So what did you learn the HARD way...

[Bill Huber]

I am sure there are lots of things that we have all learned the hard way. I know I have learned the hard way a lot over the years and even more the last 6 or 8 months.

The latest was using little brass screws.

You have to pre-drill as deep as the screw in hardwood and you better use bees wax on them and then you don't tighten them like they were a 5/16th bolt or.... they snap right off.

On the two boxes I am building right now it took me 3 screws before I got it though my head, had to drill out 3 screws then plug the holes and redo them.

So what is one thing that you learned the hard way?

[Dave Watkins]

Bill - regarding the brass screws, in addition to the steps you have discovered it is also helpful to get some steel screws of the same size and use those to first establish the threads in the hole.

What I have learned the hard way is to make sure your collet is real tight on the router. I was making box joints for the first time a few months ago, first bunch fit like a dream....then gaps started developing. Huh? Ohhh, the fingers are getting longer. The up-spirial bit was slowing creeping up on each cut. Fortunately is was just some joints that got wrecked, but it was still painful.

[Ross Lowry]

It seems like I learned everything the hardway!

[scott spencer]

Just about all the lessons I remember were learned the hard way. The ones not learned the hard way, haven't really been "learned" yet...they're more of an "awareness". :rolleyes:

Here's a couple that stuck:
- cheap cutters and tools cost more
- machine maintenance costs less
- "impatience" takes longer
- if it doesn't "feel" right, don't do it...
- it's only wood, and it does grow on trees....don't beat yourself up over mistakes


.

[Don Bullock]

I tell my third grade students that it's OK to make mistakes and that we learn more from our mistakes than we do getting it right the first time. I'm sure that I learned that while woodworking.;) :D

[harry strasil]

FWIW.

On the screw subject, I learned to put beeswax or use a paraffin candle on the threads, the the important thing was to make the screw hole the minor diameter of the thread (measured at the bottom of the threads on the screw), and to use a nail the proper size in a drill (I use an archimedis drill) to make the hole and a bit deeper than the depth of the screw.

This accomplishes two things, 1. it makes the screw easier to screw in. 2. it makes for better holding, as no material is removed only compresses the material, and after a little bit as the material tries to reexpand to its normal shape it gives much more holding power. This is especially true in soft woods.

I also use a push drill with a screwdriver bit to install the screws and quit when the bit quits turning on its own, then give it 1/8 turn more to torque it.

I try not to use phillips head screws as they are not time period correct for my style of wood working. I alter the straight bits so the point is square to the sides of the screw slot and fill the slot well which more or less eliminates twist or jump out. Look closely at the hex screwdriver bit ends or look at a good set of gunsmithing screwdriver ends.

My .005¢ worth

[Bill Huber]

Bill - regarding the brass screws, in addition to the steps you have discovered it is also helpful to get some steel screws of the same size and use those to first establish the threads in the hole.

What I have learned the hard way is to make sure your collet is real tight on the router. I was making box joints for the first time a few months ago, first bunch fit like a dream....then gaps started developing. Huh? Ohhh, the fingers are getting longer. The up-spirial bit was slowing creeping up on each cut. Fortunately is was just some joints that got wrecked, but it was still painful.

Good idea, I will get some steel ones and try that the next time, I hate to have to drill them out, just not fun.

I had a bit walk up on my router once, but I was just doing some test cute so it made no difference, so I tighten it very tight now.

[Stan Welborn]

...to not take for granted that your wife can turn off the same breaker twice in a row. I learned standard house current is wholly sufficient to expunge from your mind any attention it is giving to the body's balance.
I learned those cheap plastic multi drawer storage containers you screw to the wall to keep your extensive accumulation of stainless hardware sorted will not, in any way whatsoever, support the weight of an adult male enough to even measurably slow their velocity in a fall. I learned those storage containers keep said hardware in an exponentially more compact area than the garage floor. I learned a fall from an 8ft step ladder can be complicated greatly by what's between you and terra firma. I learned a five gallon bucked provides a poor point of impact upon termination of your decent when falling from that ladder. I learned it's not only possible, but probable, that the construction integrity of a 14.4v cordless drill will be stressed beyond it's limitations upon impact with concrete after that same plummet. I also learned my vocabulary doesn't contain enough four letter words to drown out a wife's laughter when she realizes you aren't seriously injured in a fall.

When you think about it, it's truly amazing what can be learned by the human mind in a few short seconds of its existence.

[glenn bradley]

I am sure there are lots of things that we have all learned the hard way. I know I have learned the hard way a lot over the years and even more the last 6 or 8 months.

The latest was using little brass screws.

You have to pre-drill as deep as the screw in hardwood and you better use bees wax on them and then you don't tighten them like they were a 5/16th bolt or.... they snap right off.

On the two boxes I am building right now it took me 3 screws before I got it though my head, had to drill out 3 screws then plug the holes and redo them.

So what is one thing that you learned the hard way?

As long as we're talking about things that didn't involve physical pain; As Dave points out, have some steel screws on hand to pre-screw your holes for your brass. Get the same thread pattern, etc.

Screws in general were a chance to foul a piece when I was starting out. Improper pilot hole size, shank holes, cheap countersink bits and all that. I took some time to join forums like this and read mags and such. A lot of what we do hasn't changed in a long, long time. Its amazing how well things go when you do it like the guy who's been doing it for 20 years does it.

I have a constant battle to suppress some weird desire I have to do it "a better way" (meaning my way). Once I figured out I didn't know every darn thing and started paying attention to those with experience, my shop time enjoyment factor has increased drastically.

[glenn bradley]

...to not take for granted that your wife can turn off the same breaker twice in a row. I learned standard house current is wholly sufficient to expunge from your mind any attention it is giving to the body's balance.
I learned those cheap plastic multi drawer storage containers you screw to the wall to keep your extensive accumulation of stainless hardware sorted will not, in any way whatsoever, support the weight of an adult male enough to even measurably slow their velocity in a fall. I learned those storage containers keep said hardware in an exponentially more compact area than the garage floor. I learned a fall from an 8ft step ladder can be complicated greatly by what's between you and terra firma. I learned a five gallon bucked provides a poor point of impact upon termination of your decent when falling from that ladder. I learned it's not only possible, but probable, that the construction integrity of a 14.4v cordless drill will be stressed beyond it's limitations upon impact with concrete after that same plummet. I also learned my vocabulary doesn't contain enough four letter words to drown out a wife's laughter when she realizes you aren't seriously injured in a fall.

When you think about it, it's truly amazing what can be learned by the human mind in a few short seconds of its existence.

Now I'm sorry I even responded. Stan's post gets the prize . . . I'm still laughing . . . Glad you weren't hurt Stan.

[Basil Rathbone]

It's got to be flat and square. If it isn't flat and square at the start, it's not going to be flat and square at the end.

[Gary Keedwell]

As a leader in a job shop type atmosphere, I once had a rookie under my wings who questioned every method that we had "proven- out" many times over the years. Alot of jobs had 6 or more operations before the "finished product" was accomplished.
At first it was amusing to watch the rookie spend a whole day machining parts in the "wrong" sequence and having him getting to a dead end and "junking" the parts. He was a "smart" kid but he would take college courses at nite and quit because he said "they don't know what there talking about".
Don't know where I was going with this but here was a kid who spent alot of time "looking" for knowledge, and it was right in front of his eyes and still couldn't see it. He drifted from one department to another before we had to let him go. Whenever I got together with other leaders and his name came up in the discussion, I would hear the same thing. " he was always trying to re-invent the wheel"
Whenever I hear that expression about the wheel, I think about 17 years ago and a long haired kid who played drums in the band.:)
Gary

[Steve Milito]

So what is one thing that you learned the hard way?

There's an easy way? Wow.:D

[Doug Shepard]

1- Use zero clearance inserts on the TS. I have a permanent lump on one finger from some splinters shooting back that's like a sticky note reminder.
2- Dull tools are an accident waiting to happen.
3- Dont buy cheap tools
4- Dont push your luck with minimum glueing temps
All things I learnt the hard way.

[Bill Wyko]

Don't try to trim even the slightest amount of material off in the router table doing a pull cut w/o ample feather boards and a big push block. (Nipped the side of my finger and fingernail off x-mas eve 06') fortunately it grew back.

Spiral 3/8 router bit....50 bucks
End of finger missing hospital bill 740.00 bucks (for a band-aid and a tetanus shot)
Having it grow back with no problem......PRICELESS!!!!

[John Ricci]

Along with too many things to mention over the last 50-odd years, I learned to lock my shop if I leave the property even for a short while. No, this is not a theft story but one of "borrowing". I came home one day not too long ago after a trip into town and entered my shop to find a drawer open on one of my tool stacks. In that drawer I found my in/lb torque wrench (wrong drawer) absolutely filthy with grease and dirt. I cleaned it and checked it out for damage and found none but was still pissed off because I know exactly who did it and never a word was said between us about it but since then that shop stays locked if I leave the place even for a few minutes. I loaned the same guy my big battery charger/booster later on and when he returned it he said "I had to leave it outside because you locked the shop"...you betcha':rolleyes:. All he had to do was ask and I would lave loaned it to him and since we are neighbours and we live "deep rural" where we tend to lend when the need arises. My .02Cdn.

J.R.

[Dave Sweeney]

Don't edge joint an old board on your brand new jointer without first running the metal detector over the board. Ouch!:(

[Glenn Clabo]

That there may not be a tomorrow. The first 45 years of my life I thought there was...

[Larry Conely]

Don't join the Marine Corps.

[Chris Rosenberger]

Do not accidently shift a car into reverse going over 55 mph.

[Randy Klein]

Do not accidentaly shift a car into reverse going over 55 mph.

Did that at 70, going downhill on a mountain pass. Luckily, it only shut off the engine and remained in neutral. However, now I was without power steering or power brakes, 70 mph and downhill in a full size Ford Bronco, loaded with people and luggage.

Last time I try to save gas by coasting in neutral...

[Chris Rosenberger]

Did that at 70, going downhill on a mountain pass. Luckily, it only shut off the engine and remained in neutral. However, now I was without power steering or power brakes, 70 mph and downhill in a full size Ford Bronco, loaded with people and luggage.

Last time I try to save gas by coasting in neutral...

That is what happened to me. It was a steep hill & very winding. I was down shifting to keep from having to use the brakes. I drive a pickup most of the time. On my truck, to down shift I just push a button & tap the brake pedal. This time I was driving my wifes GMC Envoy with a floor shift. For some reason I pushed the shifter foward instead of pulling it back :o . As happened with yours, the engine shut off, I did still have brakes. Taking the curves without power steering was not alot of fun. After the computer reset all was fine & we were on our way again :) .

[Jesse Espe]

Everything I know about woodworking I learned the hard way.

Most recently:

1) The Delta mobile base for the Unisaw doesn't fit the Delta Hybrid Tablesaw.
2) Never shred your correspondence until you take out the $65 money order sent to you after you sold off the aforementioned mobile base.
3) Given time, plywood leaned against the wall WILL warp.
4) A tablesaw with a Forrest blade will take out a good bit of aluminum miter gage if you let it.
5) Squaring up the blade and the fence on the DW718 can become a religious experience...
6) If you build a router cabinet and don't support it around the opening of the table, it WILL sag...

Cheers,
Jesse

[Richard M. Wolfe]

Oh, a bunch of things. Doing something the hard way and then realizing there is an easier way is just part of the learning process.

But what makes me grit my teeth, pull my hair and call that idiot I see every morning in the mirror eighteen different kinds of moron is that I seem to do it the hard way about a half dozen times before I wake up and see how simple it would be if I just.....

[Leigh Betsch]

I learned that we are all perfectionists, just some of us compromise sooner than others
When I was 15 (33 years ago) I asked my great aunt if I should spend all the money I had on a set of metric sockets for my Honda CL100. She told me to buy the best tools I could afford and I have them for life.
I still have that socket set and think of her when ever I use them. I didn't learn it the hard way but it was a very good lesson.

[Jim Nardi]

Straight and don't keep your hand where they are going to come out.

[Mark Singer]

I guess I learned some things the hard way. I really feel I learned a lot from my Father and books and by practicing. I like to sketch and work things out a little before I start and along the way. For me the process of designing and building is not a straight path, instead it has been more of a circle....sketch, drawing, make a sample joint, if it is a chair, make a mock up, start the project , make another sketch, finish the project, take a picture....explain it to others and pretty soon I understand what I made....sometimes its finished and I am not still sure.

[Anchor Sarslow]

One experience I had involved a 20 foot ladder, a chainsaw and a dead tree tht fell the wrond direction.

I tried to saw the tree off at 8 feet with the ladder at 10 feet.
I sawed the opposite side of the tree from where I was standing on the ladder so I could cut it to drop away from me.
I forgot that part of the top of this tree was pushed against another tree.

Lesson(s).....

A 6 foot jump is a lot farther than it looks when your adreniline level returns to normal.

An 18 inch bar on a chainsaw can bury itself when tossed from 8 feet up and keep running.

Oak trees bend buried chansaw bars when they hit them.

Oak leaves can cut flesh when whipped across ones face by a falling tree.

20 foot ladders bend easier than you think when it becoes the fulcrum point for a falling tree.

The trunk missed me because of my instant calculations of angles caused by a sudden surge of panic and a 4 letter explative is a handy thing to help you think.

[Vernon Taylor]

Do not borrow the wife's tools and if you do, do not assume they work like yours.
While remodeling a bathroom I pulled the commode and set it in the bathtub,after installing the floorcovering it was time to reset the commode which still had water in it. It was then that I realized I would have to lay the commode on it's side to remove the residue from the old wax ring. NO Problom!Wife has a wet/dry vac that she uses in her craft shop and since I did not want to use my Fein for this task I decided to borrow hers, Pluggrd it in and placed the hose in the commode,reached behind me and placed the other end in a port on the vac,flipped the switch and all H--- broke loose,I had put the hose in the blower port,blue tinted water went everywhere,ceiling ,wallpaper,clothe window shades, and floor. took about five hours and considerable harrassment from SWMBO to clean up the mess.

[John Mihich]

Take care of all your tools. Simple maintenance can really extent the life of the tool and they function much better. Occasionally using compressed air to blow out power tools. A little bit of WD40 in drill chucks keep them moving nicely.

If you don't have a spray booth and you are spraying oil based finish - cover everything with plastic. I didn't do that when spraying blue paint - everything I didn't cover have a light blue tint to it. Took a year before I finally got everything cleaned up.

[Dennis Peacock]

There's an easy way? Wow.:D

I hear ya Steve. I hear ya, loud and clear. :o :)

[Steve Clardy]

Straight and don't keep your hand where they are going to come out.



Check :o:o

[Wayne Watling]

So what is one thing that you learned the hard way?

That there is usually never an easy way, if you want to get something done you just have to bunker down and go through the hard slog.

another thing I learned last year..

When you lock something into a vice make sure its tight, especially when pulling on a steel object stuck inside another steel object and your pulling in the direction of your head.
Luckily I had ice packs in the cooler which prevented a black eye but it still didn't look too pretty. http://www.phoenixwood.ca/forum/style_emoticons/default/dirol.gif . For the first few moments I had no clue what had happened, probably on the verge of being knocked out. What a weird moment that was.

Wayne

[Mike Seals]

If you tell your wife you ran into an old girl freind at the store and your wife asks how did she look.......lie.

[Garth Keel]

A 1500 lb powered trencher goes where it wants to go, not always where you want it to go!:p

[Dan Kerns]

Every house we've ever owned has had the same three things missing: Level, Plumb, and Square.!

[Jon Lanier]

I'm just going to throw out a phrase I've used for years.

"Every generation has to find out for itself that the stove is hot."

[Norman Pyles]

When to speak, and when to be quiet.

[John Kendall]

I have learned that you never offer "ideas" to the better half. Especially when she will take you up on them! I'm still working on this hardwood floor!!! 900Sq/ft of it. Aahhhh!!:eek:

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb251/Tralfaz59/kitchenfloor-1.jpg
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb251/Tralfaz59/frontroomfloor.jpg

[Charles Wiggins]

I have learned that you never offer "ideas" to the better half. Especially when she will take you up on them! I'm still working on this hardwood floor!!! 900Sq/ft of it. Aahhhh!!:eek:


You wanna come redo my house next?

[Charles Wiggins]

When to speak, and when to be quiet.

I think I'm still learning that one.

[Sean Kinn]

I'm still a newbie, so I've been learning alot ;-) Maybe these things will help out another newbie since I've learned a ton here already.

1. Deep cuts from sharp chisels heel faster than shallow cuts from dull ones.
2. Don't keep all of your power cords lumped together in a spiderweb by the socket..makes it really hard to tell what's actually plugged in.
3. Don't assume that someone elses description of a used tool is as the same as yours would be, or up to your standards...Ask specific questions before buying. Not that someone is necessarily trying to rip you off, but they may just have a different perception of "accurate", " great condition", "good user" etc.
4. Spending the time to properly align your power tools is worth the effort if you are trying to achieve accurate joinery. Just because the tablesaw was fine ripping flooring doesn't mean it's accurate enough for perfect 90 degree cuts on a tenon.
5. Make sure your straightedge is actually straight. I've come to appreciate a whole new meaning of straight and flat.
6. Just because it looks like 90 degrees doesn't mean it is...verify it with a good measuring tool.
7. Fancy tools don't mean squat. I've learned the most, and gotten the most satisfaction out of my used #4 and #7 plane that I've spent time tuning up. I'm really starting to appreciate all of the amazing stuff that was built before all of the fancy jigs, gadgets, and doo-dads.

[Bill White]

Your soon-to-be ex wife will ALWAYS have a better lawyer than you have.
Oh! Gettin' in a hurry is a sure way to screw up a project 'cause paint and glue really do have to dry/cure.
Bill

[Paul B. Cresti]

Being a professional woodworker to put food on the table & pay bills for a family of 5 is an oxymoron.....clients do not care how the heck something is made or what materials you use....sure wish I would have known this about four years ago! ;) oh well on to my orginally scheduled career as an Architect :eek: ....man what was I thinking....

[Mike Cutler]

I've learned that "The Hard Way is the Easy Way". :eek: ,:confused: .

Do something right the first time. It's harder to correct something after the fact.

[Danny Thompson]

Cash is better than credit.

[Dick Bringhurst]

Don't try to "shoooo" a skunk away from the shop! Dick B.

[Gary Keedwell]

That it is more fun to look at catologues when you no longer have a mortgage.:)

Gary

[Bill Huber]

That it is more fun to look at catologues when you no longer have a mortgage.:)

Gary


And all the kids are married off ......:D

[Dan Barr]

-the hard way
-cost

-keep fingers clear of chisel path
-8 stitches

-most tools on ebay suck
-at least a few hundred dollars and getting my hopes up and let down

-you cant plane against the grain
-1/16" and some time

-push sticks are your friend
-injury turned into knot on thumb

-pine dust irritates the skin
-temporary bumps on head (very unnerving til they went away)

-depth stop on mortiser works
-tension pin and time to replace it

-function of riving knife
-a nervous moment not knowing if i should let got the board to turn off the power

-dont pry with a bench chisel
-workpiece had to be re-made

-dont hurry finishes
-streaks and time

-have a plan for your glue ups and maybe do a dry run first
-having to take apart a piece and re-glue later

-measure twice
-more than one cut

the list could go on and on but these are the ones that come to mind right now.

cheers! :D :D :D

dan

[Roland Chung]

1) Study up a bit before using a new tool.

My buddy and I were trying to drill a larger hole into a set of bands that held a double set of scuba diving tanks. We did a lot of things wrong - bottom line, when the bit grabbed the bands, it turned into a giant propeller. The bands actually unfurled due to centrifugal force and the diameter of the "danger zone" increased. We reacted fast enough to avoid injury, but I almost had my throat ripped out.

I've bought a lot of shop equipment over the years, but I don't think that I will ever be picking up a large drill press - bad memories (and that was about 35 years ago).

[John Schreiber]

If people have been doing things the same way for a hundred years, that doesn't mean it's best, but it does mean you need to think very hard and be very careful when you try to do it a "better" way.

I tell myself that I've learned this, but I keep finding "better" ways to screw things up.

[Matt P]

- Didn't have a router table, workshop, or workbench. Needed a router table.
- Sit on bathroom floor, turn router upside down, hold between feet.
- Use it as a "mini" router table.

-- still have my fingers and toes. won't try that again.

[Gary Keedwell]

- Didn't have a router table, workshop, or workbench. Needed a router table.
- Sit on bathroom floor, turn router upside down, hold between feet.
- Use it as a "mini" router table.

-- still have my fingers and toes. won't try that again.
:eek: I'm gonna have to get that image out of my head or I will have nightmares tonite.:rolleyes:
Gary

[Leland Berry]

:o I left SE Missouri at sundown one eve. bound for KC, alone in an old
Cessna. I ignored severe weather warnings because I had "get Homeitas".
In less than 10 min I was in the leading edge of this storm, with rain so
hard I could NOT see the prop. Wind was throwing that plane so violently
that with a small flashlight in my mouth, map in my lap, that I had no clue
where I was . I finally found a highway and followed it by the car headlights, hoping to get my bearings. I noticed runway lights below &
somehow landed on this grass strip in Washington MO-(near ST. Louis).
This with no idea of obstructions, towers, high lines etc. The RW lights
are usually not "on" without receiving a radio signal. It was some time
later, that I finally felt "scared" about how close I came--And for not
the Good Lord tripping on those lights , I would have been 1 dumb
statistic.--Ever since, I wait it out.:) :)

[Bill Wyko]

What did I learn the hard way????? That a mans job is never done until he's married........Then he's finished!:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :D

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Nearly everything.

[Steve Clardy]

Don't stub yer toe when supper's called.:o
Especially with 4 other brothers and sisters

[Bryan Cowing]

To listen to that little voice. 1st time I remember hearing it on the way to the church on a Saturday afternoon when I was 20, kept hearing, about 3 times, turn around and go the other way! I really wish I had done it! I will hear it 30 seconds before a nasty injury with a power tool. Haven't listened to that one a couple of times, but at 8am on a Sunday morning the emergency room is almost vacant, no waiting!:eek: I heard it an hour or so and several times before an accident with a deer. Slow down, have a coffee, take a different route. But no ,I was in a hurry to get home, cost 3 grand to fix the car. Don't think I will ever learn!

[Dan Barr]

yup, they'll get the big piece of chicken.

lol

dan

[John Kendall]

You wanna come redo my house next?

I'd love to, if you will come over and finish one little project that is left....;):cool::D

I've just got to keep quiet around the Mrs. :eek:

[Paul Johnstone]

What I have learned the hard way is to make sure your collet is real tight on the router. I was making box joints for the first time a few months ago, first bunch fit like a dream....then gaps started developing. Huh? Ohhh, the fingers are getting longer. The up-spirial bit was slowing creeping up on each cut. Fortunately is was just some joints that got wrecked, but it was still painful.

I learned that lesson an even harder way. When I was younger and more careless, I didn't tighten the collect fully.
I had a medium sized ogee bit that I was going to do an edge treatment with. Turned on the router.. a short time later,
the bit came flying out. It bounced on something, part of the carbide broke off. The broken piece of carbide richotted
and hit my arm. The bit bounced off and hit my face. Luckily, it did not hit my eye.
A friend of mine wasn't using safety goggles with a hand grinder.. Part of the wheel broke off and hit him in the face.
I guess the moral (which admittedly I don't always follow) is always wear safety glasses. Even when you think
there's no chance of an eye accident happening. They can happen when you don't expect it.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

A 1500 lb powered trencher goes where it wants to go, not always where you want it to go!:p

Garth,

I'll add to your experience.........When you start to lower the blade into the ground, make sure (1) the ground isn't hard and (2) you have the transmission engaged...........


A trencher can climb a 48" chain link fence in about 0.3 seconds......things go into "slow motion" while it's happening.....the trencher will cut every link in the fence while it's trying to climb it.......you can buy chain link fence by the "foot"...........:o

[andy brown]

Hi,

I learnt never to stand at the outfeed end of a large table saw.

I learnt this because I nearly got some unknown part of said table saw in my head. Whatever part it was went whistling past me, level with my eye and out through the window behind me. We never found it and I acquired valuable lessons:

1. Never work with machinery you know nothing about.
2. Only work with people you trust to have some idea what they are doing. I'm at fault here as I made assumptions about my workmate.
3. Stand out of the way when all else fails.
4. I wanted to add some stupid facetious comment but worksite safety is a serious matter too often ignored or taken for granted.
I regret to say that I have also learnt lessons from the misfortunes of others.
I have had a friend slash his wrist accidently with a chisel slipping and he now has only 70% mobility with that hand- holding the timber with the now damaged hand and trying to use the chisel one handed, pushing it into the timber towards the other hand.
A young Aussie labourer with an Agency on one job fell through a skylight to the floor below and hurt himself very badly indeed.
A work colleague was talking as we cut some timber on a small table saw. We removed the timber, turned off the saw and my mate came round the table to continue the conversation and was about to put his hand down on the still spinning blade until I shouted at him.


I've been chippying a long time and the hardest lesson has yet to be learned; which is why you can never stop concentrating, because when you stop thinking about what you're doing, that's when the really hard lessons will jump out at you and try to take you where you don't want to go.
Never stop learning.
Andy

[Al Willits]

"""""""
That there may not be a tomorrow. The first 45 years of my life I thought there was...
"""""""""""

After going though 3 grand maul seizures the same day as the Oklahoma bombing and finding I had a brain abscess, then finding they gave me less than 2% to make it, and if ya did, months of therapy.
I agree with ya, life becomes much more valuable when you finally realize you may not be here tomm.
Hard way to find out your wife really does love ya, she went though as much hell as I did..

After that, some things are,
If it bites, it will.
If it cuts, it will.
If your in a hurry, it will take twice as long.
If dry time is 2 hours, don't pick it up after one.
Throwing that wrench that slipped off the bolt and smashed your knuckles, will result in the back window of you jeep Cherokee disintegrating.
Telling the highway patrol that you thought 10 over was just a warning ticket.
Assuming the wife will forget...anything
Answering the door when its the jehovah's wittiness's.
Drag slicks in a winter blizzard are not a good idea.
Uttering them famous words....I can make that cheaper that what they want for it.
Didn't happen to me, but to a guy at work here..Running into your boss on the lake fishing.....after you called in sick.

List kinda goes on forever, learning by exprience seems to make for a lot of mistakes sometimes.

Al

[Dan Kerns]

Spend the required amount of time doing it right, or you will spend an inordinate amount of time doing it over.

[Dan Kerns]

- Didn't have a router table, workshop, or workbench. Needed a router table.
- Sit on bathroom floor, turn router upside down, hold between feet.
- Use it as a "mini" router table.

-- still have my fingers and toes. won't try that again.


Hope you still have all your other body parts as well !

[Gary Keedwell]

Garyhttp://www.grouchyoldcripple.com/archives/mot10.gif

[Larry Browning]

Me thinks you guys are describing the easy way to learn something.
The hard way usually involves months and month of study, lots of questions and thinking, and then never being sure if you have come up with the correct answer.
The lessons being described here seemed to all be learned instantly, no questioned asked, with no doubt about it. I'd say these lessons were real easily learned.


Just a thought:)

[Larry Browning]

Garyhttp://www.grouchyoldcripple.com/archives/mot10.gif

"They are usually wrong" I'd have to say this guy was 100% right, I find no flaw in his logic! Not very useful, but he is right. Maybe the question was simply misleading.

[Hank Knight]

So what is one thing that you learned the hard way?


I'm with Cliff: Just about everything I know. :o

[Bill Wyko]

When racing up a sand dune at 76 mph on a Banshee don't look over to see if you beat the guy next to you. Over the bars at 76 clocked is bad, really, really bad. Dislocated shoulder, 2 broken ribs, cracked sternum, buldging disc in my neck and a collapsed lung. 10k emergency room bill. I had just gotten insurance 2 weeks before:o I beat him though.:eek: :(

P.S. Sold the bike and bought my lumber hauler

[James Carmichael]

Just about everything.

Goes with having a hard head:rolleyes:

[Bill Wyko]

Actually you have a point. I'm having a difficult time thinkin of something I learned the easy way.:confused: It's like the old story about the kid that looks at the old man and says" It must be difficult for you old man in this world of computers and cell phones" The old man turns and says to the kid" yea, when we were kids we didn't have any of that stuff so you know what we did....we invented the computers and cell phones. Soo now what are you gonna do for the next generation you little @#$%":D We may have learned the hard way, but at least we learned.:eek:

[Skyp Nelson]

I learned that to release a new router collet, you need to turn the nut pass the first "loosened" stage to after it binds then loosens again. It ruined a $20 bit trying to free it:mad:, In my defense, the nest newest router I own is > 15 years old:D

[John Shuk]

Don't crosscut pieces of branches on a bandsaw.

[Bryan Rocker]

I could spend all day adding to this list.....

1. The wings on an A-10 with frost on them are slick...once you start to slide the ground will be the place you will stop.
2. Don't do anything other than cut when using a chainsaw with a freshly sharpened blade. Cutting through a 2-3' log, pulled the saw out to see if I could kick it free. It only takes a split second for that chain to cut your knee open....27 stitches later.
3. Always measure, measure measure especially before you do the final glue up. I have one kitchen cabinet that is now 1/2" deeper than the rest.....
4. One must wear safety glasses when swinging a sledge hammer to break up concrete
5. A router bill will cut through steel screws that you forgot you put in from the other side....cost me a good 3/4" slot bit
6. One must unhook the -60 from an F-4 before it taxies...This was a German jet...The -60 bounced a bit once the hose tightened...The -60 was still runnign at the time....
7. A broken allen wrench can pierce a finger just as fast as a needle.
8. Playing ultimate Frisbee on early morning grass without cleets will lead to blown knees.....

A million other stuff but the bottom line is there is you must be safe. I have had soo many close calls. Just the other day we had a group of rangers come to our HFH job site to volunteer. They did an awesome job but we almost had a serious accident. One of the rangers was swinging a double headed axe and he almost hit another ranger who was sitting next to him......

Oh did I mention measure and keep measuring.....


Bryan

[Gary Keedwell]

I learned that to release a new router collet, you need to turn the nut pass the first "loosened" stage to after it binds then loosens again. It ruined a $20 bit trying to free it:mad:, In my defense, the nest newest router I own is > 15 years old:D
Just curious....Does the manual mention how to remove bits.:)
Gary

[Bryan Rocker]

LOML reminded me of one extremely important lesson.

Once an 30' elm starts to fall, you, LOML and the kids have no ability to change its direction even when holding on to a long rope attached to the top part of the tree.

My misfortune occurred when I got the bright idea I could lay a ugly looking elm tree down and miss my house. I had it all figured right, rope on the tree, the notch the right way what I failed to take into consideration was the weight of the lopsided branches at the top. Once it started to go the dam tree went to the side by almost 90 degrees. It snatched my main electrical service right off the house.....Luckily the electric company folks got a chuckle out of my misfortune LOL!

[Ed Beers]

Don't put a hardwood floor in the kitchen no matter how convincing your wife is.

I hope John K doesn't learn this same lesson :(

[Stan Smith]

For me, it's just about everything. You can see in my signature that it's "project salvager" and not project builder.

I still have all of my fingers, PTL. I guess the worst one was when I didn't make sure that the arbor stop on my router was released before I turned the router on. That burned out the motor real quick. We all do dumb things. Haste makes waste. Oh yeah, did I mention to pay attention to what you are doing? I mean very close attention, folks.

[Bill Bryant]

1. Always check for mouse nests before using a partner and two oxy-acetylene torches to unsolder the bottom crook of a sousaphone to take out a dent.

2. Always check to make sure it isn't a police car with an open window before jumping up out of your hideout in a weedpatch to throw a mud ball at the next car that comes by because your best friend in 4th grade tells you you're a "weenie" if you don't.

3. Always warn your wife about the cast iron water shutoff in the middle of the front yard if you're sick in bed with the flu and she decides to mow the grass really low this time with the brand new John Deere mower so you can rest another couple of weeks before having to worry about stuff outside.

4. Never come home late at night and park your new truck behind your sixteen year old daughter's jeep the week after she gets her license.

5. Never keep sword fighting with your brother after his sword breaks and he repairs it with a large nail.

[Bill Bryant]

6. Always check for hornet nests before trimming a hedge with an electric trimmer.

7. Never under any circumstances touch the trigger of a twelve-gauge shotgun while hanging out in the the basement of your high school buddy's upscale mansion.

8. Never do science experiments with fire and purple liquid in the formal dining room of the same upscale mansion.

[Bill Bryant]

9. Never give a cat a bath while wearing short pants.

10. Never put your cat's litter box and your table saw in the same room.

[Per Swenson]

!. Really nice guys....go broke.



Per

[John Schreiber]

6. One must unhook the -60 from an F-4 before it taxies...This was a German jet...The -60 bounced a bit once the hose tightened...The -60 was still runnign at the time....
What's a -60, A ground power unit?

[Jerry Thompson]

I had a man tell me of "Ferguson's Law."



MURPHEY WAS AN OPTIMIST


I think of this many times before I start doing things.
Jerry

[Stan Smith]

9. Never give a cat a bath while wearing short pants.

10. Never put your cat's litter box and your table saw in the same room.

Hey Bill. Looks like we both have the same alternate interest-- TH & wwing. Lucky for me I chose just to mention the wwing stuff. I try not to think of the other stuff because it scares me.:eek:

Stan

[Bryan Berguson]

That it is more fun to look at catologues when you no longer have a mortgage.:)

Gary

3.5 years for me! :) I'm going to remember this post!!!:D

Bryan

[Bryan Berguson]

Me thinks you guys are describing the easy way to learn something.
The hard way usually involves months and month of study, lots of questions and thinking, and then never being sure if you have come up with the correct answer.
The lessons being described here seemed to all be learned instantly, no questioned asked, with no doubt about it. I'd say these lessons were real easily learned.


Just a thought:)


Excellant! Have you ever told a computer user with a problem that they were having an ID 10 T error? :)

Bryan

[Al Willits]

Latest learner was don't ever cut a 10" dia x 1.5" thick white oak disc down to .75" thick with a band saw and your hands.

That would be a two knuckle band aid'r in my case..

Al

[mike thomas01]

Never wrestle with a pig. You just get dirty...but the pig likes it!

[Gary Keedwell]

Never wrestle with a pig. You just get dirty...but the pig likes it!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v196/evsac/Video/ranchwelcome.gifI think you'll remember your first post, huh?;)


Gary