Hands up who knows someone who owns any of the following but they don't know how to use it, or when they do use it the results are more often than not less than they hoped for:
Dude . . . you didn't always know how to use that stuff. In your post you dog on people for doing things improperly and for hiring the job out. Um . . . is there another option I'm not aware of? What do you suggest? Everyone just read books until they have absorbed enough info that they automatically become master craftsmen? People learn by doing. When I bought a soldering iron, a digital multimeter, a router . . . I didn't have the first idea how to use them, and my early results were not great, but now I do pretty decent work with them (actually I still don't know what 90% of the stuff on the multimeter means, I just check voltages and tone things out with it). For the average person the calipers are going to be used like once or twice per year. It would be crazy for that person to learn how to read dials/scales when digital calipers are so inexpensive and will more than suffice for the light work these people typically do. And each of their mistakes moves them one step closer to doing it right the next time. 
It sounds like you are a professional, or have at least had a lot of professional training. It makes no sense to expect the same level of expertise out of the average person.
You missed my point Shmokes.
You are spot on when you say I didn't always know how to do stuff. I learn new skills all the time. This year I have learned how to cut paving slabs to lay a patio and thanks to Epyx and a whole bunch of research I now know how to apply laminate and have done so very successfully on my own cab. In the past I learned to weld at night school to restore a classic car and had to learn to progress past the bird poop stage, I learned who to use a spray gun using books and trial and plenty of error, I learned how to plaster from books and a DVD then plastered my whole house because I couldn't afford to pay someone to do it. I fitted my own kitchen and had to learn basic plumbing to do so (that's why I mentioned the spirals on the copper pipe; been there done that.
Like I tell my kids all the time, I don't care if they come last, as long as they are trying their best. There's a lot of truth in the old saying 'If a jobs worth doing, it's worth doing right' I can appreciate the effort people put into their cabs, even if the end result is a pile of meadow muffin. Seeing people bodge along with a 'yeah, that'll do' attitude makes me wonder why they bother.
I'm not a pro, I am an IT professional who pushes buttons all day.
The
other option I am referring to is what a lot of the people on this forum do already, i.e. learn how to use (and look after) their tools. I include you in that statement. I've seen the quality of the work you did on your pedal cluster. I've had it bookmarked for over six months because I had been doing some research for building a driving cab. It was the woodwork at the back of your pedal cluster that gave me the idea to paint the wood in my own cab black. From your own work you don't strike me as the type of person I was referring to in my reply. You appear to already pay attention to detail and
have bothered to learn how to
DIYI was just saying that a
some people don't bother learning how to do things any more. If I buy a new power tool, a quick read of the manual doesn't do any harm does it? If I notice a new button / setting / whatever that I don't know what it does, it's there for a reason, so I find out what it's for and if needs be, have a practice on some scrap so that I can get the most out of my new tool.
I think perhaps my disappointment is only with a relatively small percentage of the folks on this forum, but in the populous at large, the percentage is higher.
There is/was a particular thread in the project section (I won't be more specific) that I honestly thought must have been a wind up. I have seen some very sharp comments on this forum, people generally say what they feel, (which is a good thing I think). I followed the particular thread I am referring to for a few weeks in amazement as the individual churned out some horrendous work and everyone watched and cheered him on as he continually bragged about how terrible his workmanship was and worse still how incredibly stupid/dangerous his use of power tools was. The end result is so bad, that I would even put it out with the trash in case my neighbors saw it, yet other projects on here, that may not set the world on fire because they don't have 700 spinning LEDs, 2 miles of El-Wire and a built in beer fridge but DO show attention to detail and fine craftsmanship get unwarranted digs/criticism, often from people who have never built their own cab, just criticize others. I was reading that particular thread before replying to this one, so it's probably grossly unfair to SavannahLion that I climbed up on my soapbox when all he wanted was advice on some calipers.
Learning how to use a set of verniers takes, what? 3 minutes? If I didn't already know how to use them, I figure I have, say, 40 years left on the planet. 3 minutes to learn how to use them is time well invested.
I'm not expecting any level of expertise from anyone. I was merely observing that there is a growing reluctance to learn useful, transferable DIY skills.
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Topic: Calipers (Read 3472 times)
