The day I learned to respect the word 'level' from a retired plumber.

I was trying to put up a simple shelf in my kitchen in Portland, and it looked fine to me. My neighbor Frank, who used to be a plumber, came over to borrow a wrench. He just looked at it, sighed, and said, 'Son, your eyes lie. The bubble doesn't.' He pulled a 4-foot level from his truck, and sure enough, I was off by almost a full inch over that length. I had to take the whole thing down and start over. Anyone else have a simple tool they refused to use until it bit them?

3 comments

3 Comments

leo2383mo ago

Yeah, a torque wrench taught me that lesson.

nancys903mo ago

Torque wrenches just give a false sense of security. I've seen more bolts stripped by people who trusted the click than by someone with a regular wrench and a feel for it.

the_vera1mo ago

Ugh, tell me about it. I had a buddy who snapped a bolt clean off on his Jeep's control arm because he kept cranking past the click trying to "feel" the torque. The click is just a suggestion, you know? If the threads are dirty or dry, that number means nothing. I'd rather use a beam style wrench where you can actually see the needle moving, not just trust a plastic clicker.