Okay, let me tell you about this fella, Paul Sizemore. Not someone famous, you know, just a guy I ran into a while back who showed me something pretty neat. It stuck with me, so I figured I’d share how it went down.
Running into a Problem
I was working on building some simple wooden storage crates for my garage. Nothing fancy. But I kept messing up the corners. They were either loose, or not quite square, and frankly, they looked terrible and felt flimsy. I tried a few different ways I saw online, bought a new square, everything. Still looked wonky. I was getting pretty frustrated, almost ready to just buy some plastic tubs.
Meeting Paul
Then one Saturday, I was at this local hardware store, the old kind where people actually talk to you. I was complaining about my crate corners to the guy behind the counter. This older gentleman, who introduced himself as Paul Sizemore, overheard me. He had this calm, knowing look. He didn’t laugh or anything. He just asked, “Mind if I show you a simple way? Learned it from my dad.”
So, right there in the aisle, using a scrap piece of wood and a pencil he pulled from his pocket, he started explaining. He wasn’t using fancy tools in his explanation, just talking about how to really see the lines and trust your hands.
The Sizemore Method (as I call it)
It wasn’t rocket science, but it was different from what I’d been trying. Here’s what I remember him showing me:
- First, he emphasized reallyしっかり (shikkari – firmly,しっかり) marking the lines. Not just scratching the surface, but making a definite groove with the pencil or marking knife.
- Then, when sawing, he said don’t aim for the line itself, but aim to leave the line fully intact on the piece you’re keeping. Cut beside the line, not on it. Sounds obvious, but the way he explained it made sense.
- He also showed me a way to clamp the pieces together before joining. Instead of just clamping flat, he used small wood scraps as cauls to distribute the pressure evenly right at the joint.
- Finally, for simple butt joints like on my crates, he suggested drilling pilot holes that were slightly angled inwards. This helped pull the pieces tighter together when the screw went in.
Putting it into Practice
I went home feeling hopeful. I grabbed some fresh wood pieces and decided to try Paul’s way exactly. I took my time marking those lines, really pressing down. When I sawed, I focused hard on keeping that line visible on the good piece. It felt slow, but more deliberate. I found some scrap wood to use as cauls like he suggested for clamping. Drilled the pilot holes at that slight angle. It felt a bit weird at first.
Then I drove in the screws. And you know what? That corner felt solid. Like, really solid. It was square, too. I checked it three times. No wobble. It just worked. I finished the rest of the crate corners using his method.
The Result
Those crates? I still use them in the garage today. They’re nothing special to look at, but they are rock solid. They’ve held tools, paint cans, all sorts of heavy stuff, and those corners haven’t budged. It wasn’t about fancy tools or complicated techniques. It was just about paying attention to the basics in a specific way that Paul showed me.
So yeah, that’s my Paul Sizemore story. Just a regular guy who shared some practical, hands-on knowledge that actually made a difference in something I was doing. It’s funny how sometimes the simple, old ways just work best.