My barber of 12 years told me straight up last spring that my taper looked "rushed at the bottom" and I wanted to argue but he was right. I used to tune out that kind of thing and just trust my mirror, but now I ask guys who've been cutting longer than me what they'd change. One honest line from a guy like that is worth more than ten compliments from people who don't know what they're looking at.

Did you ever try just tweaking the top line instead of saving whole versions? I used to figure one resume was enough and that people were just being picky, but that story made me get why a quick match up front saves you.

That line about chasing it with a pressure gauge for an hour really hits home. I've burned whole afternoons on a hard shift, pulling the pan twice, swapping a solenoid on a guess, and it turned out to be some little nick in a bore I couldn't even see. Hearing that a camera found it in four minutes makes me feel a bit dumb for not trying it sooner. Glad you posted this, my next hard shift complaint is getting the scope before the gauges come out.