Talked with a guy at the lumber yard about his old nail gun

I was picking up some underlayment yesterday and got chatting with an older installer, maybe in his 60s. He was buying parts for his 30-year-old pneumatic nailer, said he'd never switch to cordless. He told me, 'You learn the rhythm of a tool, and it becomes part of your hand.' It made me think about how I just grab whatever new tool is on the truck. Anyone else stick with an old piece of gear just because it feels right?

2 comments

2 Comments

piper_green17d ago

My grandpa had this old metal gas can he refused to replace, even when the new plastic ones were safer. He said the weight of it told him how much was left just by lifting it. I get what that installer means, it's like your brain connects with the tool after a while. New stuff is cool but it doesn't have that memory built in, you know? I still use his old hammer sometimes just because the handle feels like it knows what to do.

noahs8217d ago

But what about when that old tool gets you hurt? My uncle kept using a cracked hammer handle cause it "felt right" until it snapped and sent a nail into his leg. Sometimes the memory in the handle is just wear and tear waiting to fail.