First job for someone

[mmcmdl]

He's outside mowing and gave me a thumbs up

As a strength test , have him cut YOUR grass , and make sure he brings a 5 pack of your favorite beverage !

Nice fix Dave .

 

[mmcmdl]

This reminds me of a funny story that happened with one of my ex-coworkers but I have to head out the door , to be continued .

 

[HarryJM]

In a nutshell that's what this is all about.

 

[SLK001]

This morning I was outside and my neighbour came over and asked if I had a tap and die set.
I asked if he needed metric or imperial...

Some advice... NEVER loan out your tools. If it must be done, let them give it to you and you do it. A shlug that will brute force a cross threaded bolt, will also break every tap in your set - then blame YOU for buying a crappy set (and also will not replace what he broke). Now this might sound mean and un-neighborly, but it is hard won advice.

 

[Tozguy]

Lending stuff to friends and relatives never worked out well for me either. Even if it was to someone who knew how to use it I would usually have to ask for it back or run after them to get it back. Now when someone wants to borrow a tool they get me with it.
Good job David, you done us proud.
The sheared bolt might not have been the original which got lost somehow???

 

[BGHansen]

+1 on the not loaning stuff out (naturally depends on the relationship). I have a buddy who has a pretty good system. He has a hardware store in downtown Chicago. "Oh, you want to borrow my XXXX. Well, it's near and dear to me and I rent it out for profit, so I need something that's near and dear to you in exchange." If they don't offer up something in exchange, their intentions are not honorable. I'm sure we could fill a thread with examples of stuff going out and not coming back or needing repair. On the plus side for me, I'd loan ANYTHING to my sister's husband. I'd guarantee it'd come back in better shape than original. Like when he borrowed my chainsaw and gave it back with a new chain in the package (plus one on the saw). The running family joke is I keep trying to get him to borrow stuff so I don't have to fix it.

Bruce

 

[projectnut]

Long ago I learned lending and borrowing can be costly. I've had occasions where I've loaned out expensive tools only to have the borrower completely "forget" they had done so. Back in the days when I would still do it I had them sign a card stating what they had borrowed and the date. It wasn't too popular, but it did save me considerable money in the long run.

After a few years it came to me that the people borrowing tools had the same or similar jobs with similar paychecks. They chose to spend their money elsewhere and thought nothing of "borrowing" tools. In time I just quit lending things out. It was easier all around. I didn't have to hound people to return things. There are a few exceptions to the rule. Those exceptions are people I would not only trust with my tools, I would also trust them with my life.

The few times in my younger years when I did borrow a tool it didn't work out well either. In almost every case the tool broke. Then I had to replace it, and buy another for myself for future use. Had I bought the tool in the first place it would have cost half the money.

 

[DavidR8]

Yes, Polonius said it well, neither a borrower nor a lender be. Of course that was about money but nonetheless...

 

[C-Bag]

Beginners Luck!​

I'd say you took the right approach, perhaps depending a little too much on the Mk.1 eyeball. You were fortunate that the bolt was a low grade and came right out. I have had less success with Grade 5 and better. But it did work and that's what counts. Made your start as the neighborhood "fix it" man.

.

I was careful to not be the first guy to point out how truly lucky David was. If it was me I'd guarantee that bolt was so in there that after breaking one of my precious left hand drill bits, then buggering my 3 different style easy outs I would have ended up with a wallowed out hole I'd have to do some other all day sucker of a fix on it.

I have my HF grade lender tools and there's only two guys in my area I'll lend my pro grade tools to. The rest I think see my SnapOn and Mac "Please Don't Ask to Borrow Tools" all over my box. I had to do that because I came back from my lunch when I worked in Yosemite and here's this tourist working on his bike with my tools everywhere. When I got upset he told me to chill because they were the shop's tools and didn't believe me when I said they were mine and the shop doesn't supply them. I pulled out my payment slips to SnapOn and he didn't believe me when showed him there was over $15k invested in that box he was digging through like it was his.

 

[SLK001]

...I had to do that because I came back from my lunch when I worked in Yosemite and here's this tourist working on his bike with my tools everywhere. When I got upset he told me to chill because they were the shop's tools and didn't believe me when I said they were mine and the shop doesn't supply them...

If that had been me, the park would have had to close because, you see, a "bear" would have mauled and killed a tourist! The coroner would have wondered where the "bear" got a 24" break-over bar.