I learned a lot of ways not to fix a well with a cracked casing, from all the good old boys in the neighborhood. I gave them 4 weeks to try their ideas, before I called a professional well driller that put in a whole new well in one day - and cleaned up all the mess from the earlier attempts. That was a lesson, alright! Skills learned: patience in letting them take their shot (literally -- shooting the well with a .30-06 was one of the ideas they tried).

And I learned how to remove a wall-length bathtub from a tiny bathroom, without disturbing the walls. No, no .30-06 -- just a skill saw, thick gloves, and a welder's mask.