In truth, Jim's "no power tools" edict is absurd.
I wouldn't say absurd, as it not only protects Sam, but also Faye, Bubbles and Dora. We have no idea what insurance they have, or if it covers injuries to people who aren't employed there. I'm not talking about Jim suing Faye and Bubbles. I mean health insurance, liability and several other problems that could have arisen. If Sam had been seriously injured, Faye and Bubbles could have been liable. A quick check and a broken arm can cost around $2500. We have no idea what kind of money Union Robotics is making at the moment, but I imagine that they can't spare that kind of money.
If you know nothing of the business but wander in there selling, what?, stubbed toe insurance or coffee service, your first impression before encountering any of the staff will be, "DAMN that's a lot of power tools!" (That's before you catch sight of Bubbles and say, "DAMN that's a big war 'droid sans armor!") There's be a few strips about his dialing back on it, probably with Veronica's intercession.
But to Jim, its all an unknown and outside of his purview. He's right and understandable to be cautious about the equipment. Likewise, Faye and Bubbles are an unknown and from Jim's perspective, until recently they were working in an illegal fight club and workshop. That kind of thing would set alarms blaring in Jim's head.
Jim's the grown-up, but he's out of his depth with his tomboy daughter. Fact is, Samantha's two Xs instead of a Y and an X may actually be mediating damned fool behavior that would have gotten Sam killed. She's a challenge for any parent.
You're right. Jim is out of his depth. He runs a time intensive business with long hours. He's divorced and from what we've seen, it wasn't amicable. A bitter divorce could have had an effect on Sam. But the fact that he's protective of her doesn't mean he's bad one. Sam is probably worth more to Jim than anything else in his life and I don't mean a monetary value. Remember, Sam is his only child, but not only that, but she is still a child (or at the latest an early teen). She's rambunctious, an explorer and a little troublemaker. But he's there for her, he works mornings to spend the afternoons and evenings with her. Jim's got a bad situation, but he's making the best of it.
Veronica, OYOH, has her own stuff around not parenting Marten, at least not in any conventional way. Sam is her opportunity for a do-over. I won't be surprised if come the next Mothers' Day strip Sam addresses Veronica as "Mom" or refers to her as her mother.
Then again, Veronica has had some major missteps in dealing with Marten, even with him as an adult, in particular when she came to visit after the Break-up and perhaps added more to Marten's suffering rather than help alleviate it.
But at the same time, Sam isn't Veronica's daughter. Yeah, she's dating Jim, but in this instance, she has an outside perspective that she's a little blind to herself when she deals with Marten. That outside perspective allows her to get to the heart of the problem a little easier. But yes, it could be that Veronica has learned from her mistakes.
Sam, as noted in an earlier comment, has maternal abandonment issues that she's just starting to work through.
Maybe she does, maybe she doesn't. The divorce could have been water off a duck's back for Sam, as she is living with her father. Sam's actions might speak more to the explorer in her, not quite having the experience to think before she leaps.
With the richly deserving exception of Corpse Witch, Jeph doesn't send his QC characters to Hell in a handbasket. (There was Sara, but that was early on and the poor allosaurus was starving. Yelling Bird is still around somewhere else, giving people Hell.) Jeph's setting up an arc about their growth and development into a family.
Or its a story about Faye needing to live up to her responsibilities; as a business owner, as a friend, as a partner and as an adult. Its great that she's friends with Sam, but there comes a point where Faye can't be a friend
and working at the same time when she's at UR.
Or it could be a story about Sam taking those first few steps into becoming an adult. To think before she acts. She's growing up and can't remain someone who lives on instinct.
Or it could be a story about Jim learning that he can't protect his daughter forever, but maybe its time to start trusting her to look after herself.