Sounds like we’re going bowling, doesn’t it? Well, we’re actually getting pins set in the ground to later attach a stringline as a guide for chalking. The pins should be set according to how you will apply the chalk or paint.

For example, if you have your chalker setup to guide on the outside edge, the anchor pins should be located on the foul edge of the foul line. That way, when you chalk the line, your chalker will run inside on the fair edge of the string. Likewise, if your chalker is setup to guide down the middle, pound your pins in at the center of where your foul line should be.

Watch a video demonstration on the next slide…

The less slack, the straighter your stringline will be. So, with the pins set in place, it’s time to extend the string from one pin to the other. Start with the pin set by the foul pole and loop your string line around that pin.

Walk the string down the line to the pin set near home plate. Wrap the string around the pin starting on the outside of the pin. Pull as much slack out of the line as possible without breaking the line.

When the string is as tight as possible, walk to the middle of line near the base. You’ll “snap” the line to straighten it. Pull the line straight upward a couple feet and let go to snap it back to the ground. Then, go back to the pin near home plate and take a look down the line to check if it is straight. If it looks straight, you’re ready to chalk. If not, go back to the middle of the line and re-snap, repeating the process until it’s straight.

Watch a video demonstration on the next slide.

There’s really not too much that goes into setting the stringline. There is, however, more to say about laying out your ballfield — foul lines, batter’s box, runner’s lane, etc. We’ll talk more about laying out string lines and other techniques for those field markings later in this lesson.

But for now, take a minute to try the stringline Pop Quiz before moving on to the next section about chalking and painting. If you do not see the quiz button below, please log in at GU to take the quiz.