Measure two different ways

Working on a carpentry project today {Project log post to come later.} and the saying "measure twice, cut once" came to mind.

I've always thought this means to just repeat making each measurement before making a cut, which in most cases will give the same result.

But I think the real benefit comes when you find two different ways to make a measurement. One method might be with a ruler or a tape measure, but the other might be with a jig or a fixture. Or you might trace the distance to be cut using your workpiece as a template and then verify it matches with a tape measure.

Doing this forces you to think about the goal and if you can verify your assumption from a different direction.

In this way, you are more likely to catch logical errors or faulty assumptions, which you would miss just measuring exactly the same way twice.