Exactly as Precise as Required

If it looks right, it’s probably right.

In my work, I’ve always tried to avoid numbers.  Mostly, I used numbers to communicate with the rest of the world.  For example, it was more helpful to tell you that Relationship Study was about 45 inches wide than to gesture with my hands.

Recently, I made a simple shop modification – installing a bolt to hang two GripMate hold-downs, using my typical no-numbers method.

To figure out where I wanted the bolt to be installed, I dangled the hold-downs from my finger and put my finger against the cabinet, adjusting the position until the hold-downs hung freely.

I focused on that point, then drilled a hole at that point.

Finally, I installed the bolt and hung the two hold-downs.

With the bolt positioned here, it is not so high as to have the highest point of the hold-downs above the top of the cabinet.  The bolt is also far enough forward to make the hold-down posts stand proud of the cabinet face so they are easy to grab without getting in the way.

The position of the bolt was entirely dependent upon the hang of the hold-downs and involving numbers would have only added unnecessary complication.  How far, in numbers, that the bolt is located – down from the cabinet top and in from its front – is really inconsequential.