Lessons you learn once, and only once...

[John Cavanaugh]

Well Ive been doing some HVLP paint spraying over the last two weekends. (Also a bit of resanding and repainting as well since I screwed some boards up)

I learned a lesson the hard way yesterday. I neglected to promptly clean my HVLP gun, and the paint dried inside etc. Ugh. What a nightmare to clean it. It must have taken me like 2 hrs to disassemble the gun, soak the parts in mineral spirits, oops, then learn that minereal spirits isnt really a solvent for latex paint, quick trip the borg, ahh, laquer thinner works *much* better. In the end, Im glad I now know how all the parts of my gun work, but ugh, what a pain the rear.

So my lesson learned was.

Promptly clean the HVLP gun after using or suffer the pain of cleaning dried material.


My question for the rest of the creekers, what lessons have YOU learned the hard way that you wont forget. Im hoping to avoid any more of these "learnings".

--
John Cavanaugh

[Per Swenson]

Oh yeah!

When you blow that inevitable breaker......

Unplug your tools before throwing the breaker

back on. Especially with belt or random orbital sanders.

You do not want to know.

Per

[Richard Wolf]

Oh yeah!

When you blow that inevitable breaker......

Unplug your tools before throwing the breaker

back on. Especially with belt or random orbital sanders.

You do not want to know.

Per

I always find out I left the router on!! Oh, boy.

Richard

[Jonathan Szczepanski]

My question for the rest of the creekers, what lessons have YOU learned the hard way that you wont forget. Im hoping to avoid any more of these "learnings".

--
John Cavanaugh

Today I was a pressure washing maniac. We are getting ready to have a large cookout at our house. We've borrowed some tables and chairs from people. I decided to pressure wash them all today so they would be ready for the cookout. I figured while I had the pressure washer out - and since I was already soaked - I would wash the front porch. Well the front proch is painted concrete. After squirting some cleaner on the front proch, I put the gentlest tip on the pressure washer, and had ad it. When I got to the porch itself - WOOOSH - a huge piece of paint comes flying off of the concrete, about 18" x 30".

Great. More work for me to do before the cookout. I might just put a rug over it and call it a day.

[Vaughn McMillan]

Oh yeah!

When you blow that inevitable breaker......

Unplug your tools before throwing the breaker

back on. Especially with belt or random orbital sanders.

You do not want to know.

Per

Not always a breaker...a belt sander can go airborne off the bench when plugging it in after accidentally pulling the plug out of the socket. Those suckers have some impressive acceleration! Always squeeze the trigger before plugging in the sander. DAMHIKT.

To add to the "lessons learned" aspect of this thread, always remember to unplug the 100 foot extension cord before you cut it in half to make two 50 footers. That is, unless you want to turn your Craftsman sidecuts into wire strippers.

- Vaughn

[Bruce Overholt]

I saw a spot on a cable channel one time about Power Tool races. Seems if my memory serves me correctly, they had a belt sander race...

Bruce

[John Hart]

This thread reminded me of a pressure washer problem I had this spring. Forgot to drain all the water out of it in the Fall and now, all the fittings inside (the plastic ones) are exploded because of ice expansion over the winter. Gah!!!

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Not always a breaker...a belt sander can go airborne off the bench when plugging it in after accidentally pulling the plug out of the socket. Those suckers have some impressive acceleration! Always squeeze the trigger before plugging in the sander. DAMHIKT.
- Vaughn

And that's how belt-sander racing was born....

[Christopher Stahl]

I have a pressure washer one. Last week I pressure washed the deck so I could put a stain on this week. Well, when I finished up, I shut down the motor and then turned off the water. I wanted to wrap up the hose for the wand, so I removed the quick release. BOOM, PHHHHHT!!!!!! I forgot to relieve the pressure from the wand and the brass quick release came flying and hit me on my right leg below the knee. Oh the pain!!!! I must have ran 5 laps around my back lawn.

Stupid mistake.

Still a nice bruise and very puffy.

[Jim Dannels]

And that's how belt-sander racing was born....

Like Woodshop class at Central Jr. High in about 1964.
Almost as much fun as locking Mr Baker in the Wood Storage room.
The top was open and the old guy climbed ouver the top, he was more agile than we thought.

My only did that once list, could fill a whole Funk & Wagnall set.

[Bart Leetch]

Not always a breaker...a belt sander can go airborne off the bench when plugging it in after accidentally pulling the plug out of the socket. Those suckers have some impressive acceleration! Always squeeze the trigger before plugging in the sander. DAMHIKT.

To add to the "lessons learned" aspect of this thread, always remember to unplug the 100 foot extension cord before you cut it in half to make two 50 footers. That is, unless you want to turn your Craftsman sidecuts into wire strippers.

- Vaughn

Ah yes always purchase your cords in 50' lengths because they are easier to handle than 100' lengths. Plus you don't always need a 100' length.

Also using the last loop of cord not just the end of the cord to wrap around the bundle & pull through will make a loop to hang the bundled of cord with holding it all together while hanging. The last is a little pet peeve of mine many people don't know how to wrap a cord so it will hang & not unravel & become a tangled mess.