
Ever do that with a drill?
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