Measure Twice, Assemble Once

Many of us have been indoctrinated by the phrase, “measure twice, cut once”. Recently I was repairing a gate for a trash enclosure. It was falling apart, needed some structural support, and, as astute readers might notice, the bracing was installed in the wrong direction.

There was abundant scrap wood from discarded pallets, and the stringers were used for the frame. Following the “measure twice, cut once adage”, all were successfully cut to match the other gate.  However, during assembly, I put the stiles outside of the rails. The gate was now 3 inches shorter and three inches wider than needed. The dimensions did not allow me to rotate the gate. The gate needed to be disassembled and remade.

This week’s lesson is to “Measure twice, and assemble once.” When working with builds that have a front and a back, or other asymmetric designs, it’s essential. A secondary lesson is that a Halligan bar makes for quick disassembly of wooden gates.

Have you ever measured twice and assembled twice? Comment below with your experience.

The repaired gate with pallet stringer frame.

The trash enclosure with gates closed.