I thought I'd share a few things that I've learned about checking and changing spark plugs. This seems like a simple task, but after a few recent projects, I've found that it isn't so straight forward.
Don't take them out of the engine when it is hot. You WILL burn yourself. You may be thinking that you will be careful and hold them in the socket or wear gloves, but you will end up touching them, and they will burn you.
Once this happens, you will drop them on the floor. You may think that you're tough and the burn won't faze you too much, or that you would just set them down quickly, but you won't; you will drop them.
And when you drop a spark plug, there is only one way for it to land. That, of course, is on the electrode, and it will bend. It may land on a towel, or in the grass, or maybe even in a pile of cotton, but the electrode will hit first and it will bend. Don't ask me why, but it ALWAYS happens this way.
After you bend the electrode and you finally dig out your gap checker to fix it, you will start to fumble with it, and drop it again, and it will bend again, and you will have to reset the gap... again.
So, just to make your life a little easier, wait a few minutes and let the plugs cool so that you don't have to laugh at yourself for bending them... twice. Hope this was useful to someone :)