Just realized my old boss was right about something I hated

I was at a job in Portland last week, talking with the homeowner while we framed out his garage. He asked why I was using a 16 ounce hammer instead of something lighter. I told him it's just what I've always used, and he said, 'My first foreman told me the extra weight teaches your arm to do the work, not your wrist. You'll swing less and hit harder.' That hit different because my old boss, Frank, said the exact same thing to me 10 years ago when I started, and I thought he was just being a hardhead. I used a 22 ounce Estwing for a year because he made me, then switched back the second I could. Now I'm thinking maybe he had a point I was too young to get. Has anyone else had an old piece of advice finally make sense years later?

3 comments

3 Comments

verawhite1mo agoMost Upvoted

Right? "Makes you wonder what else he was right about" is so true. I had a teacher who drilled this weird note-taking method into us and I hated it, but now I catch myself using it all the time. It's wild when that lightbulb goes off years later, huh?

joseph_ellis851mo ago

Wait, you used a 22 ounce hammer for a whole year? That's a brick on a stick. My arm hurts just thinking about it. Frank wasn't playing around. Makes you wonder what else he was right about.

jordan1081mo ago

Yeah Frank was nuts but honestly you get used to it. Your swing gets way more efficient with that weight.