Fixing the wife's Jeep- wife helping...

Rastoff

Rastoff

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My wife's Jeep developed a crack in the exhaust manifold. So, I got a new one. She wanted to help put it on. This does not decrease installation time.

My wife is not tool savvy. All afternoon I heard stuff like:
Mrs. Rastoff: Hand me the sideways turny thing.
Rastoff: You mean the socket wrench?

Mrs. Rastoff: Give me the flat wrench.
Rastoff: What's a "flat" wrench? Do you want the combination wrench?

Even after I just told her what each tool was, it just went in one ear and out the other.

Rastoff: Please hand me the 14mm combination wrench.
Mrs. Rastoff: What's that? Is that the one with the turny thing?
Rastoff: No, it's the one with an open end wrench on one end and a box wrench on the other.
Mrs. Rastoff: What's a box wrench?
Rastoff: The flat, bent one.
Mrs. Rastoff: Why didn't you just ask for that in the first place??? It doesn't look like a box.


I love my wife and wouldn't trade her for anything. But, I've had to learn a whole new language. It took us about 4 hours to change that manifold. During that time, I learned a whole new set of names for my tools. I'm not going to commit that new name set to memory though, they'll just change next time.

Guys, don't try to teach your wife. She probably doesn't care enough to learn the proper names of tools anyway. Just roll with it and you'll be better off.:cool:
 
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My wife helped me with a repair job once. She knew the tools pretty well as she kept telling me they used the same ones in her operating room at work. That was more information than I wished to know about surgery.
I bought her a set of tools in a tool bag too so she'd stop using mine.
 
Heck feel lucky only thing I can get my wife to help with is finding me jobs to do. And their always two person jobs I can't do because of no help. Then I hear the "why don't you fix some of the things I ask you to fix" Can't win either way.
 
fixing jeep

Rastoff said:
My wife's Jeep developed a crack in the exhaust manifold. So, I got a new one. She wanted to help put it on. This does not decrease installation time.

My wife is not tool savvy. All afternoon I heard stuff like:
Mrs. Rastoff: Hand me the sideways turny thing.
Rastoff: You mean the socket wrench?

Mrs. Rastoff: Give me the flat wrench.
Rastoff: What's a "flat" wrench? Do you want the combination wrench?

Even after I just told her what each tool was, it just went in one ear and out the other.

Rastoff: Please hand me the 14mm combination wrench.
Mrs. Rastoff: What's that? Is that the one with the turny thing?
Rastoff: No, it's the one with an open end wrench on one end and a box wrench on the other.
Mrs. Rastoff: What's a box wrench?
Rastoff: The flat, bent one.
Mrs. Rastoff: Why didn't you just ask for that in the first place??? It doesn't look like a box.


I love my wife and wouldn't trade her for anything. But, I've had to learn a whole new language. It took us about 4 hours to change that manifold. During that time, I learned a whole new set of names for my tools. I'm not going to commit that new name set to memory though, they'll just change next time.

Guys, don't try to teach your wife. She probably doesn't care enough to learn the proper names of tools anyway. Just roll with it and you'll be better off.:cool:
Click to expand...

Very good advice!---and, never dream of offering to reorganize her kitchen to make it more efficient! If you do, you will regret it!!
olcop
 
I remodeled my sisters kitchen while she worked on the bathroom.Walked in on her using one of my $20 wood chisels to open a paint can [emoji33]You would think a 50 year old woman with a father and a brother who were contractors would know better! She got mad because I yelled lol
 
chief38 said:
LABOR RATES:

MECHANIC RATE: $50 PER HOUR

IF YOU WATCH: $100 PER HOUR

IF YOU HELP $200 PER HOUR
Click to expand...

+ If you already tried to fix it...................$300 per hour

I had a neighbor once who would get stuck on a car repair and call me over, usually I'd have to break the news that he would have to reassemble everything he had taken apart and start over, sometimes I would tell him "if you stop right now I can still fix it"

Jim in Iowa
 
It's a Quality Bonding Moment and seen on TV leads to a romantic moment afterwards using some product if you need such a item.:D

Mu Wife has her own language when we do projects. What's scary is I know what she means now!!:eek:
 
Rastoff, since you only posted this yesterday, it may still not be too late to thank the Mrs. without getting into her territory with out being asked....

Just take her out to a "fancy" place to eat, and let her know that's your way of thanking her for her helping you with your project.

Oh, too, you might offer to have her nails done at a place of her choice.:cool:

WuzzFuzz
 
Reminds me of the time my wife asked for a drill.
"Sure what kind, cordless, corded, 3/8", 1/2", hammerdrill, drill press, hand drill, reversable?"
Got her the 18 volt cordless Black and Decker.
Then she asked for a bit.
"Sure what kind, twist, spade, forstner, masonry?"
"I just want to make a hole."
I ended up doing it for her.
 
skrazo said:
Sounds like a marriage made in Heaven to me. Four hour project, no disagreements, still speaking to one another,..........Praise The Lord! :)
Click to expand...
It is a marriage made in Heaven. Honestly, I didn't think twice about the fact that the two of us were in close quarters for four hours with a slight language barrier. We both enjoyed the project ant the Jeep started right up when we were done.

WuzzFuzz said:
Just take her out to a "fancy" place to eat, and let her know that's your way of thanking her for her helping you with your project.
Click to expand...
I took her to Baskin Robins for an ice cream cone today. Does that count?;)

WuzzFuzz said:
Oh, too, you might offer to have her nails done at a place of her choice.:cool:
Click to expand...
Have her nails done? Dude, you don't know my wife. She and her sister hiked 40 miles of the Pacific Crest trail by themselves. She'd much rather have a new camp knife than to get her nails done.

Brian41 said:
I bought her a set of tools in a tool bag too so she'd stop using mine.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I tried that. A week later all her tools were missing and I still had to go find mine. After almost 18 years of marriage I've learned that tools are a perishable item. I have a few that she knows not to touch because the are irreplaceable. But regular stuff, like screwdrivers and pliers, are all fair game.

I thought of locking my tool box once. I actually locked it one day and turned around and unlocked it before I got 10' away. It's just not worth the anguish.
 
Reminds me of the old joke:

Man sends wife to HW store to buy a file. The counterman asks, "OK, what kind?"
Wife says, "I don't know. He didn't say"
Counterman says "Well, he probably just wants a flat ******* like this one."
Wife says, "Just in case, better give a couple of them round sumbitches, too."
 
Just to have some more fun, here's my wife's idea of the names of tools:

These are all pliers-
pliers.jpg

Side cutters, slip joint pliers, Channel Locks, lineman's pliers, etc. are all names that mean nothing to her. Ask for a pair of needle nose pliers and you could get any of these.

These are all hammers-
hammers.gif

Claw, rip, ball peen, mallet, rubber mallet, are once again, all foreign names to her. Ask for a hammer and you could get any of these (provided she can lift it).

Screwdriver?
Mastercraft-Maximum-15-Piece-Screwdriver-Set.jpg

Yep, you guessed it, these are all identical. Phillips #1, #2, #3, #4, flat head, slotted, Reed Prince, Square Drive, Posidrive, Torx, once again, all foreign. She does know what I want if I ask for a Phillips, but it's random which size she'll pick.


Even so, she's the best. She'd rather spend the weekend camping or go to a 4 day school at Front Sight than go see a "girlie" movie. She gets up at 4AM to make me lunch and home schools our son. You won't find a better woman anywhere and I'll fight the man to the death who says different.
 
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My wife helps. I will send her for a beer-she knows what that is :D
I'm from the school of thought that I will get my own stuff-I save the wife and kids for picking up stuff afterwards :D
 
I trained my wife and all 4 children the proper names and use of the standard tools we use for professional maintenance of rental properties. The kids got taught to help me. The wife got taught, so she could fix our home since I did it all day long. When my daughter got married, her husband had 7 rental units, she knows more about fixing them than he do!

I had employees that were 30 year experienced maintenance men, and they can't tell you the correct name for pipes or the right size. If the tool isn't sold at K-mart or Wal-mart they don't think it is made. You can imagine some of the repairs I would find. I told them my daughter was a better maintenance man than they were, they didn't believe me until I forwarded them a video text of her replacing a furnace motor while she was 4 months pregnant! Ivan
 
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