Had a client point out a flaw in my door hanging method that I'd been doing for ages

I was hanging a solid core interior door for a remodel in Springfield, and the homeowner, an older guy who used to be a finish carpenter, watched me for a minute. He said, 'You're setting your hinge mortises by just tracing the hinge leaf, aren't you?' I said yeah, that's how I was taught. He told me that method often leaves the hinge sitting a hair too deep, which can cause the door to bind at the top over time as the house settles. He showed me his trick: after tracing, he uses a utility knife to score the outline, then chisels to just a hair *above* that score line, so the hinge sits perfectly flush, not recessed. I tried it on the next door, and the swing was noticeably smoother. It's a tiny change, but it makes a big difference. Has anyone else had a client or another carpenter give you a small tip that fixed a long-standing habit?

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