this post was submitted on 13 Oct 2024
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Don't think about it in 3d space.
They mean is the wrench handle moving left from the 12 o'clock position or left from the 6 o'clock position. You would not believe how many people struggle with lefty righty because of start location.
I defer to clockwise and counter-clockwise (anti-clockwise in UK). Except for new gen that never learned analog clock stuggles with this concept also.
Then they encounter a Left Hand thread and the universe implodes
Shit, a standard thread feels natural to me, but a left hand thread still fucks my life up sometimes โ trying to notice what's going on before I strip it.
My grill can connect to those camping propane tanks, but it's threaded opposite... gets me every time
I have left-hand threaded fittings on a few things and always say to myself aloud "This is reverse-threaded" before I attempt to turn them then still fuck up first turn. It doesn't stop me from fucking it up the first time - it just helps me remember why.
When I train new people on this equipment I tell them to say it aloud, show them, still fuck up the first turn, then they laugh.
Then I have them do it in front of me including saying it aloud - and they fuck up the first turn...
When you've been doing something unconsciously for decades it's really hard to break.
I think it was old Chryslers had opposite lugnuts, I can only imagine how many stripped threads happened
I assure you Iโm only thinking of it in two dimensions.
So where do you put the rest of your helices on a cylinder or cone, in 2D? In Flatland a screw or bolt becomes a circle with a short hair. The whole point of "leftie loosy" is to try to help with reality as we perceive it.
Try it the next time you are underneath a car wielding a socket spanner with a taped on extension thingie that you jury rigged whilst trying to shift a hex nut at 45 degrees to reality that you cannot see, with oil dripping in your eye. Obviously the oil is a mix of the 30 year old native stuff loosened up with the WD40 that might break the rust lock.
I suggest you do think abut things in 3D and don't forget the other dimension (time). That WD40 needs time to break the rust lock.
"Leftie loosy" isn't for keyboard worriers - its for engineers and technicians, plumbers, and the rest and obviously for DiYers.
When you are knackered and pissed off and you need to shift a fucking nut or bolt or whatever, you need incantations to get you back on track.