Boys' education

[Victor3]

 Recently, after speaking to local boys and discussing with other men about what we learned as kids, it struck me how nowadays, at least in my circles, boys know little that I learned as a kid.

 I'm not talking about school, but basic things that Dad mainly taught us. I recently attended my Son's Boy Scout meeting where one of the leaders was doing a demonstration on bicycle repair/maintenance. I was amazed at how many 12-16 year olds there had no idea what was inside the front hub, let alone how to lubricate and adjust the bearings. Most didn't even know how to fix a flat.

 I guess some of this lack of basic knowledge is due to new technology. Over the past 30 years or so, many things we used to repair at home have now become 'black boxes' that most have to take to an 'expert' to repair. Few Dads are in the driveway doing a tune-up on the family car or replacing tubes in the TV with junior helping.

 Another reason is disposability. We're out of glue? Oh well, let's just buy another. They have a new & improved model out now anyway.

 Unfortunately, it seems that these black box and disposability attitudes have spilled over to basic things where what used to be common, easy repairs & maintenance are now mostly farmed out, or an item is just disposed of.

 Is it any wonder the US is in decline as far as science and technology goes? What did you learn from fixing a flashlight as a kid that made you want to go into electronics in college?

[blind ear]

Victor3, Now how long did it take you to realize that we are in a disposable, service based economy? ear

[Sourdough]

We definately have a problem when it cost more for a part than to replace the entire unit.  I had a heating unit go out over the weekend.  A small motor quite working.  I went in to order a new motor.  The motor alone cost $180.00.  A whole new heater cost $150.00. 

The number of single parent families has a lot to do with the boys not learning how to do the basics.  Another thing, those Moms are so busy working to support the family, they don't have the time to teach their daughters how to maintain a household. 

[powderman]

I think a lot of it is kids have too many fancy gadgets. Cells, mp3s, video games, you name it. Everything today encourages laziness and inactivity. POWDERMAN. 

[eye shot]

The gadgets are fine if the kid has to work for them.

[burntmuch]

You,re right. Young boys arnt learning what we did as kids. As a parent we have to make at point of teaching our kids. Sometimes its a pain in the but. My 3 y/o boy follows me everywhere ""helping me"". Now when he,s helping me he,s more trouble than help. But hes as happy as can be. Now if Im working on something I can tell him to go get a screwdriver or what ever it is I need. He gets it right about half the time. The only tool he knows for sure is the hammer. He also knows how to go out to the barn & gather the eggs.  With every egg he shouts out a : Thank you ga ga. His word for chicken.  When he first started with that chore. about half the eggs made it back to the house intact. Now its almost 100%. My nine y/o twin girls did most of the baking for Christmas this year. Plus they can pluck a chicken with the best of them.. Its up to us.
I had to teach a young man. :a new fireman' how to use a hammer last year. He grew up with out a dad. That was an eye opener for me. So my goal is to have kids grow up knowing jhow to do stuff. Or at least the confidence to try.  

[powderman]

The gadgets are fine if the kid has to work for them.

True. POWDERMAN. 

[Conan The Librarian]

It's not just the kids. The adults have issues too. Including me. I used to be a mechanic but seldom do my own car work now because of all the special tools needed, and the infrequency with which my cars need repairs. It just makes more sense to take it in and have it fixed. I still work on small engines like lawn mowers and such because they still use tools that have repeated uses. My car is a Ford and it is infuriatingly difficult to change the oil in that car. It's not possible to do it without spilling oil all over the frame and front suspension unless I have a special oil catcher that redirects the oil downward.

Things are VERY reliable today. Back when I was a kid, changing a bike tire was essential knowledge. With my current bicycle I have never had a flat tire, although I have replaced the tires and tubes because of wear.

A friend at work had to show his neighbor how to check the tire pressure on his motorcycle.

When I have to do repair vs. replace decisions, I often end up replacing because it's cheaper. Sometimes this works to good effect, like instead of re-painting our house we simply ripped off the old masonite siding and replaced it with vinyl siding. We will never have to paint the house again.

Plumbing is getting to be more specialized in the way of tools. I had a simple job recently on a friend's house and had to buy a special tool just to replace some fittings under a bathroom sink.  That was hard to believe. The house was relatively new and they use a lot of special tools to make assembly easy, but makes simple maintenance increasingly difficult. On the other hand, we had a leak under our kitchen sink because a hole corroded in the p-trap. Rather than just fix that one thing, I re-thought the under-sink plumbing, went and got all PVC parts, and replaced them. I'll never have to do that job again because it won't corrode.

My brother in law the heating and cooling specialist tells me that a lot of furnaces, especially the very high efficiency ones are hard to get parts for after about three years.

My kids are not comfortable with tools. I taught them to use the tools and gave them projects, some pretty complex, but they have nowhere near the experience we had when I was a kid. About the only thing they are good at with tools is picking them up, taking them someplace where they don't belong, and then leaving them there so that I get mad at them.

Now, farm work is different. Those old farmers can do just about anything.

[SHOOTALL]

Why do parts cost more ?
!- shipping 2- handling 3- labor
Example(s) a water closet replacement cost less than a repair. A heat pump outdoor unit can be replaced for around $50.0 to $100.00 dollars more over a compressor replacement . Kicker is a new unit has a 5 -1- year warrt. where a compressor is 90 days . Reality the company makes less on the replacements. Do you think high labor cost from skilled labor caused this or manfactures found a way to increse profits ? OR BOTH ?
Keep in mind both water closets and heat pump manf. send more units to the replacement market than new construction. Also consider this example - one guy owned high rise apartment buildings in many states. When 1.6 gal flush water closets came out he did a study and if he replaced all the water closets in all his buildings he could save millions in water cost. These are things that screw up a market. So maybe the boys who have figured out replacement is cost effective are smarter than us old coots 

[eye shot]

Ya but you have to flush them 2 to 3 times more to get everything down. It may end up costing more.

[SHOOTALL]

Ya but you have to flush them 2 to 3 times more to get everything down. It may end up costing more.

That was true with the 3.5 gal  flush but the new 1.6 work very well once people learn to flush them. If you check most have a light flush for when you tinkle and a full flush when you have to do paper work. Always make sure you use the correct flush and you will have no problem.

[The Hermit]

I'd give a lot to be able to buy a brand new 58 chev pickup truck, 6 cyl, standard transmission. Basic transportation, simple to work on. ok ok, so it only had an AM radio.  haha.

  The Hermit

[Victor3]

Ya but you have to flush them 2 to 3 times more to get everything down. It may end up costing more.

That was true with the 3.5 gal  flush but the new 1.6 work very well once people learn to flush them. If you check most have a light flush for when you tinkle and a full flush when you have to do paper work. Always make sure you use the correct flush and you will have no problem.

 Couple of years back my company replaced all of the toilet valves with automatic ones that flush when they detect changes in light from someone using/leaving. Fanfare about saving water and being more healthy for the employees (no touching a handle to flush) came with them.

 We immediately found that you couldn't get your paper cowboy hat positioned and sit on it before the toilet flushed it away for you. The shiney stainless steel walls were fooling the sensors, so the things would flush 3 or 4 times before you could read the front page. The sensors are now taped over and we have to push the override button on the valve to flush (it works fine if the battery isn't dead).

[SHOOTALL]

They should get the new Sloan valves with green flush handles they are treated to prevent transfer of germs and work well. They work like the old chrome ones but also save water . I don't know which idea is the worst auto flush valves or waterless urnials . Both are very high maintance items that recieve little maintance. 

[Victor3]

 Last month we found out there's a Boy Scout thingie for axes. I thought about what my Son and I could do and I dug up an old head my Dad and I found at a dump when I was a kid. This thing sat in a box of junk in Dad's, then my garage for 40+ years, both of us thinking "maybe someday I'll put a handle on that."

 I previously saw a box of hatchet handles at the discount store for $2.50 each, complete with wood and steel wedges. Appeared to be nice ash, so my Son and I went back and bought one.

 The handle didn't fit the head's socket so we had to file the wood for it to mate at the base of the head. The head itself was a mess; all beat up, rusty and mushroomed over where it was used as a hammer. We used the belt sander to clean it up and sharpen it.

 We used rifle bedding epoxy to fill the gaps when we put the head on. After that hardened, we drove the wedges into the slot, coated with more epoxy. Then we ground everything flush on the belt sander.



 This simple project created an opportunity to teach my 12 year old several things...

1. Use of various tools

2. Mixing epoxy

3. Repairing instead of buying new

4. History, materials, manufacture, repair and use (as tools, weapons, etc.) of axes. I showed him my "escape axe"; part of an emergency kit for military aircraft. He'd never even noticed it up on the wall in the garage.



5. Even a Bible study; why it's important that the head stays on the handle 

So Elisha went with them.  And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down wood.  But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water and he cried and said "Alas, Master!" -- for it was borrowed.  And the man of God said, "Where fell it?"  And he shewed him the place.  And Elisha cut down a stick, and cast in in thither; and the iron did swim.
-- II Kings 6:5-6

 Next will be to use it; we have to remove and replace a concrete walkway where our tree's roots have lifted and cracked it. The axe will be used to cut out the roots before laying down flagstone.



 Interesting head. Used as a promotional item for Buster Brown shoes.