Mechanical skils

Dan in Ohio · Oct 31, 2015

Where did you learn them. Do you have any or would you admit to not having any here.

I was raised on a farm and my Dad was (still is) a carpenter . He taught me how to "fix" things and how to build things but mechanical skills were not his strong suit. He would sooner consult his brother who was a John Deere dealer when the tractors needed work.

After 60+ years I have decided there are basically three types of guys:

1. guys that CAN fix things

2. guys that CAN build things

3. guys that can NOT do either and will not even try

When I try to fix my tractors, I know what my skill set is, but that does not usually stop me (sometimes it should have) .

Some guys are real pros, able to teach and share their knowledge, some are not. How are your mechanical skills?

oldtanker · Oct 31, 2015

I got lucky in sperm roulette and inherited my dads abilities. He could do residential construction, electrical and plumbing, mechanics and be a combat leader. The one thing I didn't inherit from him was the patients to do finish wood working.

I learned the construction, electrical and plumbing from him. I learned the mechanics on my own out of necessity and the Army taught me the rest.

Rick

M-MAN · Oct 31, 2015

I think that's just one of the gifts the good Lord gives you or not. How you cultivate that gift is up to you. I developed an interest pretty early in life helping Pop and an uncle with automobiles. Think I was 11 when I rebuilt my first engine. I've never lost interest in anything mechanical. Probably doesn't make sense to most folks but I like to look at everything as power flow and that's what I tried to teach my kids. Just look at whatever you're working on from what starts the cycle to the end result and you'll figure out the middle pretty easily.

Determined · Oct 31, 2015

Started off in the school of lacking two cents to rub together.
Moved on to lets take it apart and see how that darn thing works.
Continued with Hey I can fix that and make a few bucks off it.
This led to why buy a working one when I can get a broken one cheap and fix it.
Maybe a personal challenge thing but to this day I thrive on the jobs everybody else is scared of or say it cant be done.
Common sense and good theory of operation go a long way.

Dang Determined or too stupid to know better.
The verdict is still out.

rrlund · Oct 31, 2015

Dad was a school bus mechanic. I started working on engines when I was 10,maybe 12? You could count on one hand the times I've hired anybody to work on a tractor or a piece of equipment.
Grandpa used to shoe horses. I guess I picked up a genetic love of steel fabricating from him.

Sidekick · Oct 31, 2015

(quoted from post at 09:50:33 10/31/15) I think that's just one of the gifts the good Lord gives you or not. How you cultivate that gift is up to you. I developed an interest pretty early in life helping Pop and an uncle with automobiles. Think I was 11 when I rebuilt my first engine. I've never lost interest in anything mechanical. Probably doesn't make sense to most folks but I like to look at everything as power flow and that's what I tried to teach my kids. Just look at whatever you're working on from what starts the cycle to the end result and you'll figure out the middle pretty easily.

That's how it works for me. I can sit and study something and it just makes sense as to what is going on. As far as being taught I learned some things on the way from various people but mostly it's a gift. I swear sometimes my hands already know how to do stuff my brain can't figure out.

tomturkey · Oct 31, 2015

Learned the carpenter trade because I wanted to build things. Learned to turn wrenches out of the necessity to keep a vehicle going to get to work. Watched and learned at every opportunity, ie plumbing electrical heating. Now wrenching on tractors just for fun and the challenge. Not much I won't tackle, two reasons, don't want to pay someone to do something I can/should be able to do and don't want to deal with someone elses shoddy work. Oh did I say I am also a cheapskate. lol gobble

OH Boy · Oct 31, 2015

My mechanical skills are what I would call reasonable. Love to build things. I can handle moderately involved repairs. But I also know about where my limit is and I need to take it to the professionals.

I started with an erector set as a little kid and worked my way up by taking apart every old broken down thing I could get my hands on when I was between 10 and 14 years old, just to see what made them work.

37chief · Oct 31, 2015

Growing up on Dad's farm I learned how to use wrenches. I would like to take tings apart, soon I was able to put them back together. I learned a lot about motors from my 48 Cushman scooter. Taking the motor apart and putting it back together, and it actually ran after that. Then to cars, my 34 Chevy I did the same thing. All my working time which was around 45 years as a maintenance mechanic in factories. I was around machinists a lot also, and learned a lot from them using lathes, and mills. I was a aircraft mechanic in the Navy, about all I learned was there was how to tie safety wire, and stand watches. At 73 I do all the work on my tractors,and motorcycles, except for any machining work. I stay away from the new vehicles with all the electronic stuff. That's about it. Stan

JD John · Oct 31, 2015

I guess the mechanical/construction skills I have were inherited from Grandpa because Dad isn't as gifted. I can learn more from watching it being fixed than I can from someone telling how to fix it(like from a teacher in school) I think I was 16 when I put new rings and bearings in our JD 3010 and had never seen it done before, only on the lawn mower Grandpa had redone. I think it just comes naturally to some.

JerryS · Oct 31, 2015

I grew up on a dairy farm. I drove my dad's two tractors, but I didn't work on them. For that matter, neither did my dad. He was a welder, and he could build anything wood or metal.With his eighth-grade education, he was nevertheless a genius at seeing how things work and engineering ways to improve them. He could do the nuts/bolts of mechanic work, but he did not have a working knowledge of the ignition or fuel systems. Consequently I had no one to learn from. Besides, all my time, when I was not in school, was spent in the dairy or related farm work, twice a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. I had little spare time. I did swap motors in a '39 Chevy when in my teens, but I had to have a mechanic get it started the first time.

Later, when I had my own vehicles and no money, I bought Chilton's manuals to learn how to do the mechanical stuff, such as brake jobs, replacing alternators and power steering pumps, plugs, etc. I did change clutches in a Ford Falcon and an Olds Cutlass, but I never really came to love mechanic work. I'm still pretty helpless on the automotive electrical issues. I do pretty well with wood working, and I can do basic plumbing and AC wiring.

Dick2 · Oct 31, 2015

Our Dad grew up in the horse era so he wasn't real mechanical. My younger brother and I just did our homework and started repairing things and rebuilding engines. Older brothers weren't interested, so they never knew how. Kind of resented going to brother's place and ending up doing his mechanical work instead of visiting.

coshoo · Oct 31, 2015

Amazing how parallel our experiences were, Chief! I had an old Cushman scooter too, and my first real car was a '36 Chev pickup, which I upgraded with a Chev 283 V8 and Olds rear end one summer. I was mostly self taught on automotive mechanics and electrics- Dad wasn't much interested in that stuff (too busy milking cows). I also hung out with a hot rodder neighbor kid a lot, and learned a lot there. I won a free magazine subscription for running the school magazine subscription fund-raiser when I was in 6th grade, and selected Hot Rod magazine. Saved up my money to buy a Motor Repair Manual when I was in my teens. Sometimes, the acorn falls quite a ways away from the tree.

rrc300 u · Oct 31, 2015

I tore apart EVERY broken thing that
went to the trash. Learned a lot of
simple mechanics that way. Worked on
my cars when ibwas younger and now I
about refuse to hire it out if,I have
time and don't need a bunch of special
tools. I picked up a bunch of skills
and tricks working for my uncle in his
truck garage i was the designated tire
and brake man through my entire high
school carrer. My job as an
HVAC/pipefitter service tech is a lot
easier after doing those things. One
of my favorite things to say to a new
apprentice is "you never tore apart
your toys did you".

Chuck (CA) · Oct 31, 2015

Dad wasn't mechanically inclined, but my big brother was and I looked up to him. He went on into the automotive field and just got better. What I know now at 67, he knew at 20.

Brown Swiss · Oct 31, 2015

I am very mechanical, not to much into the carpentry work, even though my last name means wood worker in German.

NCWayne · Oct 31, 2015

I've been repairing equipment, welding, designing/fabricating, machining, and doing anything else I needed for over 25 years. I worked for others until I was about 32, then I worked for/with my Dad for about 10 more, and have been completely on for 6 going on 7 years now.

I stay busy as heck, and my customers think I can fix anything. Personally I don't think it's rocket science, especially if you have the ability to read a service book, and apply the knowledge gained from it into the work being done, as well as future, similar jobs. Like a man told me once, "There are only so many kinds of parts, it just depends on how you put them together, as to what they do....." Looking at things like that simplifies mechanics tremendously.

Now I can also do electrical work pretty good, but get into electronics, and computers, and I'm not completely dumb, but lets just say it's just not my thing.....LOL

Mark - IN. · Oct 31, 2015

I've got one sister that tries, and although her mechanical skills aren't perhaps the world's best, she does try and is often successful. She operates tractors too. I have another sister that surprises me with some of her mechanical abilities, that she owns a circular and miter saw, and a 28" pipe wrench, and uses them. Well she used the 28" pipe wrench once on something. She operates her lawn tractor pretty well. I have another sister that doesn't know what a screwdriver or garden tractor is, those are her husband's job. She and her daughters come over from time to time to target practice with their handguns. So does my one sister that is fearless of operating the biggest of tractors. The one sister with the big pipe wrench, won't even look at a gun let alone touch it. She's the only non-conservative in the family. Flaming non-conservative at that. I joke from time to time that she must be the milkman's, although we never had a milkman.

As far as my mechanical abilities go, have been honing them all of my life, and will never stop. I'm not a real good gunsmith though. I try, but there are better.

Mark

shaun wallace · Oct 31, 2015

My father was an account for major oil company so didn't do much mechanical stuff. I came along at about 10-11 started messing with old lawn mower engines and it just snowballed from there.

RBnSC · Oct 31, 2015

I learned from watching and helping my Dad. He had a special ability to teach he would say "just do it" and walk away. Rebuilt my first engine at twelve.
Ron

larry@stinescorner · Oct 31, 2015

I cant fix anything without struggling,,,not real good at measuring and layout of stuff,,,my stonework ability is good mainly because I Am pretty good at piecing it together ,sort of natural art. My tractor needs a valve cover gasket,IM gonna have to get the nevrve up to do it.

MARK ROBKE · Oct 31, 2015

I think that my 'gift' was being observant.My Dad always fixed everything that he could,and built whatever he needed.He thought 'outside the box' better than I.I was never overly interested in being a mechanic,and went to trade school after high school because it sounded like a good way to make a living.But I always enjoyed fixing something that was inoperative,or making something better.And I can't stand/afford (LOL) paying someone to do anything that I can do,as long as I am physically able.I have had a hard time understanding how some people can't/won't do the most simple repairs or even maintenance.Mark

Andy Martin · Oct 31, 2015

Interesting subject. I think mechanical skills are influenced a lot by genetics. My dad was a farmer, mechanic (his partner brother was not a mechanic). Born in 23 he too apart their alarm clock when he was a kid and got in trouble until he got it back together and new the alarm worked again. He taught me and my brother mechanics but it didn't take on my brother. I learned to weld and run machine tools in college (mechanical engineering) in my spare time and had formal pipe welding training later as a welding engineer when my boss thought I should be able to TIG root beads. I have been blessed with genetics so I can figure out how something works and also visualize in three dimensions to design and assemble without drawings. Tool me a lot of years to realize most people could not do that. So now in retirement I love building, repairing, and still consult a little for helping engineering companies kick off projects where they need to formulate the basic direction of their effort, the fun part for me and what lost of people fear having to do. I like this forum because there are lots of people like me regardless of their education.

Rollie NE PA · Oct 31, 2015

I would say my skills are fairly good. Learned almost everything on my own and I was never afraid to take something apart and put it back together and make it work.

Paul from MI · Oct 31, 2015

Thanks to Dad. A poor, small farmer can't afford much new machinery, so I learned to fix what we had. Just the basic broken stuff. Always interested in engines, motorcycles, anything like that and I loved to read so I was kind of self taught. I'd read and re-read anything until I finally understood it. Then decided to go to college and study engineering, after five years wearing a tie I had to do something else. I had a chance to design and build automation in our plant, took it and never looked back. I ended up a journeyman tool & diemaker and a master electrician. I guess you could say my whole life was spent building and using mechanical skills, but I always said "If I understood people as well as I understand machines, I'd have been a millionaire!". Guys that understood and managed people made all the money.

Steve@Advance · Oct 31, 2015

Guess I was a bit of a rebel growing up. Dad telling me I was too little, too dumb... Mom telling me not to
get my clothes dirty... Quickest way to get me to do something was to tell me I couldn't!

My dad had a gas station/garage. I loved to hang out there! When I wasn't pumping gas, changing oil,
repairing tires, there was always something thrown out back to take apart, couldn't have been over about 8
at the time. In the office there was a stack of old Motors Manuals, I'd spend hours pouring over them!

Overhauled moms Pontiac when I was about 12. Got my first car at 13, had it road ready by 14 and sneaking
it out driving it. (BTW, when I was 14 I looked more like a 10 year old! LOL)

Worked on cars, trucks, tractors, boats, any and everything... Got more into industrial equipment in my
30's, learned controls, electrical, hydraulics, welding, machining, design...

Back to the original question, I think it's definitely in the genetics. Some people have the desire, some
don't. Nothing really difficult about it with a "can do" prospective. My theory, if someone else was smart
enough to design and build it, I should be able to fix it!

fixerupper · Oct 31, 2015

My dad had next to zero mechanical abilities and gave me zero encouragement mechanically. I had to pick it up myself with no help or praise from him. When I graduated from high school I took an eleven month farm mechanics course. That was the first real training I had. I have had to buy every tool I own but I am not complaining about it. Some day the tools will be in my son's hands, in fact most of them are already.

My son is mechanically minded and I have mentored him as he grew up. He now does pretty darned good work and I am proud of it. Two things I instilled into him is to be neat, clean and organized and do the best job you can. One thing I have NOT done is put him down when he makes a mistake. Nobody is perfect. If he makes a mistake the first thing he does is to come to me for advice. It gives me a good feeling of accomplishment.

sms · Oct 31, 2015

I learned most of my mechanical skills
on my own. My dad did do basic stuff
and was a good carpenter but I went
much further. As a youngster I took
things apart and put them back
together, after high school took auto
repair at a college for a year decided
I didn't want to do that for a living,
went on to get an engineering degree,
did that for a while got tired of the
cubicle, then became a carpenter and
builder. I can repair most of my own
trucks, tractors, and heavy equipment.
It may be genetic as I had an uncle
that could fix anything and was quite
well known in the antique engine
community.

jwal10 · Oct 31, 2015

Dad was not mechanical, some carpentry skills. Mom and dad had a dairy, left me in the house when I
was 2, I took Moms night stand apart, even dad couldn't get it back together. Learned to weld by
10. Welded up a crack in a Farmall B engine before I was 12, repainted it got it ready to farm.
Left home at 12 and started farming. Worked for neighbors, traded labor for heifer calves from a
dairy, calves were from Holstein heifers he bred to a Hereford bull. Plowed and planted 60 acres of
wheat. The next year a neighbor gave me a Farmall M and 3-16" MM pull plow. Another farmer gave me
a full set of Craftsman tools as a Christmas bonus. Traded everything I had the next year for a JD
4020 and a plow, heavy harrow and grain drill, I was off and farming. I am a good builder, fair
mechanic, great welder and fabricator....James

Pair-a-dice farm · Oct 31, 2015

(quoted from post at 12:21:37 10/31/15) Where did you learn them. Do you have any or would you admit to not having any here.

I was raised on a farm and my Dad was (still is) a carpenter . He taught me how to "fix" things and how to build things but mechanical skills were not his strong suit. He would sooner consult his brother who was a John Deere dealer when the tractors needed work.

After 60+ years I have decided there are basically three types of guys:

1. guys that CAN fix things

2. guys that CAN build things

3. guys that can NOT do either and will not even try

When I try to fix my tractors, I know what my skill set is, but that does not usually stop me (sometimes it should have) .

Some guys are real pros, able to teach and share their knowledge, some are not. How are your mechanical skills?

I would add one more, guys that can keep thing going. But not necessarily fixed right.
That's me. I can fix most simple mechanical things and can bend a nail fairly well. I also can do pretty well with farm electrical. Dad called me a jack of all trades and master of none. That pretty well describes it. I've built a fair amount of usable tools for the farm but they ain't pretty. When I die most will end up in the scrap heap but it kept me in business and out of debt.

ScoutB · Oct 31, 2015

I design industrial machinery for a living and I can fix anything mechanical and most things electrical. Google know everything and will tell you if you ask the right question.
I don't pretend to be able to build what I design. Steel fabrication is an entirely different skill set. But I do build my own houses, furniture, cabinets, etc. Funny how that works.
My mechanical skills are self taught and I added the engineering degree so I could design. But I think that certain environments promote mechanical aptitude. I have hired dozens of engineers and I describe my ideal candidate to a head hunter as "a farm boy with a bachelors degree". Someone that grew up hands-on and added the education.

donjr · Oct 31, 2015

Guess I was just lucky. Dad was a fair mechanic, but not great. But, I had a neighbor who could design and build an ETD-
actually a couple of them, and I learned a lot. One of them had two brothers who were a builder and a carpenter, so I learned
more. Then I was selected for Nuclear Power School in the Navy, so I got a great edumacation, thanks to Hyman G Rickover. I was
taught some welding by another friend, and got lucky and had a good job from the phone company so I could afford some play toys,
and then a farm. There's not a lot I can't do, but I also know where I'm in over my head, and have a few buddies to bail me out
when that happens. Just dumb luck.....

VicS · Oct 31, 2015

I can fix things. Sometimes crudely. I
have inherited from my mother the ability
to see what is wrong and from my father to
fix it. But my brother is better.

ericlb · Oct 31, 2015

learned some growing up out of necessity to keep stuff operating , in school, i took all the auto shop classes i could, then for college i got a associate of applied science in auto mechanics, right after that when i got out on my own i fell in with a group of guys about 10 years older than me these guys lived and breathed mechanics, not only fixing cars, tractors and machinery, but building hot rods, starting with a pair of frame rails laying on the shop floor ,or even a part of a car for a template, one guy wanted to build something different, what he finished was a 1969 corvair, not odd enough? this one boasted a 500 cid Cadillac eldarado engine and transaxle in the back seat, painted chrysler plum crazy purple just for more flair, the thing was just plain scary! but looked factory from a distance, wasnt until you got within 50 feet or so that it became apparent that something was defiantly not stock here i learned a lot from them, my folks thought i was wasting time and thought it would be better spent on the farm, but until he passed every time he needed something fixed, guess who pop called? its still a disease 45 years later, i own and drive old trucks, all 7 of them, all but 1 are custom bodied for various jobs around the place or to make money, i run old tractors too not because i cant afford newer, but because i like the older stuff, i understand how they work, mostly and can fix them myself, usually parts are dirt cheap compared to the similar parts for new trucks and tractors, plus running this old stuff brings back memories of being young when this stuff was brand new

01gentdc · Oct 31, 2015

I am learnin every day , rite here is the best school I have found yet ,,. aint no joke!.. I mean it !,,. there is love and empathy shared and good caring well meaning inspiring folx that are hard working men that if I don't get around to mtg in this life , I hope to see them in Heaven , and then some folx that are not so nice,,. but there is definitely a lesson to learn from them too . , just like being on the playground at recess .. LOL,/// ,my parents taught all of us to work and enjoy being productive, lots of goodfolx , neghbolrs , uncles , all who meant well were good to learn from ,. I recall my sister once being critical of someone I was helpin that clearly needed help, and saying only thing you will learn from them is bad habits ,, in hindsite I have to agree , BUT it WAS FUN .. also have realized I do not have time to do large repair projects , and still get my farmin done in a timely mannere , so I have serveral folx I send stuff out to have fixt ,.. got strat A 's in welding but choose not to weld 40 yrs.later.others do a better job because they have welded more often than me ../I have found that straighten tin work to perfection and paintwork is sumthin that gives me satisfaction ,I don't do motors below the heads , I luv resurrecting motors and changing out fluids and tires .bearings and such . and fixin stuff to work well again , but ,one thing I don't like is to be rushed because of weather , or people musclin me around

01gentdc · Oct 31, 2015

got to agree ,, my 1st wife was a good mechanic ,,No kid'n !,, she loved watching a machine work and understand how it works and could understand what would make things better easily ,and she could drive a clutch as good as most men ,,. and run equipment.. .she was as good as her daddy , but her granpa could build and fix anything , he was a genius , both my my sons have his talent . my current wife can fix lunch ,dinner and supper and sometimes breakfast .. but has a infantile understanding of all things mechanical to the point it is humorous ,,. you ever watch Lisa on Green Acres? ,,. yep !,. that's my sara !, cept with black hair ,. lol .

Roger in Wisconsin · Nov 1, 2015

In grade school,50s, they tested us for various things. I
got the highest score in my class for mechanical
reasoning. I had no clue. No one in my family of 6 did
anything like that. Apparently it's a gift like ability
for math or music. Anything can be learned, but some
people are just naturally good at different things.
I started by taking my Mom's sewing machine apart. I got
in trouble for that! But I got it back together. Then came
junk cars. I worked with a friend who would swear a lot
when repairs got tough. When I was 16 working on my second
junker I caught myself swearing at some tough bolt. I told
myself that this isn't helping, concentrate on doing it a
better way. I've done it that way ever since.

SMHimrod · Nov 1, 2015

Grew up on farm. Learned lots there. I'm willing to try about anything at least once. If not here, learned a lot of helpful tips on this site, I will look things up on You Tube. You can find just about anything on there. SMH

farmshophermit · Nov 2, 2015

My dad had a small farm and was a high school auto shop teacher. Before that he taught wood shop, metal shop, English, and history. He always waited till something broke on his cars before he fixed them. I remember one time he had the kids in auto shop fix a flat tire on his truck and we went camping with it that weekend. On the way home the truck started shaking and we pulled off the side of the freeway in the rain at night and discovered that the kids didn't tighten up the lug nuts on the tire and there was only one lug that hadn't been sheared off. Dad took off the tire and the hub with the tools from his canvas tool roll that my mom had made him. He and I walked to a gas station down the road but they didn't have any lugs, back then they actually repaired cars there too, but no lugs. So we went back to the truck and Dad proceeded to remove each tire and hub and bang out a lug from each hub until he had 4 total for that hub. I imagine some kids got yelled at the next day in class.
I'll never forget that story. Had that happened to me, I'm not sure what I would have done. But now that I saw how my Dad tackled the problem I look for different options when something happens.
I would classify myself as a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none. If I get stuck I'll ask my oldest son, he went to the auto tech program at the community college where I work. Though he's not quite up on the vehicles that I like to work on, old VW's, old tractors, cars and trucks, things without all the electronic computer stuff in them. I had told my wife when she bought her mini van with all the electronic stuff in it that I won't work on it cause I can't even see the engine. I've said that with each new car she's bought, and it means nothing to her. She hounds me till I get out there and at least try and fix it. She also is getting me to do preventative maintenance on our vehicles. Now that my shop is getting resurrected I'm all for that. Fun in the shop.

I didn't go to school for anything that I've learned but had men and friends around me that I've learned from, that and getting my hands dirty actually doing the work.

unc · Nov 2, 2015

I can't remember a time when I wasn't interested in anything mechanical. Dad was handy with some things, like leatherwork, but only did mechanical things out of necessity. I lucked out in school and had the best tecnical teachers. I chose to work in the trades, and have had some success in welding and machining. The greatest thing I ever learned was to read well, thanks Mom.With some natural talent, and good reading comprehension, I can look up what I don't know, and am able to manufacture or repair most anything.As previous authors have said, most any information is available, first in books, and now on the internet.
Looking back, I'm thankful for relatives and teachers that were patient with a kid that needed to know how everything worked. Now if this computer stuff was that easy... :wink:

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