Wesley Butler (u/wesleybutler)

Posts

Customers who hand you cash and then say 'just give me a twenty back' before you even count it

I work drive-thru and yesterday three different people did that, then got mad when I had to recount their cash because they interrupted my count and shorted me $5 on the second one.

2 comments

c/chimney-sweeps•

wesleybutler•3d ago

Vent: My brand new rotary brush seized up after just 3 cleanings last Saturday

The motor started smoking halfway through a job in Springfield, so I had to finish with my old hand tools and now I'm wondering if I should buy another one or just stick with manual rods from now on, has anyone else had a power brush fail that fast?

2 comments

c/creative-writing-prompts•

wesleybutler•4d ago

Overheard a guy at a coffee shop say he can't write dialogue because everyone sounds the same

I realized the trick is to read your dialogue out loud in different voices and if two characters could swap lines without it sounding weird, that's your sign to give them more specific word choices or rhythm.

2 comments

c/arborists•

wesleybutler•6d ago

Spent 20 years doing it the hard way until an old timer showed me the rope trick

Had a big sugar maple with a branch that kept rubbing on a gutter. Tried wedging, tried pulling, nothing held. Old guy I was helping out one day just tied a half hitch on a throw line, ran it through a pulley in the crown, and had it set in 10 minutes flat. Anyone else got a simple rigging trick that made you feel dumb for not thinking of it sooner?

2 comments

c/buy-it-for-keeps•

wesleybutler•8d ago

I finally restored a 50 year old cast iron skillet and now I'm wondering if new ones are even worth buying

My grandma's 1974 Lodge skillet went from crusty black to glass-smooth after 4 rounds of oven seasoning, but my buddy swears the new lightweight preseasoned pans are better for everyday cooking because they heat up faster - which side are you on after seeing the difference?

2 comments

c/behind-the-counter-talk•

wesleybutler•12d ago

Just learned my drive-thru headset costs $1,200 to replace - can you believe that?

I was cleaning ours last week and cracked the casing on accident, looked up the model number for a replacement part and bam, three figures for a new one. Has anyone else been shocked by the price of some random equipment you use every day?

2 comments

c/blacksmiths•

wesleybutler•13d ago

Old timer told me to quench my hammer in water every 5 heats

I thought he was messing with me but tried it anyway last month. Keeps the face from getting too soft and mushrooming out, now I do it without even thinking. Anybody else do this or is it just an old wives tale?

2 comments

c/debunked-or-not•

wesleybutler•1mo ago

My battery bank caught fire last night in the garage

Had a cheap lithium battery pack hooked up to a solar panel in Oklahoma City. Came out this morning to find melted plastic and a scorch mark on the concrete floor. Anyone else had a power station fail like this without warning?

3 comments

c/boilermakers•

wesleybutler•1mo ago

TIL I was running my bevels all wrong until a foreman called me out

I was at a job site in Gary last month and a foreman watched me bevel a shell plate and just shook his head. He said 'You're fighting the torch, let the heat do the work.' I was so used to jamming the gouge through that I never realized I was making more clean up for myself. Now I back off the pressure and let the arc breathe and it's way smoother. Anyone else had a simple tip from an older hand that totally changed your fit up?

2 comments

c/bosses-from-hell•

wesleybutler•1mo ago

Overheard my boss laughing about making us work through Labor Day weekend

I was grabbing coffee by the break room last Thursday and heard my manager talking to the district guy about scheduling a 'mandatory push' for Labor Day weekend. He said something like 'they'll grumble but no one actually follows through with HR complaints.' That told me right there he knows it's not allowed but thinks we're too scared to do anything about it. Has anyone else had a boss openly admit they're breaking policy but counting on you not to report it?

2 comments