So what did you learn the HARD way...

[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, In my defense, the nest newest router I own is > 15 years old

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.

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!!!

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