Well, a 17 y.o. who says he wants to learn how to build motorcycles... I don't know the kid, but he belongs to a co-worker, and she's tired of seeing him sit on the sofa. She says he wants to do it, but I one major reservation. The little cretin's friends... How can I flush out of him information about his cretin frends... Mainly, if they are into B&E... I have lot's of tools that would get them enough money to buy them more than a few cases of beer/lots of dope... and I can't afford to replace them. That, and how to handle a 17 y.o., I wanted to learn, so I would do anything an adult with a set of tools would tell me to do... Cretins today are told they are great even if they fuck something up... How do I impress upon him that he ISN'T going to be welcome if he fucks something up because he didn't listen to me, I can't afford to break stuff.
This sounds so wrong, but.....Feel the kid out. Meet him at a show, walk around and talk cars. You'll get a rough idea of if he's got fire, or just a spark. 2 or 3 events you'll know if he's welcome in your shop.
Grab him by the neck and tell him this is the real world and if he fucks something up he can get someone killed. and then tell him if any of your tools are stolen he will be shot! he will get the point then,probably be your best employee ever....
If the kid approached you with the fire in his eyes, and a real desire to learn, that would be one thing,..... But if you were approached by his parent,....... I would be careful, besides if he gets hurt in your garage/shop, He may end up owning more than you do,..... Years ago it was different,.... today be careful !
man i would have loved this oppurtunity when i was his age...tell him that if he wants to learn he must supply a large portion of his own tools and that this is a business and that there are consequences to things you do *steal* don't be a dick but be firm and serious!! and if the kid is half ways smart he'll still jump at the oppurtunity...like i said i wish i had this oppurtunity, hell i have to call new jersey if i need help LOL
Proceed carefully, my friend. I once had my shop cleaned out (O/A setup with the big tanks/compressor/bench grinder/radio) by someone I might once have considered a friend and it was no good. That being said, it's wonderful of you to consider doing this for someone as it's hard enough to figure this shit out on your own, let alone when you're 17. He's still young enough that you could change the entire course of his life, especially if he has a bunch of shithead friends. It's amazing what a little sense of pride in yourself for having built something can do for your perspective...
You've laid out a long list of reasons not to do it. And not one reason to do it. Is the Mom hot? Do you already owe her a "favor"? Time flies, wait till the kid is an 18 year old "adult," responsible for his own actions. And don't give him (or anyone) any access to a key, ever.
You could always let him spend some time with me... Then...When he acts up...You could say "HEY! Do you want me to send you back over to dv8's?" Then, after he's done curling up in a fetal position, and sucking his thumb, while crapping his pants, he should be done acting up for the day.
You said it yourself. Tell him"he ISN'T going to be welcome if he fucks something up because he didn't listen to me, I can't afford to break stuff" . No friends around your shop/home until he proves himself. Once he proves himself, the same shit applies with the friends. One at a time if any and if they fuck something up or tools go missing......Out on his ass! He could be the next Jesse James<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
treat it like apprentices USED to be treated. make him do all the shitty grunt work. cleaning up behind you. paint the shop. shit that you'd probably never do yourself but enough to make him prove himself to you. if he last more than a coupla weeks of doing shit work start blending him in on a split of some learning and some shit work. as time goes by and he proves him self more move it more to the learning side and less to the shit work side. at the very least the kid is around a few days and your place gets cleaned up a bit. at best you teach a kid to carry this shit on for another generation. i'd make it very clear that if anything and i do mean anything comes up missing not only is he gone but his folks will be fully responsible for it. tattooing is one of the few worlds left i think that still tries to stick to this kind of apprenticeship. i've seen alot of apprentices who didn't last 30 days. seen alot suck it up and become really good at their job and really good just as people in general due to it...ken....
start him out sweeping & cleaning tools, cleaning up after everyone. i used to help my uncle out & the only thing hed let me do was restack driveshafts & tires.... gotta start him out at the bottom j.t.
going through high school I would've loved to have an opportunity like this...well, I do work for my pops, an A&P mechanic, as am I too; but he's really good at the aircraft stuff and isn't really into hot rodding. I grew up learning the wrenching/fabricating basics but didn't have anyone into hot rods-m/c's to learn from. I think the take him to a few shows to hang out and get to know him a little thing is a good idea. See what stuff he looks at, what details he looks for, what he's interested in... for instance, I look at fabricated stuff to see how they did something, to see if they're a hack or a legit fabricator and see if I could do it or better yet if there might be a better way.
Make him start doing grunt. Thats how I started. If he really wants to learn he will stay. If he just a lazy mofo he want come back. simple as that. If he's true he will really appreciate the fact that your showing him the ropes.
that's a good one, too. sweeping floors and cleaning tools is a good place to start...one, it's good for the work ethic and responsibilities aspect, direction following and attention to detail. Two, he learns where the tools go which makes it faster for him to do stuff later on.
Had a good customer at our restaurant ask about a job for their kid. Kid turned out to be absolutely worthless, after we let the kid go the parents came into the store and asked about the problem. Told them all about it and the parents said "well we couldn't do anything with her and thought you could". We were trying to run a restaurant not a daycare. Fired the kid and lost the family and grandparents as customers. You might think about how difficult it would be deal with the mom at work if this goes south.
I've had two of these deals fall apart,in both instances they wanted to build top fuel cars the first day at the shop. They already knew everything and wanted to share that knowedge with me. They could text-message real well , operate the pop machine and was really fast at changing the radio station. (they didn't like Rush). I would do it again ,just in case it may be one that really wants it. Try it ,otherwise you'll always wonder.
These sorts of deals never work out for me. I always get some mouth breather with his hat on backwards.......
simple: your friends are allowed in the shop- you are here to work. Make him start at the bottom and keep him working. Another thing I dont allow in my shop with the newbies-CELL PHONES. They need to stay up front in the office and they can use them on break and lunch.
has he done anything in the past ? and dose he still have anything ? cool bicycle, go cart , motorcycle , any kind of a car ? if not there`s your answer. 17 is kinda old to have no project`s or interest ?
I would have a face to face with the kid, set the ground rules for employment. NO FRIENDS!! at or in the shop at anytime, he there to work. No phone calls in or out except on break times. No missing work days, only exception is if he is dead and parent can provide death certificate He is there to learn and work and follow directions. Tell him all that is expected of him and see how he takes it, take a week to think about it and then follow your gut feeling as they are usually right.
I had one of these once all he would do is jump into somting and not care about safety even after I repeatley told him so, he would also tell me he could do somthing just so I would let him try it and then he would fuck it all up because he obviously didn't really know how to do it. I would say let him sweep the floors and lend a helping hand when you need it but definatly keep him away from the real stuff until you personally showed them how, also the "no friends" rule definatley applies I don't care where you work the boss doesn't like you bringing in your friends so I would let them know that up front. My little helper started bringing a couple of his friends over and giving them a tour like he owned the place and they were all a bunch of little punks, I politely had them all leave as I was "busy" and couldn't have people in the shop.
Sit down with the kid, does "HE" want to do it, or does "MOM" want him to? If he wants to, give him a shot. If he's too proud to sweep the floor and wipe down tools, show him the door. If he already knows how to do everything, show him the door and a business real estate ad, as he can have his own shop. He gets ONE strike, no more. I've done this a few times in my kitchens, some kids are gone within a week, but I've got one here now with Down's Syndrome, been here for two years and this kitchen wouldn't work without him.
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