Daily Improvements

[MSLI]

I’ve got that same 12’ straight edge but I don’t use it for cutting carpet on top of carpet, such as you are by cutting on the roll. I’ve accidentally scored the layer underneath by doing it that way so now I put a tick on each side and chalk line my cut. You can lift up the carpet off of the next layer of carpet and cut it while still following a straight line.

Using the straight edge and possibly cutting the bottom layer is definitely high risk. That was a one and done improvement only

 

[C.J.]

If nothing else you can use the straight edge to draw a pencil line then cut.

 

[MSLI]

If nothing else you can use the straight edge to draw a pencil line then cut.

I’ll dig out the chalk line way before that but I’ll need to find some chalk first.

FYI : way back in the day, I pre-cut a 100.00 a/yd Woven Wilton pattern Carpet for a Center City Phila. Condo. And we needed to mark the back of the carpet for some reason, so I ran a pencil line, by appx 12’ long. Guess what ? The lead transferred onto the face fibers and my brother had to carefully clean it off.
Thank God it worked.

 

[C.J.]

I’ll dig out the chalk line way before that but I’ll need to find some chalk first.

FYI : way back in the day, I pre-cut a 100.00 a/yd Woven Wilton pattern Carpet for a Center City Phila. Condo. And we needed to mark the back of the carpet for some reason, so I ran a pencil line, by appx 12’ long. Guess what ? The lead transferred onto the face fibers and my brother had to carefully clean it off.
Thank God it worked.

Gotta be careful of transfer for sure. It’s a fine line with using a chalk line. Gotta have enough chalk on the line to leave a line but not too much that it makes a mess or transfers.

 

[MSLI]

Gotta be careful of transfer for sure. It’s a fine line with using a chalk line. Gotta have enough chalk on the line to leave a line but not too much that it makes a mess or transfers.

ITS A FINE LINE REQUIREMENT FOR SURE , budumpbump …. My cousin taught me to pound the excess chalk off before cutting, to minimize, but I haven’t used a chalk line in ages. Once you get screwed by the chalk, because your helper put blue into a white chalk line, and the fine line was not fine you just figure out other ways to make cuts.

 

[C.J.]

Tajima makes some nice chalk likes. You can get thin or bold lines. They’re nylon lines, too, not cotton. That means the string hardly ever breaks and doesn’t suck up as much chalk so it doesn’t leave as much chalk down. I used to have several Tajimas, now I’m down to just 2 cus they like to grow legs and walk off if you’re not careful.

My main chalk line I use has black chalk in it. If you use it you might think it’s almost outta chalk but that’s on purpose. That’s how you leave a nice faint line with no transfer. Don’t forget to snap it twice

 

[C.J.]

They were about $30 each back when I bought mine. Well worth it.

 

[highup]

I’ll dig out the chalk line way before that but I’ll need to find some chalk first.

FYI : way back in the day, I pre-cut a 100.00 a/yd Woven Wilton pattern Carpet for a Center City Phila. Condo. And we needed to mark the back of the carpet for some reason, so I ran a pencil line, by appx 12’ long. Guess what ? The lead transferred onto the face fibers and my brother had to carefully clean it off.
Thank God it worked.

I'm scared of chalk. Man, it can go everywhere. Last time I used a chalk line.....1990?
I'll pull a string tight and just add a few pencil marks on the floor.

 

[highup]

When the concrete is so hard it breaks the points off both your 1/2" skinny and curls the tips on the stubbies... It's Milwaukee hammer time.
Drill a hole, then tap a one inch length of bamboo BBQ squer. Drive in a 1" concrete nail into the squer and call it done.
It drives in tight.

 

[C.J.]

Anybody ever use white chalk? Hard to see but prolly one of the most forgiving colors. Red #4, not so much. I’ve seen guys hit a snapped line with hairspray to sorta seal the chalk on the ground. That’s usually on a long snap when someone just loaded up their chalk box. That’s gonna be messy. Spray painting a tight string line gives you an inverted effect of a chalk line. Now you’re trading chalk for overspray.

 

[DarisMulkin]

Anybody ever use white chalk? Hard to see but prolly one of the most forgiving colors. Red #4, not so much. I’ve seen guys hit a snapped line with hairspray to sorta seal the chalk on the ground. That’s usually on a long snap when someone just loaded up their chalk box. That’s gonna be messy. Spray painting a tight string line gives you an inverted effect of a chalk line. Now you’re trading chalk for overspray.

White chalk is all I ever used in the last 40 years. I even use it to chalk the rows in my garden. Works great.
A little tip on cutting with a straight edge. Instead of using your knife use your top cutter, less chance of jumping the edge and leaving a scar the length of your index finger like on mine.

 

[highup]

White chalk is all I ever used in the last 40 years. I even use it to chalk the rows in my garden. Works great.
A little tip on cutting with a straight edge. Instead of using your knife use your top cutter, less chance of jumping the edge and leaving a scar the length of your index finger like on mine.

Ouch. I tried to remove my thumb once while cutting 3 inch wide strips of Brigantine so it could be removed with a scraper. I got lucky and removed a bit less than 1/4 off the outside edge of my thumb. A real wakeup call. I changed where I positioned my left hand on the straightedge after that. ....wow, that was mid 80's and I was working for my brother.