I guess I better explain the true statement, "Vices are illegal at construction sites." This is based on several observations:
1] There are occasions when it would be very convenient to have a vice on a construction site, for instance holding small parts or sections of conduit while being hacksawed.
2] The American electrician is the smartest of all trades and will go to great intellectual extremes to jerry-rig something that works. Such inventiveness would soon naturally lead to the invention of a couple of large chunks of metal squeezed together by means of a helical device [to paraphrase the Code] for which to stabilize a piece of all-thread whilst hacking it apart with a SawZall.
3] However vises have never been seen on a job site* so I must assume they must be illegal. Otherwise we would have them available.
~Peter
* There is on exception that I know of. We were working in a school, the second most famous high school in the United Staes, and Stu was struggling to use a PortaBand saw to sever of piece of round EMT. This room happened to be a shop classroom and there were a dozen workbenches and each one had two luscious, big blue Wilton vises. I showed him how to clamp the conduit in a vise and then he could use both hands on the saw to make a good controlled cut.
As for the meter. It is fine for a jouneyman making megabucks to suggest to a first day apprentice that he get the most expensive brand of meter possible. But beginners usually are not loaded with cash. I suggested a non-contact voltage tester for safety and the cheapo meter will serve for the time being but will not be as impressive. To make you feel better, I suggest he paint it yellow.
OK. Now that is settled and we have an idea of what he is involved in, let's give him some more enlightened advice.
[This message has been edited by Peter (edited 10-08-2004).]
