Informal Poll: Mechanically Inclined or Not?

[texas bound]

I am. Been turning wrenches on all kinds of stuff since I was around 13 or so. I was a diesel, hydraulic's and pneumatic's in the Corps for 9 years and I can normally build most things and do a lot of things around the house.

[texas bound]

And btw an engineering degree does not make you---well never mind

Very True sir.

[Gummi Bear]

I'm pretty mechanically inclined.

Master electrician by trade. I've been in and around construction all my life. I put myself through college working in a cabinet shop, and running trim. I've laid brick, tile, spread stucco, hung sheetrock, installed lath, hung ceilings, built scaffold, nailed down shingles, been a tar-mopper, spent a year as a plumbers helper, done some AC service as well.

My hobbies have always centered around cars. Muscle cars, classic rods, 4x4's and on into more extreme stuff like rock buggies and desert cars. I have never made a living doing this, it has always been a hobby. I've owned lots of them over the years, and worked on them for other folks a whole bunch more. My future plans include building some more hot rods and maybe a motorcycle or two just the way I want them.

My grandfather was a pipeline welder, and he taught me some of what he knew. He would pick me up from my folks on Friday evenings in his welding rig, and I spent a lot of hours playing on it and learning how everything works. He trimmed up and modified a headgear from an old Metal Fibre helmet to fit my little noggin, and I'd watch him weld as a little kid. He taught me a bunch, and it has been something I have enjoyed doing for most of my life.

I do all the maintenance on my vehicles, I won't crack open an engine or tranny though. I do not have the tools or facility to do that. I can and have rebuilt engines, transfer cases and a couple of transmissions. I understand the nuts and bolts of it. It is truthfully out of my comfort zone. I think that the folks who make their living doing that kind of work are as much an artist as they are a tradesman. Knowing the little tricks to make something work a little better than it was intended is what separates them from the others. They are worth what they earn, and I am happy to pay them.

When I took my test to go into the navy they told me not to expect to be a Doctor or Lawyer so a grease monkey it was. That was in 82 and been working on airplanes ever since.


Mechanical....
And btw an engineering degree does not make you---well never mind

I have 2 levels of compensation when someone asks me to come and do some work for them: one is normal. Nobody has fiddled with it, and they are welcome to sit and watch me work and keep me company.

The other is my "engineer" scale. It is basically double the rate. It almost always starts out like this, with a call from a frustrated wife:
wife "Yes, can you please come and finish this project that my husband won't ever get to. It's a complete mess, none of the lights work, and the toilet flushes every time I open the garage door"
me "sure ma'am, if you don't mind me asking, what does your husband do for a living?"
wife proudly proclaims "he's and engineer at *** company. He's very smart, and holds lots of patents. He graduated from (insert snooty college here) and can do just about anything. I just can't get him to finish this project"
me "I'll be right over, it's not gonna be cheap though, so be ready."
wife "I don't care what it costs, I just want it done!"

[Geezy Rider]

Mechanical....
And btw an engineering degree does not make you---well never mind

[bps3040]

Mechanical, my neighbor is not, lol, I just switched his kitchen faucet out for him. He gave a 6 of Sam Adams!

[slayer]

Mechanical all the way, not much I can't do.

[Mayhem]

im somewhere in the middle. I can do enough to get me by.

[Artos]

Neat thread chew...I'm mechanical but more like cc's thought process in regards to what I enjoy tinkering on & what will certainly get me frustrated when I could be productive.

I avoid certain plumbing issues when I can but no way would I tackle appliance...I have been in the LG & Maytag plants. They are put together faster than I could get the back plate off!! I do wish I was better on small motors too!!

My Great Gramp & Gramp had one of the few machine shops down here in the valley sinsce the 20's and did all sorts of stuff for city & county. I think I would have liked that gig and it was always cool seeing them thread a bar that seemed 12 inches in diameter!! It was a dangerous place and Gramp was pretty crotchety...I doubt it would have worked out. My other Great Grandfather had roots on the valley too, but ran a foundry for the water & school district. Never got to meet either of my greats and wish there were more pics!!

I can reload tight neck wildcat on a hand turn lathe and still not blow myself up, but care nothing of art of putting on a new roof in August if the ins will pay for it.

I don't enjoy wrenching unless someone there is barking orders...otherwise, I like mechanics and not having to pay tp fix my wheels!! I am also fortunate to be in manufacturing and get to live both sides. I once re-worked over 1 million motors!!

edit..will try to find that cartoon in a bigger pic.

[KNEE DEEP]

Been turning wrenches quite a while.I try to fix everything around the house that i think i can handle.BUT,i have bit off more than i can chew,as my wife has told me a time or two.

[GARY]

nada, and getting worse every day I live outside Texas with exposure to my dad.

[BigL]

mechanical but not like my dad was.

That said, I rarely fix anything anymore. My time is more valuable than the cost of repairing something most of the time...

[texag93]

Mechanical to a point. If its electrical, I can do it. I'm not a plumber, but a fair carpenter.

[LemmeOut]

I am not mechanically inclined when it comes to cars but I can do some minor maintenance myself. I have replaced parts on a couple different appliances but that was thanks to watching my dad break those parts previously. I have had some luck fixing and putting a couple guns back together for my dad after broke them down but couldn't get them back together.

Now that we both have aged and calmed a little we can actually work on projects together without throwing heavy tools at each other. I wish we both could have done that in my teenage years so I could have learned more from him.

[Keith]

Yep, I can fix or build most things.

[SCoats]

I would say I am mechanical...but I rely on buddies and YOUtube to assist as needed.