Isn't that just how life works, someone else's shortcut always costs you the long way?

That really hits home for me. My dad was the same way, he fixed our fridge with a diagram from a 1978 Chevy van manual and that thing kept ice cream cold for another decade. I think being handy means grabbing whatever works, doesn't matter where it came from. If that fiberglass tape holds, you just saved yourself a lot of money over the fancy patch kits at the store.

Man that's actually kind of sad, people just see normal planes and freak out.

I used to tighten mine all the way but a client with really sensitive skin changed my mind.

Haven't we all learned that lesson the hard way, @anthony_wells? I swear, half the pruning advice online makes it sound like you should just cut branches off with a butter knife and call it good. I tried that "flush cut" nonsense on a young oak at my old place and it started oozing sap like a leaky faucet for weeks. That old timer probably saved you from a tree that would have rotted from the inside out and taken your roof with it when it fell. Now I leave a good inch of collar on everything, even if it looks a little goofy for a season.