Whats the worst thing youve ever done as an apprentice?

[grimysparks80]

Everyones done something stupid as an apprentice. (or at least thats what i like to tell myself.)

My worst mistake was in my first week with a new electrician at the company. I was with him to show him the ropes. was a really nice guy and even joked about how he was my apprentice for the week.
We went to skegness to wire a heating system. The plumbers couldnt get it finished that day and we couldnt commision so we arranged to go back the following day to finish off.
In the meantime i wired the immersion so the customer would have hot water that night.
all good so far and the new sparky was real pleased about an early finish.
We had just pulled up outside my house to drop me off when the phone goes.
Plumber cant get the immersion working.
He looked at me and said any idea whats wrong.
I said "oh no" and pulled the 15A rewireable fuse out of my pocket, where id put it so no one could turn it on while i was working on it.
The electrician was not very happy anymore and we drove the forty miles back to skeg in an uncomfortable silence.
I dont think he ever really forgave me for that.

 

[Guest111]

was up a scissor lift a few years back lamping up the new fittings,had a big box of tubes and after fitting each tube threw the cardboard sleeve over the side and lad on ground got rid,all was going well until I got distracted and ended up throwing about 4 tubes over the side before I realised what I was doing.

 

[Tonkatoy27]

I was crawling through a very tight loft once with 3/4 of a roll of 1mm, the roll fell off one of the joists and dropped all of 3" where it promptly dissapeared through the fiberboard ceiling. It was the first time I'd seen it and was amazed you could poke you finger through it if you tried.
I think there is a lot hatch in that position now.......

 

[malcolmsanford]

We had a job in the admin office of the pit to fit a new false ceiling and then new 60x60 4 lamps fittings. So start Friday and finish by Sunday night for cleaners. Though a big office the immortal words of "job-and-knock" was used and away we go.

Foreman arranges the Admin staff to have an early night on Friday and at 4pm off we go. Old ceiling down, all old lights down, new PVC conduit been run and wired and it's about 4am Saturday morning.

In come the false ceiling contractors and we lend an hand and ceiling finished Saturday Evening. Now just a matter of lights in and down the pub for the last one, Sunday off being paid double bubble luvvly jubbly

Was given task of bringing down any rubbish. The office was an old storehouse and so had high ceilings, hence why false one wanted, so there was open girders above it and loads of space. I was told go up and bring down any rubbish and unused material while the lads finished off.

So with an arm full of half used single cable drums, pockets of saddles, screw boxes , box lids I'm crawling along this beam.....and yes slip, down I crash through the ceiling bringing down about 10ft x 6ft of ceiling, and of course a light that then proceeded to short and take out not only the local MCB but the main one that was locked away.

So there I'am laying on this desk total darkness, total quiet and all I hear is "If that **** is not dead he soon will be"

So calls to the deputy Engineer for Key to main switch room, calls to the Ceiling contractor to come back to repair ceiling, and we finally finished about mid afternoon.............................. needless to say I was not too popular

 

[Des 56]

Malcolm,after that fall ,it must have been very important that your legs still worked

 

[malcolmsanford]

Yes mate there was a lad there that I think use to bend 6" nails who was highly unimpressed ,so I kept well away from him for about 5 months.

 

[Plonker 3]

Was working installing some lights with a sub-contractor who was on price for the job and I was given to him to help him out. Anyway a couple of hours later all done, just got to nail the floor boards down, now as I am being rushed as the bloke I am working with wants to get home.

Just putting tools on the van and about to leave when the home owner comes out and says there is water leaking from one of the lights. So go back in had have a look and sure enough there is.

So start taking floor boards back up and woosh. Yes i had put a nail right through a water pipe. Took about an hour for the plumber to turn up and fix the leak. Then another hour to wait for the light fitting to dry and be put back up.

Needless to say I wasn't the most popular person that day.

 

[Inteificio]

Mine is a bit different.

One of my colleagues was wiring up a piece of equipment and he got a fan back to front.
A passing director picked up on this and reprimanded him.

I pointed out that the fan was not going to have a positive effect whichever way it was wired and should not be in the design.

Turns out this director was the one who asked for it to be put in.....

It is not like I made him look stupid in front of colleagues....

Ah ****,

 

[AdieB]

was clipping a large SWA cable with cleats and screws. I was using my new yankie screwdriver which used to have a sprung type spindle so all you had to do was push and it would turn and screw in the screw. That is until it slips out the slot of the screw and springs out and smashes through the window we were clipping by.

 

[Silly Sausage]

In my early days as an Inst Tech at a certain NW Chemical plant, I'm calibrating a pH probe, need to inform the process controller so he can manually over ride it to keep his chemicals in order, I forget to tell him. Readings all over the show. Go to get my cal sheet signed, needless to say he's extremely P!$$ed off, took him hours to stablise his process!

Lesson learnt!

 

[Kamikaze]

As an apprentice I was on Chelsea harbour in London when the electrician in charge died of a heart attack. None of us apprentices had ever seen a dead person before or knew what to do with one so we decided to load him into the back of the van and drive him 185 miles back to the yard. None of us had a driving licence! We didn't half get a lot of grief over that. I cringe every time I think about it.

 

[ultinator]

Was in a loft above bedroom being redecorated at that point in time....not much space and getting cramp, saw piece of chipboard, which I placed between the joists to sit on, wiring up a ceiling fan, chipboard snapped in half after a minute or so when I re-positioned myself. Needless to say I heard a 'what the **** are you doing up there?!' I pulled some rockwool away only to see an angrily irate painter looking at me through an arse shaped hole in his lovely painted ceiling and dust everywhere. oops, luckily it was laughed off and forgotten about.....eventually

 

[YoungBart]

Luckily I've not managed anything too bad during my 3 years (So Far) I guess the worst was when I said to my supervisor 'Am I ok to wire that cabin ?' he said yes and off I want, Got it wired, Only for one of the office staff to come out and say it was meant to be another electrical firm wiring it. It was a breakdown of communication, Not my fault, Well thats what I told the gaffer anyway

 

[Parker07]

I think the worst thing i did was plug an extention lead in when my supervisor was terminating the other end, i thought he said "plug it in" but he says he said "dont plug it in", needless to say he wasnt very happy with me

 

[plugsandsparks]

I started a bit early in life and was messing about with a motor at home. I was about 13 at the time. I had jammed in some wires into my bedroom socket and didn't have anything to hold the wires onto the motor so held them on with my fingers. One hand on live and one hand on neutral actually pressing the bare copper onto the lugs with my fingers. I can tell you it hurt a bit and had to use my foot to get myself out of the predictament.

Oh and yes i have fallen for the charged up cap in the pocket routine, hey ho - those were the days.

 

[Knobhead]

I was a perfect apprentice……. HeHe…….. NOT!

I don’t even know where to start.

Tripping all three 11KV incomers to the works was the worst of them, it was an accident. Honest!
Even the works manager was trying to keep a straight face as he gave me a b*ll*cking.

Setting fire to the motor test bed must come second.