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I was stripping wire wrong for my first two years in the trade
I always used my linesman pliers to strip 12/2 Romex, just pinching and pulling like I saw an old timer do once. It worked okay, but I'd nick the copper maybe one out of every five times. I never thought much of it until I was helping a new apprentice on a service call in Tacoma. He pulled out a proper wire stripper, made one smooth motion, and had a perfect strip every single time. He didn't even say anything, just handed it to me. I felt like an idiot. I'd been making extra work for myself and risking a bad connection because I was too stubborn to use the right tool. That little moment changed my whole approach to the small tasks. Now I keep a dedicated stripper in my pouch. Has anyone else had a simple tool realization that made you kick yourself?
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bettyjones7mo ago
Watched my dad try to hang a picture for an hour once with just a claw hammer and a nail. He was making these tiny little dents in the drywall, getting madder each swing. I finally just went and got the drill and a wall anchor from the garage. Had it done in two minutes. He got real quiet, then just said he liked doing things the hard way. Honestly, some people just get stuck in their ways even when it's clearly not working.
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rowan5937mo ago
Wait, he was trying to nail directly into drywall? That's the part that gets me. Drywall just crumbles, it doesn't hold a nail like that. No wonder he was just making dents. The fact he kept trying for an hour instead of realizing the material itself was wrong is wild. That's not even about doing things the hard way, that's like trying to dig a hole with a spoon. Some people just refuse to see the problem is the tool, not their effort.
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