Stupid engineering dept.

What stupid tool designs have you found?

: What stupid tool designs have you found?

as an engineer i should take exception to your comments but in fact i agree....in fact i make a hobby out of finding stuff like your referring to....
and remember what some engineers say....."yesterday i wanted to be an engineer, today i are one". paul

: What stupid tool designs have you found?

Your example is a design blunder of the first degree, but remember, most companies designs are not dictated any more by the engineers, but by the "Marketing Directors" and the bean-counters.
If you find ANY big American company that has an engineer on their executive staff, you probably found one in the minority.

: What stupid tool designs have you found?

I have a "Rotohoe" rototiller that was made about 1973. The engineers that designed it were real smart - they used all standard off-the-shelf components and bolts. Except for the main frame and handles, the whole thing can be maintained from standard stuff. That's the good news.

The bad news is that all those nuts and bolts work, loosen and fall out with great regularity. I've replaced a lot of them with grade five and locknuts. But the really stupid thing is the big decal that brags about how this is a "chain drive" rototiller. I'm sure their advertising literature made big of this. Yes, the final drive to the tines is by chain, but the complete drivetrain for tines and wheels includes two belts, four pulleys, two tension/clutch idler pulleys, another 1/4 inch belt (with two pulleys) that does a 90 degree twist to the transmission, a four-speed with reverse gear box, and another chain drive to the wheels. Whew! How complex can a simple piece of hardware become?

The drive to the wheels goes through two 90 degree turns (one in the belt the other in the transmission) for no good reason as the output shaft of the engine is already turning the right direction. I bought this cheap, but have done nothing but work on it. The drive gear to the tines was cast from such soft steel that it wore the teeth off while the shear pin remained intact. The replacement I got from Grainger was much harder. Rotohoe apparently went out of business about a year ago, wonder why? When this tiller works it does churn up a lot of dirt and rocks, but my recommendation is buy Troybuilt. They are almost all gear drive, with just one belt and one rubber wheel (for reverse).

: : What stupid tool designs have you found?

: I have a "Rotohoe" rototiller that was made about 1973. The engineers that designed it were real smart - they used all standard off-the-shelf components and bolts. Except for the main frame and handles, the whole thing can be maintained from standard stuff. That's the good news.

: The bad news is that all those nuts and bolts work, loosen and fall out with great regularity. I've replaced a lot of them with grade five and locknuts. But the really stupid thing is the big decal that brags about how this is a "chain drive" rototiller. I'm sure their advertising literature made big of this. Yes, the final drive to the tines is by chain, but the complete drivetrain for tines and wheels includes two belts, four pulleys, two tension/clutch idler pulleys, another 1/4 inch belt (with two pulleys) that does a 90 degree twist to the transmission, a four-speed with reverse gear box, and another chain drive to the wheels. Whew! How complex can a simple piece of hardware become?

: The drive to the wheels goes through two 90 degree turns (one in the belt the other in the transmission) for no good reason as the output shaft of the engine is already turning the right direction. I bought this cheap, but have done nothing but work on it. The drive gear to the tines was cast from such soft steel that it wore the teeth off while the shear pin remained intact. The replacement I got from Grainger was much harder. Rotohoe apparently went out of business about a year ago, wonder why? When this tiller works it does churn up a lot of dirt and rocks, but my recommendation is buy Troybuilt. They are almost all gear drive, with just one belt and one rubber wheel (for reverse).

I bought one too. also got a good deal on a Rot-O-Hoe. Mine has the extra attachments like snow thrower and chipper to go with the roto tiller. Do you have any information on where to buy belts? Mine came without the belt needed to operate the tiller.

: What stupid tool designs have you found?

One of the dumbest and best-selling designs is the Craftsman fine-tooth ratchet that requires two hands to change direction. This design was introduced, as I recall, back in the late '60s or early '70s. While the fine-tooth action was a nice improvement over the coarser teeth of earlier designs, the move away from the easily switched lever to change ratchet directions was a mistake that continues to be perpetuated to this day. (Yes, I know Sears has other designs available, too.) Example: I was working in the hardware department at a Sears store part-time while doing my master's degree. A one-armed customer (I'm not making this up) came in and politely but firmly complained about the new design. Needing two hands to change directions on his ratchet, he was rightly frustrated. I never would have thought about it in that way, but I did, and do, agree with him that the design was a step backward from the simple lever switch.

: What stupid tool designs have you found?

Well, sir, sounds like what you got there is one of them Australian chainsaws.