Rant: Why did it take a torn muscle for me to learn proper nail placement

Been driving framing nails for 15 years and always put them in a straight line down the stud. Last month on a job in Tacoma, I hit a knot and the nail kicked back, tore something in my shoulder. The older guy on site said I should have been staggering them, two nails offset by half an inch, to avoid splitting the wood on force. Checked my last few projects and found three studs with cracks running through where I drove them. Is staggering actually the standard or is this guy just old school?

2 comments

2 Comments

riley_schmidt20d ago

Wait, did that older guy actually show you his own framing or just tell you, cause I've seen guys swear by all sorts of tricks that they never even use themselves?

bettyfox18d ago

Oh trust me, I've seen that exact thing happen more times than I can count. The old-timer at my shop talked up his special way of hanging pictures for weeks, and when I finally asked him to show me, he just shrugged and said he eyeballs it like everyone else. I remember one guy swore his framing method kept his prints flat for years, but when I peeked at his own basement, everything was wavy and buckled. It's like some folks just like the sound of their own advice, you know?