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Went to an Amish barn raising in Ohio last month and watched them square up a 12x16 structure by eyeballing it
They didn't use a single level or square, just a plumb line and a chalk string, and that shed was dead nuts perfect - has anyone else seen traditional methods work better than modern tools?
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alicem294mo ago
My dad was a carpenter in the 50s and he always swore by a good plumb line over a level. Did the Amish crew have any tricks for checking if the corners were square without a framing square?
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ellis.jennifer4mo ago
Old school trick I picked up was using the 3-4-5 method with a tape measure. Measure three feet out one wall, four feet out the other, then check that the diagonal between them is exactly five feet. Works every time, just need a buddy to hold the tape straight. Plumb lines are great for verticals but that ratio trick is hard to beat for square corners.
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