PSA: I was laying my line blocks wrong for three years until a foreman in Boise called me out.
I always set them flush with the brick face, but he showed me setting them back a quarter inch gives you a cleaner joint when you strike it. How many of you set them back versus flush?
Setting them back a quarter inch is definitely the way to go. Flush blocks trap mortar and leave a mess when you strike it. That Boise foreman knew what he was talking about, you don't want the joint to look all smeared and sloppy. I actually think you meant "laying blocks" instead of "line blocks" in your title there, but I get what you're saying.
Oh man, that's so true. It's wild how many little things like that you can do wrong for years without knowing. Makes you wonder what else you're missing...