I’m reminded of a story about someone calling 911 during a power outage as they couldn’t open their garage door. This prompted me to ask my wife if she knew what to do if I wasn’t around. She wasn’t sure; but did mention noticing the red cord hanging down. And I had showed her, years ago, how to shut the water off; but thought I’d ask again after the fiasco above. She said she wasn’t sure…so a refresher drill. Same deal with my oldest daughter in her house “You know how to shut the water off?”
Staying just slightly off the rails........I got a call one day last year from the Manager of a Quarry I work for on contract. He asked me to go around to his house and meet his wife - she was having trouble turning off their burglar alarm. Since I was only 5 minutes away I went immediately. I arrived to find that she had managed to open the alarm box, cut ALL the cables going to the panel inside, removed the motherboard and tripped the power circuit breaker......alarm still blaring out. I got on my ladder outside thinking there was a battery backup in the siren box - NO. Checked inside in case the internal siren was battery backed....still blaring out. I walked downstairs, and found a battery powered smoke alarm was going off. When I told the wife what I found, she put her hand over her mouth and just asked me "What have I done?"
I replied....probably about $1,000
The husband laughed when I told him the story.....a few days later I replaced their alarm system.....and installed better smoke alarms.
Now back on track. My two sons have shown little interest in working with tools so far. I am going to start teaching my elder boy (19) some basics starting tomorrow. Unfortunately I am one of those guys who is a bit possessive over doing work around the house. I know that if I do the job, the standard will be high. If a novice family member helps...I'll end up doing twice as much work in the end. It's funny how fast people disappear when there is sanding and digging to be done....but everyone wants to throw some paint on the wall.
I grew up learning about cars young...my Grandfather taught me how to do basic car work starting around age 8. He showed me how to use his treadle lathe around that time, and I got quite good at making things like egg cups and small ornamental posts. My father got me doing some arc welding at age 17...and that was easier than I thought it would be. My apprenticeship threw me into learning about tools and machinery real fast. Too fast in one instance.
I have a very healthy respect for drill presses now.....and bench grinders.
Because I like my tools, I tend to buy good quality items, and it really annoys me when people mis-treat my tools. They cost me a lot of money and I make my living using them.....it's a shame that other people don't have the same respect for them that I do.
That leads me to the next thing. I am always nervous about the kids using tools....but I guess I need to make them understand how useful but also how dangerous they can be. I was doing a job for a friend about 35 years ago, and his young son picked up my battery drill (loaded with a 3/16" bit) and pointed it at me like a gun behind my back. Then he pulled the trigger. He was so close that the drill bit grabbed my sweat shirt and wound it up really fast. Too fast for me to spin around and grab it. He could have drilled a hole in my spine. Luckily all that happened was I had a hole in my sweatshirt forever, and got a bruised *** from the smack his father gave him.
My wife was taught by her father how to do basic service work on cars before she was allowed to get her driver's licence. She can change oil, tyres, check the battery and water etc....and pump gas all by herself. These days kids are not really that bothered about cars. Even worse now because of all these Lock-downs, people are restricted in their movements for long periods of time, and they forget that you can get out and about if you have the ability.
I suppose the good thing about home renovations is that if the family want stuff done, they are going to have to learn to help....otherwise the job is going to take forever.
