Took me 7 years to figure out my line pins were backwards

I always set my line pins with the bend pointing down into the mortar joint. Last month a old timer walked by my wall, squatted down, and just said 'you're fighting the string, son.' He flipped them so the bend hooks up and over the brick. Suddenly the line stayed taught without me constantly re-tightening it. Anyone else have a basic tool they used wrong for way too long?

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1 Comment

murray.drew15d ago

Hell no, I'm with the old timer on this one. But I'm gonna play the other side: you're just making excuses for not checking your line tension. A line pin that sits down in the joint still holds the string if you set it right, the bend direction just changes how the string sits on the pin. I've seen guys run the bend down for years and they never had issues because they actually pulled the line tight before setting the pins. The real problem is you probably weren't snugging the pin into the brick hard enough, not the bend. If you flipped them up and suddenly it works, great, but that's just you getting lucky with a worn pin.