​With age comes habits, some good and some bad. My bad habit is not measuring
things when I'm building a project, avoiding a tape measurer or ruler as much as I can.
Story sticks have been my building process for as long as I can remember, I mark it
out in the being of a project and never look back with any doubt or wondering if boards 
are the same size or second guessing joinery locations. 
My first job in woodworking was in a cabinet shop were they built custom cabinets. 
Gluing up panels for whatever the project was is where it all started. Eventually I
was constructing cases and during this time period is where I learned about 
story sticks, there really were not many tape measures if any to be found. There
was a wall in the back of the shop with measurements laid out on it and from this
story sticks were made for the various projects. Looking back I realize how
great of a system this was and think about doing something like this in my own
shop if it were not for the lack of wall space I have in my little shop so I tend to use
a yard stick to lay out my story sticks.
Ultimately do what works for you or or whatever you're comfortable with, for me I will
be using story sticks probably till the day leave this place.   

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​Do you have to use dovetails in drawer construction?  
I think it depends on a few things, one is who you ask and 
two is what are your expectations for whatever your building.  
If you ask someone concerned about their public views and 
subscribers, their answer will always be no. If you ask a fine 
furniture builder they will almost always tell you yes.
I really think it comes down to what are your expectations for the
piece your building. If I'm building a set of cabinets with drawers
for my shop then chances are pretty good those drawers are not
going to have dovetails. But if I'm building a piece of furniture
for a client or my home then you can bet it is going to have the fanciest looking
dovetailed drawers on the block. It has nothing to due
with how strong it may or not be, but it does have everything
to do with the craftsmanship and pride that I put into each 
piece I build. But I'm just an old guy building things.