I forget about this sometimes

[Bob Wright]

O.K. Now this: What about your tools? I have very nice tools, that is, free of rust, grease, paint, and broken pieces. I'm a mite particular about my tools. I like my socket set neat and properly stored. Extra sockets on one of those "trees" to keep them organized. My drills are pristine, looking much the same as when I bought them. Oh, they get messed up in using, but they get cleaned and WD-40ed before going bock into the tool box.

And the top of my work bench gets a frequent dusting and rud-down with oil or furniture polish. Now, I not obsessive about things, but do like my shop clean and organized.

Bob Wright

 

[Jeepnik]

I have two sets of tools. My garage tools and my work/jeep tools. Garage tools are used around the house & garage. They are neat, clean and organized.

Work/jeep tools were/are used in less pristine circumstances. They are organized but years of abuse have left them scarred. My wrenches are a mix of brands as are any "sets" of things. But, I can fix most things trailside with them. And while doing so I'm noisily above using the wrong tool for the job. Screwdrivers become pry bars and such.

A good example is the "welder" in my Jeep. Completely homemade but it has stitched together lots of metal bits. Would I use it in the garage. Heck no, that's what the Miller is for.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Have you repaired anything on your car lately, like a headlight maybe?

 

[Hvymax]

O.K. Now this: What about your tools? I have very nice tools, that is, free of rust, grease, paint, and broken pieces. I'm a mite particular about my tools. I like my socket set neat and properly stored. Extra sockets on one of those "trees" to keep them organized. My drills are pristine, looking much the same as when I bought them. Oh, they get messed up in using, but they get cleaned and WD-40ed before going bock into the tool box.

And the top of my work bench gets a frequent dusting and rud-down with oil or furniture polish. Now, I not obsessive about things, but do like my shop clean and organized.

Bob Wright

I'm the opposite. I finish something and I'm off to the next thing. I don't have Apprentices at home to clean up after me and put things away!!!

 

[Dan in MI]

I work in "controlled chaos ." My workbench looks like a bomb went off, but I know exactly where and how deep certain tools are. Now my mechanics box is well organized and everything is in its place, but the daily workbench not so much.

 

[Bob Wright]

I'm the opposite. I finish something and I'm off to the next thing. I don't have Apprentices at home to clean up after me and put things away!!!

I said nothing about having apprentices. Don't think I'd trust my tools to them if I did.

Bob Wright

 

[Colonialgirl]

My Dad insisted that all his kids (including me) know how to fix cars (Yeah, I completely rebuilt the engine on '69 Alfa Romeo Spyder, including replacing the cylinders and getting the crankshaft turned) I also learned electical wiring from him and wired the basement of our house in Maryland as well as plumbing in a shower and sink in the spare bathroom down stairs.
Don't do much anymore at 81+ and looking under the hood of my Kia, figuring out how to replace some burned out bulbs baffles me.

 

[Hvymax]

I said nothing about having apprentices. Don't think I'd trust my tools to them if I did.

Bob Wright

At home half of my stuff is laying where I last used it. Pretty sure there's an oil filter laying in the barn from an oil change I did 18 years ago. At work I basically had people to tend to such things. Kinda like the surgeon telling the intern to close.

 

[Dan in MI]

At work I basically had people to tend to such things. Kinda like the surgeon telling the intern to close.

I had the opposite issue when I was a mechanic. I let certain guys use my tools. My tool box was/is seriously organized. A quick glance in each drawer every night and I'd sing out what wasn't there, or corner the guy that used it. Everything was there before lock up every night.

 

[caryc]

J

Many younger people are amazed anyone can fix things. Recently went to the Dr and he wanted to know how I injured my hands. I looked at the cuts and scratches on my hands, in various stages of healing, and told him working on my cars. He seemed shocked and asked why I would do that. I told him for fun.

He still didn't get it but did give me tetanus shot.

Later I realized that to him and his generation a paper cut requires a trip to the trauma center.

Just as an aside, I went to my doctor last week to get a cortisone shot in my shoulder. Outside in the waiting room there were eight other people waiting. Every one of them had his or her face buried in a cell phone. I was amazed that it has come to this. People can not sit and wait like that without being electronically amused. None of them were speaking on the phone, just diddling around with it. Where was my cell phone? It was in my car where it usually is. I have the ability to use my "mind and thought" to amuse myself. I guess that is a lost art these days. I have plenty of things to think about.

The dumbing down of humans is quite evident these days.

 

[Dan in MI]

J

Just as an aside, I went to my doctor last week to get a cortisone shot in my shoulder. Outside in the waiting room there were eight other people waiting. Every one of them had his or her face buried in a cell phone. I was amazed that it has come to this. People can not sit and wait like that without being electronically amused. None of them were speaking on the phone, just diddling around with it. Where was my cell phone? It was in my car where it usually is. I have the ability to use my "mind and thought" to amuse myself. I guess that is a lost art these days. I have plenty of things to think about.

The dumbing down of humans is quite evident these days.

In the example cited, not any other time as that can become a whole can of worms, would you have thought the same thing if they were all reading magazines like we used to?

 

[gunzo]

Dan, you've been very helpful here. I've noticed that on more than one occasion you've given good answers to many technical questions.
Thank you, & please continue.

 

[Johnnu2]

In the example cited, not any other time as that can become a whole can of worms, would you have thought the same thing if they were all reading magazines like we used to?

I still read a book or magazines in the 'waiting room'; often wonder if people are looking at me and wondering what I'm reading

J.

 

[Hvymax]

J

Just as an aside, I went to my doctor last week to get a cortisone shot in my shoulder. Outside in the waiting room there were eight other people waiting. Every one of them had his or her face buried in a cell phone. I was amazed that it has come to this. People can not sit and wait like that without being electronically amused. None of them were speaking on the phone, just diddling around with it. Where was my cell phone? It was in my car where it usually is. I have the ability to use my "mind and thought" to amuse myself. I guess that is a lost art these days. I have plenty of things to think about.

The dumbing down of humans is quite evident these days.

The phone has replaced magazines in the office. It's like we can carry our personal selection. I must say discovering a magazine I wasn't aware of to subscribe to occasionally was nice. I used to like mixing in a few gun magazines when I went. I remember discovering Trailer Boat magazine once. I subscribed immediately. It's great finding something almost tailored to you.

 

[Huskerguy72]

I grew up in a single parent, very poor family as the oldest of 4. There were never any tools around to fix anything and living the way we did, stuff was broke all the time. Of course, there were advantages to not having anything, less to go wrong.

Fast forward to my adult years and I am now 69. My brother and I built his home, I have remodeled several and learned auto collision and taught it in a college. There are few things I haven't tackled over the years and people are amazed by it. For me it was by necessity. The first bathroom remodel project I needed done I hired a "highly recommended" person who did a lousy job. We were very young and hadn't been married long and I said, I will try to do everything myself in the future, hiring people is a waste of time and money.

With my two kids and my wife, I have taught them the difference between a # 1 and a # 2 phillips screwdriver, 1/4" drive verses 3/8", torx verses allen, 6 point verses 12 point, and how to handle power saws. I also taught my kids how to read a stinking tape measure, now there is a lost skill.

Alas, I too am getting older and doing much to the newer vehicles is nearly impossible. I can't believe the last time I had my Subaru checked out, they wanted to change the brake fluid for $90 and windshield wipers for $60! I put my own cabin filters and air filters in, what a cost savings. People don't realize how much it adds up over time.

 

[Jack Ryan]

Spent my career as a Mechanical Engineer in the heavy equipment industry designing cranes, excavators, and straddle carriers. When I started, almost all the engineers were "gearheads"..... car nuts and farm boys. They understood how stuff worked, why it was built the way it was, and how to fix it.

By the end of my career, though, the majority of the young engineers were referred to as "book smart and common sense dumb". They didn't know which end of a wrench to hold on to, and could ruin an anvil with a rubber hammer. This seems to be increasingly prevalent througout society these days. With luck, most of the young engineers absorbed enough knowledge from the old timers before they retired.

It killed General Motors.

 

[Johnny-Baseball]

Yep...its a recent phenomenon, one to be blamed upon the current generation and its educational failures. Oh wait, wasn't it Voltaire who, in the 1700s, noted, "Common sense is not so common."

 

[Jeepnik]

Guys, new cares aren't all that complicated. They're just different. The bfasic engine is the same. Just different stuff added on. And more of it.

What has changed in many cases is how accessible components are. You tend to have more stuff to get out of the way. And there's often more replacing of parts than fixing them.

A good error code reader can save hours of trouble shooting.

 

[sceva]

I worked in Quality Assurance, mostly aerospace. You could almost look at the drawings for new parts and tell if they were from a seasoned engineer or a newer one trying to show how smart they were. I really liked Sikorsky drawings; they didn't call for tight tolerances if it wasn't needed; if they did use close tolerancing you better darn well believe they needed it and make it accordingly. I also liked Mcdonnell Douglas; When I was with them they had a specification that said if a given dimension was accepted out of tolerance twice, the third time they had to change the drawing to reflect the greater tolerance.

 

[Randyzzz]

My Dad taught me the value of "mechanical aptitude". He was a VP of a title insurance company, but he grew up on a farm and loved fixing and building things. (He got the job at the title company after WWII because he was a test pilot and knew how to read maps.) He also instilled a sense of what I call "Mechanical Awareness"- so I'm always listening to the slightly different pitch of noises in my vehicles, the hum of the heat pump, the increased effort to turn the front door key…
My wife says I can be a pain in the a$$ but since I'm the one who has to fix it, I pay attention. I also get extremely focused when I work- there's no way I could have a helper. Another thing my Dad taught me. I remember well…" If you're going to watch me work, you're going to be part of the job. If I'm looking at a Phillips screw and hold out my hand, you should hand me a Phillips screwdriver. No asking should be required. And if you're holding the flashlight, it should never stray from where I'm working." Sounds harsh but I loved and respected that man and appreciate every lesson he taught me.
I keep my tools clean and organized, and have gotten in the habit of returning each one to its home after using it. Because of this I haven't lost a tool in a long time.
I retired a couple years ago. I owned a one man business building hot rods, but my passion is restomod Jeeps. I also was a parts manager for several dealerships and aftermarket stores. I started as a mechanic when I was young but the money was in management back then. So I made the change. Years passed and mechanics overtook management salaries, but I was in my comfortable rut…
I can pay someone to do something, but I've always felt that if I can buy the tools and learn to do it myself I'm ahead of the game. So it killed me when I had to pay a shop to replace the front axle on my Silverado last month. Getting old sucks, and to any young guys reading this, here's a bit of wisdom: Take care of yourself. The stuff that you tear up when you're young comes back to haunt you when you're old.