grant155•2d agoMost Upvoted

The old drafting table vs. the tablet on the new builds

Started back in '09 on a union crew in Gary, and we'd lay out every fitting on paper with a scale ruler before we even fired up the torch. Yesterday I watched a kid do the same spread on a tablet in about 10 minutes, but I still had to walk over and show him how to allow for the torch gap on a 2-inch schedule 80. Is anyone else finding the older guys' tricks still bail out the new tech on the job, or is it just me?

2 comments

2 Comments

angela_hart1d ago

Tech saves time but NEVER replaces torch sense.

olivia_lopez981d ago

My sister runs a bakery and she's got the same thing going on with her ovens. The new digital timers and temp probes are great, but she still taps the bread to hear if it's done, and she's the one who catches when the humidity's off and the recipe needs a tweak. It's like the tablet gives you the map, but it doesn't tell you about the pothole in the road you gotta steer around. That torch gap thing is the same kind of feel you only get from burning your hand a few times and messing up a joint or two. The best crews I know aren't picking one over the other, they're just using the tech to get to the tricky part faster so the old tricks can save the day.