Discussions on this board are entertaining, to say the least. When fighting for survival, the true characteristics of a beast come into play. This may be applied to the human species also. One thing I have noticed over my years of dabbling in various endeavors, both hands on work and the management and supervision of others, goes like this: The ones that make the most noise and brag of the highest skills and experience usually are the opposite. And the humble one with years of experience generally remains silent but is available for help if asked. Another aspect of this is the ones making the most noise and discounting the skills of peers usually are ignored and the old hands go out of their way to "not help" even when it is very obvious that help is needed. I have seen the old hands lay elaborate traps for the young upstarts. I worked for several years in precision heavy industrial machine shops, where a couple of thousandths mistake ruined the job. The young guys with an attitude of learning and asking for help made lots of scrap, but went on to become masters under the tuition of the old hands. The bullheaded ones soon droped out of the world of precision and drove forklifts or dumptrucks.

I learn something every day from the various boards on the net, and I would be very foolish to think I know all there is to know about gun building. I am just "cracking the book" on wood stock making and I pay attention to the words of Belk, Worthing and Atkinson.

Getting along with others and asking for help with an open mind goes very far in the world of precision machining and gun building. And being somewhat humble and level headed goes a long way in building a sound client list also, as few clients will put up with a know it all.

So, there is my philosophy lecture for this week. Fire away with your comments, but do not expect to engage me in any argumentive discussion, I will just ignor the adversity.

John Ricks, I believe that about says how you feel, in a very clear manner! After 66 yrs of liveing among the rest of humanity, and other wildlife, I have to agree completely!

John,
I have to agree with what you said in my experience. A couple gunsmiths I used to use for my guns no longer do my work because of a "know it all" attitude or inattention to quality control and details. Especially if they won't back up their work when a problem arises.
As an Electrician, contractor, and supervisor, my number one headache is dealing with apprentices or even journeymen who think they know it all but obviously need a lot of help in certain areas due to lack of experience, lousy attitude, laziness, or all three.
I usually try to be patient with these kinds of people when I encounter them on the job, but my patience definitely has a limit- especially when I am the one paying for the work.
Another thing I simply won't tolerate on a job is a safety related incident. I'm simply non-negotiable when it comes to safety on the job and several of my employees have found new employment elsewhere when they have tested my resolve.
However, when I find someone on the job who works hard and is giving 100% to get the job done, I will bend over backwards to help them understand what needs to be done- even so far as demonstrating a couple techniques that may save time, energy, materials, and energy to accomplish the same thing.
However, I have found that most of the people who make the most noise, are also the ones who are the most resistant to direction or helpful criticism- even from the boss! Just makes you want to shake your head sometimes and walk away mumbling.......
Sheister