Watched a new guy safety wire a fuel line in 40 minutes, now he does it in 6
I trained a kid named Marcus at our hangar in Tulsa back in March and his first safety wire job on a fuel line took him 40 minutes with three do-overs. Last week he knocked out the same job in 6 minutes flat and the twist was tighter than mine. What changed was he stopped using the cheap pliers from the tool crib and bought his own pair, then practiced on scrap wire every lunch break for a couple weeks. I mean it was night and day once his hands just knew the motion. Any of you got a new guy who surprised you like that, or a tool upgrade that made a job finally click?
Did he ever tell you what made him finally stop fighting the wire and start working with it? I ask because everybody talks about the practice reps and the better tool, but nobody brings up the pause. In my shop the thing that sped guys up was learning to let the pliers spin free once the twist grabbed instead of clamping down harder. Sounds like Marcus found that same feel, and once your hands trust the wire to hold, you quit hesitating on every turn. Six minutes isn't fast hands, it's zero wasted motion. Bet he can't even explain what he does different now.