Found a weird trick for marking long cuts on plywood

Last month I was working on a big built-in project in a Denver basement and needed to mark a 12-foot cut line perfectly straight. Instead of trying to stretch my chalk line alone, I used a piece of mason's twine and a sharpie tied to a nail. I pulled the twine tight, inked it with the marker, then snapped it like a chalk line. The sharpie left a thin, super clear line that didn't rub off like chalk. Anyone else have a better method for long, precise layout marks?

2 comments

2 Comments

patkelly11d agoMost Upvoted

Why not just use a laser level? That sharpie trick sounds messy and you have to re-ink the string every time. Lasers are cheap now and give a perfect line you can mark with a pencil. I tried the string method once and it was a total pain for anything over a few feet.

morgan.adam11d ago

I get the laser thing, but I had to mark a 30 foot deck layout last month and my cheap laser just wouldn't show up in the sun. The chalk line with a sharpie trick was the only thing that worked. I mean, it's messy for sure, but you can snap a line way faster than setting up a laser on uneven ground.