SteveWallace
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| posted on 11/1/17 at 09:19 AM |
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What skills have you learnt?
Our washing machine broke down the other day. A quick search on the internet and a bit of time testing with my multi-meter revealed that it was
probably worn brushes in the motor. By the end of the morning I had fitted some new ones and its now all working again for a grand total of £12.95.
SWMBO puts my confidence and skills to be able to do this down to building the kit car (thus providing me with a great excuse to spend more time in
the garage!), so that got me thinking...
...What skills have you learnt building your car that you've been able to apply elsewhere in your life?
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bonzoronnie
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| posted on 11/1/17 at 09:36 AM |
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Last year I bought a 15ft speed boat.
This was fitted with a 1990 Mercury 50HP outboard engine.
Last owner had been trying to get the engine to run for the last couple of seasons.
Even a local Mercury mechanic could not find the fault & gave up.
I done a fair bit of research, learnt how to build & use some diagnostic equipment.
Traced the fault to the engines Stator not putting out enough voltage.
Fitted a new one & now running like clockwork.
Because the engine had a spark, all the previous work was fuel/Timing related.
Moral of the story, just because you have a spark, does not mean it's a good one. 
Gave me a great deal of satisfaction to get it running again. 
As a bonus, I learnt a fair bit about 2 stroke outboard engines.
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pekwah1
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| posted on 11/1/17 at 09:43 AM |
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My main skill is being able to look at a problem and coming up with a good solution fairly quickly.
Then spend many days correcting all the other things i have broken during the process....
Joking aside, i have definitely become the friends/family resident mechanic for when anything goes wrong on their cars.
It seems almost second nature now to fix most problems without too much effort required.
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nick205
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| posted on 11/1/17 at 10:33 AM |
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Good story Steve and well done on the washing machine!
During my kit car build I taught myself to MIG weld, write in HTML and problem solve.
I too have fixed my washing machine, tumble drier, dishwasher and other things. The required skills may be slightly different, but IMHO the patience
and satisfaction are the same. It's really quite satisfying to have something working again at low cost from your own efforts.
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Benzine
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| posted on 11/1/17 at 11:53 AM |
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I've just been pulling up tree stumps and shrubs using my engine crane. Zero digging/back strain. Does that count?
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nick205
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| posted on 11/1/17 at 11:57 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Benzine
I've just been pulling up tree stumps and shrubs using my engine crane. Zero digging/back strain. Does that count?
Whether it counts or not it's a good cross-purpose use of equipment.
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lsdweb
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| posted on 11/1/17 at 01:00 PM |
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I can do up cable ties in confined spaces with one hand. I wasn't taught that in school or university but it comes in handy all the time :-)
[Edited on 11/1/17 by lsdweb]
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on_eighty_runner
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| posted on 11/1/17 at 07:59 PM |
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Another skill I have learned buying bits for is lying convincingly about what you've spent. .
What you actually did was replace the motor in the washing machine which gives you a reasonable €100 to spend on your car!
You probably needed to buy some other tools you forgot about,so add another €20. 🤥
It's self gifting. My wife does it all the time and so do her friends/sisters as "essentials"
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bi22le
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| posted on 11/1/17 at 09:19 PM |
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I have learned how to tow a trailer, vinyl wrap sew fabric.
Im sure there are many other things but these quickle come to mind.
Track days ARE the best thing since sliced bread, until I get a supercharger that is!
Please read my ring story:
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/forum/13/viewthread.php?tid=139152&page=1
Me doing a sub 56sec lap around Brands Indy. I need a geo set up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHksfvIGB3I
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rf900rush
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| posted on 11/1/17 at 09:20 PM |
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quote:
Traced the fault to the engines Stator not putting out enough voltage. Fitted a new one & now running like clockwork.
Thanks to bonzoronnie ,I just learnt something right now.
Bought some rough outboards recently to get running. above will be a thing to check from now on.
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Adamirish
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| posted on 11/1/17 at 09:47 PM |
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I've learned a bit about electrics which I guess could be used in everyday life. I've also learned I can change a Sierra wheel bearing in
about 30 mins. Not sure how that will help anything else though. Unless my washing machine uses a Sierra wheel bearing of course!
MK Indy 1700 Xflow
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Irony
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| posted on 11/1/17 at 10:46 PM |
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Used my kitcar multimeter to diagnose a faulty heating element in my fan oven. 1 evening and £12.05 later it was fixed saving me £350 on the cost of
a new one.
I have found that the principals learned when tracking down electric kit car gremlins probably the most useful. It seems to take proper clear logical
thinking to find a 'bad' earth.
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bonzoronnie
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| posted on 12/1/17 at 09:04 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by rf900rush
quote:
Traced the fault to the engines Stator not putting out enough voltage. Fitted a new one & now running like clockwork.
Thanks to bonzoronnie ,I just learnt something right now.
Bought some rough outboards recently to get running. above will be a thing to check from now on.
Go for it.
There is some great model specific info out there on the tinternet.
A guy in Australia has some brilliant youtube guides to fault finding.
In my case, I needed to make a gadget to enable me to read an ac voltage on the dc scale of my multi meter.
A professional adapter or meter would have cost me a fair few quid.
After some research, the same thing could be made using 2 resistors, 1 diode & a capacitor.
I find outboard engines very therapeutic to tinker with.
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907
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| posted on 12/1/17 at 09:42 AM |
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The most notable skill that I've acquired is how to use an english wheel.
However, it's not a skill I've used on anything else.
There's just no call for a power bulge in the side of a washing machine.
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steve m
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| posted on 12/1/17 at 02:26 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by 907
The most notable skill that I've acquired is how to use an english wheel.
However, it's not a skill I've used on anything else.
There's just no call for a power bulge in the side of a washing machine.
But if your bored, and want to use the English wheel more, I could send you my alui hump, I made, that needs to be wheeled,
theres a pic, of what it currently looks in my pics, "mods"
steve
Thats was probably spelt wrong, or had some grammer, that the "grammer police have to have a moan at
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907
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| posted on 12/1/17 at 03:57 PM |
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Just had a look at your bulge  . You've spent far too much time on that. The dents are too small.
This is ready for wheeling.
 
Rescued attachment rear-arches-015-s.jpg
They say give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.
Give a man a rod and teach him to fish and you feed him for life..... or something like that.
So get your a*** up here and I'll show you how to use it. 
Paul G
[Edited on 12/1/17 by 907]
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Toprivetguns
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| posted on 12/1/17 at 07:10 PM |
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Patience and methodical working.
Only drive as fast as your angel can fly... !
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 12/1/17 at 08:16 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Toprivetguns
Patience and methodical working.
I was going to say something similar - so many times during my build I had to work out how to do things. This often involved doing things I
hadn't done before, so I had to work out how to approach each task, what skills I needed and how I was going to get those skills.
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snapper
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| posted on 12/1/17 at 09:05 PM |
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Tenacity, problem solving and the ability to string the same few explicit swear words in to ever increasingly offensive sentences
I eat to survive
I drink to forget
I breath to pi55 my ex wife off (and now my ex partner)
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nick205
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| posted on 12/1/17 at 10:04 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by snapper
Tenacity, problem solving and the ability to string the same few explicit swear words in to ever increasingly offensive sentences
...and that, I perfected a few choice phrases myself.
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