My grandfather had the same rule for drilling into drywall, and I blew him off for years until I hung a shelf that pulled clean out of the wall last month. It's funny how the lesson is never just about wood or drywall, it's about taking the 30 extra seconds to do the prep work that nobody sees. I've noticed that in most things, cooking, painting, even sending an email, the people who rush straight to the end always end up redoing it later. The old guys aren't always right about everything, but when they all agree on the same boring step, maybe it's worth listening. Now I keep a little countersink bit in my truck just so I don't have to eat my words again.

Gosh, that reminds me of a buddy who swore by polishing his wood carvings until they were like glass, and it took him a year to realize the little tool marks gave the pieces their life. He finally left one rough and it sold in a day while the perfect ones sat around for months.