Saw a guy use a power stretcher wrong for 10 years and never knew it

I was helping out at a supply house in Omaha last week and this kid comes in complaining his seams keep splitting. Old timer behind the counter just looks at his tool and says 'you got the pins set too short.' I realized I'd been setting mine the same way since I learned the trade in 2009. Made me wonder how many other habits we pick up from watching the wrong people.

2 comments

2 Comments

christopher_craig3d ago

Man that's the exact kind of thing that makes you question everything you thought you knew. Same thing happened to me a few years back when I realized I'd been hammering my seam pegs way too hard for like 8 years because my first boss was a hack who didn't know what he was doing. It's wild how these little bad habits just stick with you, especially when you're young and just trying to learn fast. I still catch myself doing stuff the wrong way sometimes just because it's what feels "normal" after doing it so long. The old timers at the supply houses are worth their weight in gold for calling out this stuff before you waste more years lol.

rosel833d ago

Wow, @christopher_craig you're right about how deep those bad habits get in. It's like once your hands learn something, your brain just goes along with it. I notice the same thing in other stuff too like how people cut their food or even how they tie their shoes. We just copy what we saw first and never think to check if there's a better way until something finally breaks.