The day I caught myself using a screwdriver as a chisel and felt like an idiot

Been doing resi service calls for about 4 years now, and yesterday I was trying to force a stuck trim plate off with a flathead. My journeyman walked by, handed me a proper chisel, and just said 'you know that's not what that's for.' Anyone else have a tool you abused for way too long before someone called you out?

2 comments

2 Comments

william_craig76d ago

The screwdriver as a chisel thing is practically a rite of passage lol. But I gotta say, using linesmans as a hammer is actually pretty standard in this trade, even if it makes the tool guys cringe. I had a buddy who used his Knipex as a pry bar once and snapped the tip clean off, that was a rough day. The pliers as a wrench thing is rough though, I've been there and rounding off a bolt with the wrong tool is just the worst feeling. At least you learned it the hard way and won't make that mistake again, right?

smith.lee6d ago

Man I still catch myself using my linesmans as a hammer sometimes and I know better. My old man used to say 'a tool used wrong is a tool broken soon' and he was right but old habits die hard. The screwdriver as a chisel thing is so common though, I bet half the guys on site have done it at least once. What really got me was when I tried to use a pair of pliers as a wrench and totally rounded off a nut, then had to explain to my foreman why I needed a new one. We all learn the hard way I guess, but it still stings when someone calls you out in front of everyone.