Shoutout to the apprentice who thought a 4-pound sledge was a chisel

Last Tuesday we were breaking out a firebox on a old Babcock boiler over in Gary. This green kid, maybe 3 months in, grabs my chisel bar and starts pounding on it with a 4-pounder like he's driving a railroad spike. Thing is, he was using the chisel part on a stud that was already loose. I watched him go at it for a good 5 minutes before I walked over and just tapped the stud with my hand. It fell right out. He turned beet red and said 'I thought you had to hit it hard.' We all had a good laugh at lunch. Anyone else have a rookie moment that made the whole crew just stop and stare?

3 comments

3 Comments

emery_young132mo ago

My first week I spent 20 minutes trying to turn a pipe wrench the wrong way.

miam751mo ago

Honestly, are we really acting like a few seconds with a wrench is some life crisis now? @emery_young13 I've done way dumber stuff in my own garage and didn't need to turn it into a whole thing. It's a tool, you figure it out, you move on. Not exactly a major setback unless you're trying to break a world record for wasted time. People act like every little mistake is a huge deal when it's just part of learning the basics.

caleb2622mo ago

Used to think Lefty Loosey was universal until that same mistake humbled me.