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/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> The Cafe >> Glad my dad raised me to tinker with stuff... /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1447342518 Message started by stewmills on 11/12/15 at 07:35:18 |
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Title: Glad my dad raised me to tinker with stuff... Post by stewmills on 11/12/15 at 07:35:18 Last night was a good example of why I am glad I was raised to not be scared to investigate things and take things apart to see what's wrong, etc. Of course at this age (41) I have learned a lot, but it all adds up. Being a proud American and an auxiliary member of a Veterans Motorcycle Group, I felt compelled to light up my front fence (house is way back in the woods) last night for Veteran's Day with the ceremonial green light. Since I am off in the woods and don't have an electrical line dropped at the road, I have to use a small HF 2 cycle generator to power up Christmas lights, etc. at the road. I pulled my generator out of storage (properly drained and stored) and when I went to turn on the fuel and start it fuel started pouring out everywhere. At first I thought broken fuel line, but it's a year old and that couldn't be the cause so my next diagnosis was stuck float. So, in my dress clothes in the dark with a headlamp, I used the spare tool set in my truck to take the bowl off and break the float loose and air out the carb all while getting fuel all over me. Put it back together and success. Started right up and no more fuel spillage. So in summary, it was very important to me to show my respect to our Veterans in what may seem to be a small way, but in the moment of crisis I didn't just say "awww heck it's broke" rather I focused on the situation and tinkered until it was resolved. So, no matter how big or small the project or crisis may be, a little patience and determination goes a long way. |
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Title: Re: Glad my dad raised me to tinker with stuff... Post by Serowbot on 11/12/15 at 13:30:12 ...and you're not on fire.... 8-)... |
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Title: Re: Glad my dad raised me to tinker with stuff... Post by Steve H on 11/12/15 at 17:44:09 I've got one of those little gens too. For that one day a year when our power goes out for more than a couple of hours. I can run the fridge and the freezer so stuff doesn't go bad. It runs quite well. I had that the carb isn't adjustable. It runs very lean. I have to let mine almost completely warm up before backing off the choke much. Once warm, it just purrs. |
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Title: Re: Glad my dad raised me to tinker with stuff... Post by justin_o_guy2 on 11/12/15 at 21:22:15 7F697E637B6E63780C0 wrote:
That's what I was worrying about.. And gasoline, ON me? I don't have any more willingness to allow that. After years of getting greasy and nasty and using gasoline and accidentally getting hosed, head to toe, I can't tolerate it on me, and oil, ugh,, I go through hand cleaner.. Cuz I got stuff to fix.. Transmission fluid, hydraulic oil, I swear I can taste it if it's on me a minute. |
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Title: Re: Glad my dad raised me to tinker with stuff... Post by BigBob on 11/15/15 at 23:59:39 I have to agree my dad use to take us to our Great Uncles. We would come home with a couple of old Single throat carbs to tinker with. That tinkering has come in handy over the years. :) |
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Title: Re: Glad my dad raised me to tinker with stuff... Post by old_rider on 11/16/15 at 09:03:37 I got lucky with the foster parents. My foster dad's brother used to take his Camaro apart once every two years, lube and recoat anything that was looking a bit faded or rusty. I got to help teardown the engine completely, remove head lights, tail lights, shocks, brackets ect..... It got me interested in mechanics, the other thing was that my foster dad did everything! I mean he was a carpenter, mechanic, welder, painter, raised animals, was a dog breeder and a radio operator. It seemed to me there wasn't anything that he couldn't do.... well except school work.... he couldn't help me to do that :) |
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Title: Re: Glad my dad raised me to tinker with stuff... Post by Art Webb on 11/16/15 at 09:12:29 My dad didn't WANT to teach me mechanical stuff He was a jet engine mechanic for Uncle Sam (USAF) and wanted me to wind up in a nice boring office job instead But, he was a DIYer and a bit of an old school hot rodder, and I was definitely Daddy's Boy, so he couldn't slide under the car that I wasn't there with him After a while he figured he might as well teach me so I could help instead of just being underfoot |
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Title: Re: Glad my dad raised me to tinker with stuff... Post by Gus on 11/16/15 at 13:06:20 My dad was a horseman and no mechanic. My brother and I were tearing stuff apart and putting I back together young. My brother younger than I. Dad was a good carpenter but his mechanic skills never blossomed. Until the day he died my brother and I took care of his stuff he tore apart. He was hard on stuff. I have a few Uncles that were extremely mechanical and I guess we inherited our ability from them. You either for I or you don't. I have daughters that got it. See pic. of my youngest daughter. |
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Title: Re: Glad my dad raised me to tinker with stuff... Post by Dave on 11/16/15 at 13:29:34 2335223F27323F24500 wrote:
Back when I was just out of high school, I had a 70 Dodge Dart Swinger. One day the starter quite working....and seeing as I only made about $2.25 an hour, I did my best to repair it rather than replace it. I took the starter off, and it was all greasy. We had a gravel drive on the farm, and I just took some gasoline and a brush and scrubbed the starter off in the gravel. Then I took it inside the garage and took it apart, and I found a burned wire on a field coil. I was able to clean up the ends of the wire and solder a new piece in, and I put the starter back together. I figured it made sense to try the starter out and see if it worked before I put it back in the car....so I carried the starter outside and set it down in the driveway, got my jumper cables, and hooked them up to the starter. There was a spark when I connected the battery cable to the starter......and I suddenly was reminded that about an hour earlier I was washing the starter with gasoline in the same identical part of the driveway! It wasn't an intense fire - but me and the starter needed to move away in a hurry! (And I still had my eyebrows). |
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Title: Re: Glad my dad raised me to tinker with stuff... Post by justin_o_guy2 on 11/16/15 at 15:14:46 Excellent mental picture. Glad the outcome was a No Consequences moment. I've made way too many mistakes that, not only failed to teach me how to Not screw up, also came with consequences. |
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Title: Re: Glad my dad raised me to tinker with stuff... Post by Art Webb on 11/17/15 at 14:33:24 4B44534E454D1845464E182A0 wrote:
Gus, I think I'm in love ;D |
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Title: Re: Glad my dad raised me to tinker with stuff... Post by DesertRat on 11/17/15 at 16:26:54 4A595F5C4E49492B0 wrote:
I know right? A girl that can and WILL wrench? A unicorn for sure! |
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Title: Re: Glad my dad raised me to tinker with stuff... Post by Gus on 11/17/15 at 17:17:54 022335233432142732460 wrote:
I know right? A girl that can and WILL wrench? A unicorn for sure![/quote] She is an oddball for sure; but I actually have two daughters like that. The other one is married now and has 4 boys. She built her own chicken coop a couple years ago. She made money in college fixing other students rigs in the parking lot of the dorms. This one, tho, is unattached but not readily available; so she says. She's gonna be a good catch for some young whippersnapper. She's good lookin, smart, a hard worker and tight with the purse strings. Sh's got 3 years of college left. |
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Title: Re: Glad my dad raised me to tinker with stuff... Post by old_rider on 11/17/15 at 18:18:35 She need to go to college.... be an engineer.... her type could literally build the world the next generation will live in. :) Make it so dad! |
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Title: Re: Glad my dad raised me to tinker with stuff... Post by stewmills on 11/17/15 at 20:27:00 2 more reasons i am glad i was taught to tinker: 1) cutting firewood this weekend one of my chainsaws, an old poulan woodshark started making a metal clanking sound. i thought, great, i burned it up. just to see if i could salvage parts. well, i opened it up and i found the magneto with one screw completely out and the other half way out...which explains the progressively worse running. i adjusted and buttoned up the magneto and darn if it doesnt run like new. 2) i dropped my 13 year old weedeater and broke the throttle trigger. i had an old one for parts that i finally threw out. well, i was digging in my box of bits and crap if i didnt find an old ryobi trigger i kept for whatever reason. took the craftsman apart and was able to make it work. adjusted the carb needles with the special carb adjusting screwdrivers that are hard to buy (i found them on amazon) and it runs like new. two potential things that could have gone to the scrap heap were saved. ;) ;) ;) ;) |
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Title: Re: Glad my dad raised me to tinker with stuff... Post by Gus on 11/17/15 at 20:59:36 Awesome Stew, I used a weedeatr for years I found in a dumpstr with the rope hanging out. Mind boggling what people throw out. |
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Title: Re: Glad my dad raised me to tinker with stuff... Post by Art Webb on 11/18/15 at 10:03:48 353A2D303B33663B383066540 wrote:
I know right? A girl that can and WILL wrench? A unicorn for sure![/quote] She is an oddball for sure; but I actually have two daughters like that. The other one is married now and has 4 boys. She built her own chicken coop a couple years ago. She made money in college fixing other students rigs in the parking lot of the dorms. This one, tho, is unattached but not readily available; so she says. She's gonna be a good catch for some young whippersnapper. She's good lookin, smart, a hard worker and tight with the purse strings. Sh's got 3 years of college left.[/quote] Now we know what Gus does for a living, he raises unicorns ;D Sure wish I'd met one like that when I was a younger man (actually I did, unfortunately, she, too, was unavailable so far as a permannet commitment was concerned :() |
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Title: Re: Glad my dad raised me to tinker with stuff... Post by stewmills on 12/09/15 at 20:54:01 another deal today. 22" craftsman mower with briggs 4.5 hp motor on craigslist. not running well and stalling. $30. got it, installed a new plug for good measure. cleaned carb and tank and filter. checked magneto. gave it a bath. fixed the missing governor spring with a spring from my parts bin. vrooooooooom vrooooooooom. runs like new. not sure what i will do with it but i couldn't pass it up. wish i knew of a truly needy family. |
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