If you need a story pole on the job, you could hunt around for a piece of wood and hope it’s long enough, but there’s a better way.
Years ago, Bob Bulick sent us a tip about using drywall tape as a story pole. He was actually working on a roof and he needed a piece that was really long. There wasn’t a stick around that would work, so he laid out all the dimensions he needed on a piece of drywall tape. It’s a great tip and I’ve started using one on a recent job where I was building some built-in benches for a kitchen. I ran the paper horizontally and secured it to the wall with push pins. Then, I marked the locations for window trim, wall penetrations, and other critical dimensions I needed were marked on this piece of paper. Now, this has a couple of advantages. One, it’s much easier to write on than a stick. And two, you control the length you need, but you do end up with some pretty long pieces of paper.
This is where we get to the bonus tip. Harold Kirchen of Ann Arbor, Mich., figured out a way to wind these things up in a really slick way. Here’s what he does. He takes a piece of PVC pipe, cuts it off at about 6 in., and he makes a slit down the length of it. Then, he gets a hole saw that’s just a little smaller than the inside diameter of the pipe and inserts the hole saw. When I did it I had to use a little duct tape to make up the difference. Now, when I need to wind up my story pole I slip the end into the kerf and you’re ready to wind up. For safety’s sake, before you use this tool, you want to take some sand paper and knock the edges off the end of the pipe. Throw that into your truck and you’re ready to go. Great tips, thanks Bob and Harold.
Kevin Ireton is editor-at-large and a good friend and former colleague of Chuck Miller’s. Keep your eye out for more There’s a Better Way videos from Kevin and several of our other regular contributors in the near future.
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More handy tips:
Make a door buck with scrap material
How to Make a Custom Dust Collector for Your Router
How to Apply a Weathered Finish to New Wood Siding
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Was there a change of guard in the "Better Way" series? What's Chuck Miller up to?
Don't worry. Chuck is alive and well. But he hasn't had time to fly east and shoot videos. He's been busy building a studio next door to his home in northern California. I suspect he'll be back in front of the camera soon. And in the meantime, he still selects every tip that's featured, whether in this video series or in the magazine (where he also edits the descriptions and does all the drawings).
There’s a Better Way is always a good resource to find DIY projects especially storage containers DIY. Someone recommended this to me and ever since, I have been referring to this website for most of my DIY needs. There was one storage container DIY that I made for the house, and when people saw it, they thought I bought it from a designer store.