Righty-Tighty, Lefty-Loosey
The lynchpin that all other constructive skills rely upon. It’s the first requirement a site boss assumes of a day laborer, and the rule-of-thumb for sex in modern politics. You can hear today’s finest skilled craftsmen whisper it to themselves while approaching their task, but if cornered, they will deny ever using it.Measure Twice, Cut Once
A complete lie. Nobody measures twice. Sure it’s a good idea, but who has the time? Instead, use this rule to your advantage: when asked how you managed to turn the last piece of Mexican Cocobolo rosewood into scrap, explain with confidence and a stern eye that you distinctly measured twice. After everyone has finished gasping, the finger pointing will turn quickly to other scapegoats. ‘Must be that damn chop-saw blade—I’ve been meaning to get that thing trued for a while now’ or ‘Hell, I’m amazed we can get any work done around here with this awful fluorescent lighting’ or ‘I never did like Phil.’Shit Stinks and Water Flows Downhill
The plumbers union would have you believe there’s more to modern water storage and flow, but there isn’t, really. This plus lefty-loosey and your dream house is nearly finished.If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It
True, this cliché is used as frequently as ‘close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades’ or ‘good enough for government work,’ but to disagree with it would be ludicrous. For example, if you were to assume the opposite—that broken things should be fixed—you’d wind up spending your retirement gluing light bulb shards together and sewing up banana peels.Instead, when asked why the light switch doesn’t work, think about what it really means for something to be ‘broken.’ ‘Broken,’ as in ‘split along its fibrous strands,’ probably not. ‘Broken,’ as in ‘no longer does what it was supposed to,’ then really, isn’t everything a little bit broken? Just because a light switch happens to turn off the neighborhood’s power grid doesn’t mean that it’s broken, only that its function is different than originally intended. Your spouse will comprehend this instantly and deeply.
Remember, adaptation is an acquired skill in this business.
What Accuracy Can’t Make, Shims Can Fake
History and VH1 tell us the six greatest simple machines are the wheel, the lever, the pulley, the wedge, the screw, and the inclined plane (those wire-pronged head-scratchers having just missed the boat). High school students may laugh at the wedge—they may call it ‘just a triangle’ to your face—but remember, they also huff gasoline, push over old ladies, and truly believe their generation is the first to have smoked pot from an apple.If only they could recognize the delicate, pragmatic beauty inherent in the wedge then perhaps they could realize—as you do—that an invention can be simple, like a curved plank, a thin stick, even a batch of mail, anything that will fit in the gap left by somebody who didn’t measure twice.
Levels Are Only as Accurate as the Floor Below
Trying to define a solid reference point on which to build can make you dizzy. If the ground isn’t level, should the floor be level to compensate? If the floors aren’t level, should the walls be skewed to make up for it? Do you want to build a home where it’s easy to eat cereal without sliding, or one that will accentuate your vertigo?Really, it can go either way. (Go with the cereal.)
It’s All Fun and Games Until Someone Loses an Eye—Then It’s a Sport
Everyone’s giddy the first day they nailgun their shoes to the floor and do the old leaning-in-the-wind gag from Harold Lloyd movies. Spray-foam fights are good fun. So is strapping a rope from somebody’s pants to a portable sander.And though there is a good chance of physical trauma involved with these shenanigans, in all likelihood the real tragedy will be in letting these delightful events fade into obscurity.
So really go for broke and put yourself on the map of schoolyard lore alongside that kid who had a seizure in his locker. For instance, try hooking the grease gun up to the pressure washer before spraying it in your girlfriend’s hair. Or run electric power through the doorknobs while playing freeze tag, with drills. Arm wrestle on drywall stilts. Paint with sawdust.
Surely you can think of some more.
