Old timer in Wichita taught me a trick I still use

Back in 2006 I was hanging board on a strip mall job in Wichita and this older guy, Frank, watched me struggle with a corner beading for like ten minutes. He just walked over, pulled out a used putty knife, and showed me how to crease the paper before folding it, said it stops the cracking every time. I still do that today whenever I hit a tricky outside corner, and it never fails. Anybody else pick up a habit from a random guy on site that stuck with them for years?

1 comments

1 Comment

rayc8911d ago

That putty knife trick reminds me of something my uncle did with drywall tape. He was a stubborn guy who never read instructions, but he figured out that if you wet the tape just a touch before pressing it into the mud, it lays flatter and grabs better. We were finishing a basement in 2011 and he showed me that, and I still do it to this day. Funny how the little things stick with you more than the big lessons. He also used to say that a good finisher can tell you what kind of day it is by the sound of the knife on the paper. I never quite got that one, but I think about it every time I pick up a trowel.