Using String Like A Pro
Summary
TLDRThis video script offers essential tips for using a string line in construction, distinguishing professionals from beginners. It covers attaching strings to nails or stakes using overhand knots for new strings and larks head knots for used ones. The script also explains the importance of string tension, accurate measurements, and various knots like the fiddle string knot and binder for different situations. It emphasizes practice for proficiency and shares tricks for cutting and winding strings, ensuring they remain useful and accurate tools on the job.
Takeaways
- 🔧 String usage can quickly identify a professional from a beginner in construction.
- 📏 Practice is essential for mastering string tricks and ensuring accuracy in construction tasks.
- 🪢 The overhand knot is recommended for new, slippery string lines when attaching to nails.
- 🐦 The lark's head knot is a versatile option for used strings and allows for easy removal without leaving a knot.
- 📍 When using a line stake, ensure the lark's head knot is oriented correctly to avoid the string slipping out.
- 🛠 The lark's head knot is the go-to for starting a pull due to its speed, clean removal, and ability to reuse the string without cutting.
- 🪝 The fiddle string knot (or engineer's knot) is effective for tightening strings to nails, but avoid over-twisting to maintain ease of release.
- 🧷 A binder or friction knot is a simple and effective method for securing strings to various objects, not just nails.
- ⚖️ String lines should be as tight as possible without causing the nail or batter board to move, to ensure accuracy.
- 🪢 The water knot is a compact and reliable method for joining two pieces of string line, suitable for construction use.
- 🗜️ Winding strings in a figure eight pattern prevents kinks and makes the string easy to unwind and use.
Q & A
What is the significance of using a string line in construction?
-A string line is a simple yet crucial tool in construction that can quickly label someone as either a professional or a beginner. It affects the accuracy of the work and whether the job needs to be redone or can proceed as planned.
How can practicing with a string line improve construction work?
-Practicing with a string line ensures that using it becomes automatic, similar to riding a bike. This proficiency helps in maintaining accuracy and efficiency on the job without having to think about the process.
What are the two ways to attach a string line to a nail on a batter board?
-The two ways to attach a string line to a nail are by using an overhand knot with a loop for a new, slippery string, or a lark's head knot for a used string that has lost its slipperiness.
Why is it important to leave a 'bitter end' when using a lark's head knot?
-Leaving a 'bitter end' outside of a lark's head knot provides some space before the knot comes undone if it slips or tightens further. This prevents the string from coming loose unexpectedly.
How does the direction of the lark's head knot affect its hold on a line stake?
-The direction of the lark's head knot should be chosen based on which side of the stake is the critical dimension. The bite of the line needs to be pulling against the loop to ensure a secure hold.
What is the advantage of using a lark's head knot over an overhand knot for used strings?
-A lark's head knot has the advantage of being easily removable without leaving a knot behind, making it ideal for used strings where slipperiness is not an issue.
Why should a nail used with a string line be tipped back slightly?
-Tipping a nail back slightly ensures that the string tends to work its way down the nail towards the batter board rather than up, providing extra friction and preventing slipping.
How does the fiddle string knot, also known as an engineer's knot, work for tightening a string line to a nail?
-The fiddle string knot is formed by looping the string around an index finger, twisting it several times, and then pulling the slack tight while holding the string. This creates friction that holds the line taut.
What is a binder and how is it used to secure a string line?
-A binder is a simple friction knot used to secure a string line by passing the string around the stake, pulling it tight, and letting the working side of the string capture the loose end against the stake.
Why is the water knot an effective way to join two pieces of string line?
-The water knot is effective for joining string lines because it is compact, allows the line to pull out of the center of the knot, and does not slip under load, making it reliable for construction use.
How should a string line be wound up to prevent kinks and tangles?
-A string line should be wound up in a figure-eight pattern while maintaining tension to prevent kinks and tangles. This keeps the string limp and easy to unwind when needed.
Outlines
🔨 Mastering String Line Techniques
This paragraph introduces the importance of mastering string line techniques in construction. The speaker emphasizes that proficiency with string lines can quickly distinguish a professional from a novice. It can affect the accuracy of construction tasks and whether the work needs to be redone or can proceed as planned. The speaker shares some basic but essential tricks to improve string line usage, such as setting up a sturdy batter board and practicing string tricks to ensure accuracy and efficiency on the job.
🪢 Knots for String Line Attachment
The speaker discusses two primary methods for attaching a string line to a nail on a batter board. For new, slippery string, an overhand knot is recommended, while for used string, a lark's head knot is preferred due to its ease of removal. The paragraph explains the process of rendering down the string to ensure a tight connection and the importance of leaving a bitter end for security. The lark's head knot is highlighted as a versatile knot, also known as a cow hitch, which can be used with line stakes and adjusted based on the critical dimension required.
🧵 String Tension and Friction Knots
This section covers how to tighten a string line to a nail using a fiddle string knot or engineer's knot, which relies on the friction of the string winding around itself to hold tight. The speaker advises not to twist too many times to avoid difficulty in releasing the tension. Another method discussed is using a binder or friction knot for attaching to objects other than nails, which involves leveraging pressure and friction to secure the string. The simplicity and effectiveness of this knot are highlighted, along with its quick application and release.
🪢 Advanced String Line Knots and Storage
The final paragraph covers the use of water knots for joining two pieces of string line, which is compact and maintains the straight pull of the string. The speaker also discusses the practical use of string lines for establishing straightness, elevation, and distance measurements on construction sites. Additionally, the paragraph provides a tip on winding up string lines in a figure eight pattern to prevent kinks and ensure easy unwinding. The speaker concludes by encouraging practice and exploring innovative uses for string lines in various construction scenarios.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡String
💡Batter Board
💡Lark's Head Knot
💡Overhand Knot
💡Fiddle String Knot
💡Binder
💡Water Knot
💡Tension
💡Accuracy
💡Practice
💡Figure Eight
Highlights
Strings are a simple but essential tool in construction.
The way you use strings can quickly label you as a professional or beginner.
String usage affects the accuracy of construction work.
Practicing with strings can lead to better on-site performance.
Two main ways to attach a string to a nail on a batter board.
For new strings, use an overhand knot to prevent slipping.
For used strings, a lark's head knot is recommended.
Lark's head knot allows for easy removal without leaving a knot.
When using a lark's head, ensure the line pulls against the loop.
The lark's head knot is versatile and can be used to start multiple pulls from the same string.
Nails in batter boards should be tipped back to prevent string from slipping upwards.
Accuracy in string usage is crucial for construction precision.
Fiddle string knot or engineer's knot is used for tightening strings to nails.
The fiddle string knot creates a tight string with minimal sag.
Binders or friction knots can be used for attaching strings to non-nail objects.
Binders are quick to apply and release.
String tension is critical to prevent wind and gravity from affecting the line's straightness.
Practice is key to mastering string usage and knots.
Water knot is a compact and effective way to join two string lines.
String lines can be used to mark distances and establish square measurements.
Proper winding of strings prevents kinks and makes them easy to use.
Figure eight winding method keeps strings pliable and prevents them from falling off.
Transcripts
string is one of the simplest tools in
my toolbox and it's also the tool that
will label you as either a pro or a
beginner about as quickly and about as
clearly as any other tool that you might
pick up and try to use not only will the
way that you use string and the tricks
that you know about using strings label
you as someone who's been around or
someone who doesn't know anything it can
also make a real difference in the
accuracy of the job and whether or not
at the end of the day the work you've
done has to be torn out or if you can go
ahead and press forward because you did
it right because you use a string line
correctly let me show you how you can
set yourself apart from a lot of the
guys in construction with a few simple
string tricks nothing about what I'm
going to show you is complicated but
everything about what I'm going to show
you has to be practiced so set up
something like this a little batter
board drive some nails in something that
are that's sturdy you know 15 20 40 the
further apart you can get them the more
accurate it's gonna feel I mean compared
to a construction environment so set
yourself up some way to practice the
things I'm going to show you with this
string line so that when you get on the
job and when it's show time
it's gonna be as automatic as riding a
bike you won't have to think about it
you won't fumble your knots are gonna
hold and you're gonna look like a hero
the first thing I want to show you is
the two ways that I attach to a nail on
a batter board is this complicated no
but there's really only two things you
have to think about if your string line
is brand new if it's just coming out of
the cellophane if it's brand new its
slippery
it's slick and so to attach to the nail
I just tie an overhand knot and make a
loop basic and that works beautifully
because you know it's not gonna slip you
can pull that if your string is used if
it's a little bit if it's spent a little
time out in the Sun and if you've used
it a few times it's not slippery anymore
and you can just put a larks head on the
end say that that holds nicely and the
advantage is that when you take it off
you don't have a knot to remove you just
have a good clean end so I'm going to
cut this overhand knot
but keep in mind that's a very positive
connection I'm gonna cut this off and
we're gonna start with larks head render
it down rendering down means to tighten
swing it back and forth a couple times
and it's good as a general sort of a
rope trick principle you always leave a
little bitter end outside of a larks
head like this so if it does slip if it
does render itself down a little tighter
you've got some space before your knot
comes undone now getting back to the
idea of taking this apart you just grab
the middle of that larks head
that's securing it and pull it open and
you're out and now that'll go right back
on your string line without a problem a
larks head is a very versatile knot I've
learned on the channel that it's also
known as a cow hitch if you're using a
line stake instead of a nail on a batter
board then one side of the stake or the
other is the critical dimension so you
have to know which side of the stake
you're going to be trying to use as your
dimension before you put the larks head
on the stake if this side of the stake
was my critical dimension I would put
the larks head on so it binds like that
if the other stake of side of the stake
was my critical dimension the knot would
turn over so that it binds like that
the bite of the line needs to be pulling
against the loop let me show you what
the problem is if it goes the other way
if I'm trying to memorialize this side
of the stake and I have the loop
oriented like that the string is going
to render around and pull out of the
middle of the stake or just slip see
that it just doesn't work very well
unless you are coming back against the
center of the knot there's a couple
reasons that the larks head or the cow
hitch is my go-to knot for starting a
pull first day as it goes in so fast
second is it falls out completely which
is fast and the third is that I can
originated a pull and then if I want to
start another pull out of the same
string let's just say that this is going
off across the jobsite and I want the
middle of my string to start a whole
nother pull I can take that same string
put a larks head in it and pull twice
off the same string without having to
cut my line or put a knot in it that's
gonna mess up my spool later I'll never
have to take a knot out and I can pull
out of the middle of a bite with a firm
attachment and it comes out and there's
no knot and I come back over to the
stake and it pulls out and there's no
knot so practice using a larks head it's
just really a nice way to originate a
string line let me just recap on these
two knots for starting your pull the
only time I ever use a loop with an
overhand knot is on a brand new slippery
line occasionally a larks head just
wants to slip but once you have
confidence that your lines got a little
friction in it I just never tie a loop
any more I always use the larks head let
me throw one other little little piece
of information at you and that is batter
boards are almost always used in
conjunction with nails and so the nail
should always be tipped back just a
little bit so that when you're pulling
the string has a tendency to work its
way down the nail towards a batter board
rather than having a tendency to work
its way up so you look at slipping there
because it's up but if it's down against
the batter board you've got some extra
friction so the nail should always be
tipped away from the direction of the
pull just a little bit works better most
of the time when you have batter boards
or line stakes and string lines you're
trying for an accuracy that's
essentially the accuracy the width of
the string so what all matters all these
details are going to add up to these
details kind of layer they layer and the
more accurate you can get with something
as mundane as how you tie your knot and
wear off of the nail or off of the line
stake your string comes to rest it all
accumulates to acceptable accuracy once
the work is in place with the end of
your string firmly anchored in the right
spot now it's time to tighten that thing
up and hold it tight
this is magic if you're tightening to a
nail you use a fiddle string knot or
I've learned it's called an engineer's
not very easy you form a loop around
your index finger and then twist it up
five or six times one two three four
five six not too many then with one hand
I use my left hand I tighten the string
and with my right hand I pull the slack
back can you see that the slack is
sliding around all those twists and then
you can pull that as tight as your left
hand will pull it tight enough to break
it if you're not careful and then simply
pull the bitter end back and let it go
see that can you hear that that's a
tight string that's a 40-foot pull it
has not sagged 1/8 of an inch
works great so here's the thing
it's the friction of that loose end
winding around the tight side that holds
the line and that also makes it hard to
take the friction out of it to take the
slack out of it if you tighten it so
don't wind it too many times let's
experiment there's six twists in it
right now
let's go seven eight nine there's nine
twists here's the problem it gets harder
to pull that slack out and in any case
you have to pull parallel you can't pull
sideways the two lines the one
tightening and the one holding has to be
parallel but then with all those twists
can you see that it stretches out too
long it's just kind of awkward five is
the number let's start from scratch one
two three four five get a good hold pull
parallel
BAM it's held you can tell us about
right when it renders up and it's just
about you know 3/8 of an inch long right
there half of the beauty of the knot is
how easily it ties the other half of the
beauty of the knot is how easily it
releases BAM gone see that let's do that
again 1 2 3 4 5 drop it over the nail
render the slack tight time to take the
string down pull it back parallel to the
line BAM you're free how do you beat
that if you're attaching to anything
except a nail you're probably going to
want to use what I call a binder it's
not even a knot it's just using the way
that pressure and friction work together
to resist movement and it works like
this
you run the string by that your line
steak on the side of the line steak that
is the correct measurement you pass
around the steak one time and then as
you pull it tight you let the working
side of the string come up and lay over
the bitter end then you can render the
slack much like we did with the fiddle
string not pulling in both ends and then
the pressure of this side capturing the
loose side against the side of the steak
holds it tight I mean tight now the
beauty of this is it goes on so quickly
it holds so firmly and it unties in a
moment like this and you're free how do
you beat that the other thing is you can
do this on almost anything you need to
tie to you can do it on the end of a
board
I may go around twice on a board you do
this on a steel pipe and it'll hold you
see how much better that is in a series
of half hitches and square knots and
granny knots and who knows what so this
binder not this friction knot is so
simple it's easy to overthink it and
complicate it to where not only does it
not work as well but it doesn't work at
all
one way to think about this is that you
should realize that this does not work
even a little bit on a loose string it
doesn't begin to do its job until the
line begins to get tight let me show you
if I go around there and try to get that
string to hold when there's no tension
on the line it holds nothing but on the
other hand if I stretch that hard enough
that I actually have to squeeze my hand
and then wrap it around there and then
roll that string over a half a turn it's
held you see that I like to combine
those things where while their line is
slack I throw it around and get it over
the top and then as I tighten it it's
already in the position to hold itself
but don't be confused by the simplicity
play with it a few times and you'll
realize that the act of the tight line
laying over the top of the loose line is
what holds or binds or makes this little
hitch work so well with a string so as
you think about this you'll realize that
this will work on almost anything now it
works best on something with nice tight
square corners like a beautiful square
concrete stake it will work on a round
concrete stake if you go around twice
it'll work on beams it'll work on it'll
work on almost anything with slight
adaptations friction and gravity and all
of these sort of elemental forces can
work for us if we think about it and use
use our noggin just a little bit so
these knots our engineered are designed
to hold a string tight how tight should
a string be the answer
that is as tight as you can make it
without pulling your nail loose without
pulling your batter board over they need
to be tight and the reason is because if
you're working in the wind the wind will
push your string out of straight if
you're pulling a long distance
gravity is going to pull that that
string down and a string that's not
straight is worse than no string at all
because you're assuming it's straight
and you're building to an incorrect line
so the limitations on getting a string
tight or to how good a grip you have and
how firmly the end of the string is
anchored so the key to all of this is
practice so you need to practice these
knots sometime somewhere where nobody's
watching and while you're at it you know
maybe practice cutting a string with
your bare hands I've got a video on that
and it goes like this so that's not just
a trick that's also a tool and there
will be times when you'll be really glad
you know how to do it so there's nothing
wrong with cutting string when you need
to cut your string and there's nothing
wrong with tying pieces of string back
together when you have a nice long piece
that you want to put back on your roll
the knot that I like to use for joining
two pieces of string line that I intend
to use in construction in the future is
a water not a water knot is so easy it's
two overhand knots one reversing the
direction of the first one the reason I
like a water knot in a string line is
because it's compact it's not a big
bulky knot and the line continues to
pull out of the center of the knot so
you only have about half the diameter of
the not pushing your string off of a
board or off of a you know
fill-in-the-blank you only have half the
diameter of the not pushing the string
out of straight the last reason I like
it is because it never lets go with the
loads that I put on it when I'm
stretching a string so to tie a water
not the first thing you do is simply put
an overhand knot in the end of your
first line and leave yourself plenty of
bitter end now take the other line the
one are you going to join to it and take
the bitter end of the second line and
stick it into the overhand knot exactly
where the other bitter end
exits like this
pull plenty of material now you're
simply going to retrace the path of the
original line through the original
overhand knot like that
one enters who are the other exits and
exits were the other enters you can trim
these down close they're not going to
slip out and it makes a nice clean small
interruption in your string line my old
strings have lots of knots in them and
lots of pencil marks on them because not
only will a string establish
straightness and it will establish
elevation it will also establish a
distance along the string like this you
can hook a tape bring it down into
contact with a string line that
stretched nice and tight and put a mark
on there for instance that mark is at 22
feet now that marks a little hard to
find but if you pay attention or maybe
put a scrape mark on the ground you'll
know that okay right there is my mark at
22 feet you can use that for
establishing square by pulling an
intersecting line or a tape measure at a
different angle to verify that there's
23 feet from a known distance at a known
line at a known elevation it's a black
board suspended right in midair so just
think of new ways to use a string line
and they will get you out of a bind all
the time
let me show you how I do not wind up my
strings
I don't wind them up like this because
I'm winding a twist or a kink in the
string as I go with every revolution not
only that but if I get a whole bunch on
there and then store it it's easy for it
to just kind of fall off you see that
when you just go around the middle of
the ball it'll fall off what I like to
do is to do it in a figure eight because
a figure eight does not put the kink on
the string it'll remain limp and pliable
and cooperative and not only that if you
hold some tension on the string as
you're doing this it will tend to not
fall off in a mess in your toolbox now
winding it in a figure eight takes a
little practice I mean it's a learned
sort of a coordination thing holding the
tension as a learned coordination thing
and you can't do it on too long a stick
because it's just too awkward but with
the right length stick and they're just
a little practice you can wind it up and
then maybe put a half hitch around there
pull it tight and it'll be useful the
next time you need it it unwinds off a
figure eight just as easily especially
if you put a little distance between
your hands and get it started and then
just if you keep the tension even it
will pull itself off there pretty
handily if you keep your hands apart I
had to use string a lot setting up these
footings like a lot and I think I used
every one of these tricks and processes
and knots several times making this
happen so if you're interested in that
and how they were actually used in a
real life situation check out some of
these episodes on our house building
project there's gonna be a lot of
information there you might have a look
and in any case glad you're here thanks
for watching
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