What do you wish all apprentices knew on their first day.

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peter d

Senior Member
Location
New England
LOL

I laugh as I still use a hacksaw while 99.9999% of the under 30 years olds I work with seem to need s cordless sawzal for even the smallest tasks.

Your boy Dennis laughed at me once for using a hacksaw while he had the cordless sawzall. :p
 

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
Your boy Dennis laughed at me once for using a hacksaw while he had the cordless sawzall. :p


It can't be me because I don't own a cordless sawzall. It depends on what we are cutting. For mc, conduit and etc I use a hack saw all the time. I use a corded sawzall for cutting receptacle holes in siding and cabinets-- that always scares the carpenters...:lol:

I have had to use a hack saw to cut a 2x4 because I didn't have my saw or sawzall with me. That sucked.:D
 

K8MHZ

Senior Member
Location
Michigan. It's a beautiful peninsula, I've looked
Occupation
Electrician
It can't be me because I don't own a cordless sawzall. It depends on what we are cutting. For mc, conduit and etc I use a hack saw all the time. I use a corded sawzall for cutting receptacle holes in siding and cabinets-- that always scares the carpenters...:lol:

I have had to use a hack saw to cut a 2x4 because I didn't have my saw or sawzall with me. That sucked.:D

That's better than having to cut EMT with a wood saw. :D

I have cut more than one 2x4 with a hacksaw in my lifetime. Yeah, it sucks, but it usually sucks less than to have to hunt down a sharp wood saw to make one or two cuts.
 

peter d

Senior Member
Location
New England
It can't be me because I don't own a cordless sawzall. It depends on what we are cutting. For mc, conduit and etc I use a hack saw all the time. I use a corded sawzall for cutting receptacle holes in siding and cabinets-- that always scares the carpenters...:lol:

I have had to use a hack saw to cut a 2x4 because I didn't have my saw or sawzall with me. That sucked.:D


Yeah it was a totally different Dennis. :lol:

And you really should invest in a multi-tool. ;)
 

jaylectricity

Senior Member
Location
Massachusetts
Occupation
licensed journeyman electrician
Yeah it was a totally different Dennis. :lol:

And you really should invest in a multi-tool. ;)

Multi-tool is my new favorite. I used the carpenter's a couple times after my cordless rotozip battery started lasting about 2 minutes before dying. I finally bought one that uses the same batteries as my cordless drills. I use it all the time now. A little timid at first when cutting into cabinets for island receptacles, but now that I have the hang of it it doesn't bother me one bit.
 

rlundsrud

Senior Member
Location
chicago, il, USA
I think for a new kid, you should stress the importance of being on time every day. And they should understand what it means when we say your either early or your late. I detest it when workers try to show up within a few minutes if the starting time. I call them minutemen, and they are usually late once or twice a week. You should arrive at least 15 minutes before the start time and be at the gang box and ready to work 5-10 minutes before the start time.

My apologies for my little diatribe, I feel better now.
 

rt66electric

Senior Member
Location
Oklahoma
earlybirds get the gravy jobs

earlybirds get the gravy jobs

A job foreman would give out daily tasks based on the arrival of work..

the earlybirds got the gravy jobs, and the minute-men got the leftovers
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
You should arrive at least 15 minutes before the start time and be at the gang box and ready to work 5-10 minutes before the start time.

No way, if they want me to start 5 to 10 minutes early they need to pay me for that.

Opening their gang box, pulling out their tools, collecting stock to do their work is all on their time not mine.
 

ActionDave

Chief Moderator
Staff member
Location
Durango, CO, 10 h 20 min from the winged horses.
Occupation
Licensed Electrician
I think for a new kid, you should stress the importance of being on time every day. And they should understand what it means when we say your either early or your late. I detest it when workers try to show up within a few minutes if the starting time. I call them minutemen, and they are usually late once or twice a week. You should arrive at least 15 minutes before the start time and be at the gang box and ready to work 5-10 minutes before the start time.

My apologies for my little diatribe, I feel better now.
As long as you don't mind me rolling up 15 minutes before quitting time then that's fine.
 

GoldDigger

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Placerville, CA, USA
Occupation
Retired PV System Designer
A friend of mine who worked for a major auto maker in Detroit was warned that he would be docked pay if he continued to show up for work early. The system could not handle it.
Federal regulators would not allow him to be present without clocking in.
 

jaylectricity

Senior Member
Location
Massachusetts
Occupation
licensed journeyman electrician
I think for a new kid, you should stress the importance of being on time every day. And they should understand what it means when we say your either early or your late. I detest it when workers try to show up within a few minutes if the starting time. I call them minutemen, and they are usually late once or twice a week. You should arrive at least 15 minutes before the start time and be at the gang box and ready to work 5-10 minutes before the start time.

My apologies for my little diatribe, I feel better now.

Yeah, no, sorry. I'll be there when you start paying me. That's how it works. Anything else is slavery.

It sounds like your issue is guys who show up right on time but not completely ready to work. Maybe you need fifteen minutes to realize that you're at work and you have stuff to do. Not everybody needs that. If you want to pay a guy to be there fifteen minutes early so he can shake the cobwebs off, that's your prerogative. Or you could just insist your employees are ready to go when it's time to work.

And good luck with that.
 
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