Explaining trigger jobs to my dentist at a backyard gathering

I was at my neighbor's backyard gathering last Saturday when my dentist asked what I do for a living. I told him I'm a gunsmith, and his eyes lit up. He pulled out his phone to show me a picture of his old shotgun, asking if I could 'make it shoot faster' right there at the party. I had to explain that trigger work needs proper tools and a bench, not a patio table. It was funny how he thought it was like fixing a loose tooth. I ended up giving him some basic safety tips, and we laughed about it later.

3 comments

3 Comments

felix671mo ago

Seriously, that dentist story sums up how most people see skilled trades. They think it's all about the end result without the messy middle part where we actually know what we're doing. At least you got to educate him a bit before he tried something dumb with that shotgun, lmao.

the_dylan1mo ago

How often do you get people trying to skip steps after watching a two minute video? I see it with forklift jams all the time... someone thinks they can just force the pallet out and then we're looking at a broken hydraulic line. Or they'll see our tracking system and think it's just scanning boxes, not understanding all the prep work that keeps it from falling apart. Gotta show them the why behind every lockout or safety check, otherwise they just see it as slowing them down.

karen16529d ago

Did you try showing them the broken stuff from past shortcuts? I kept a box of messed up parts and made everyone look at them before training. It's a bit grim, but felix67 is onto something about making the messy middle visible so the rules make sense.