Tractor Mike - Skills lost

[Matt Ellerbee]

I see this daily. I take care of about 35 pieces of ride on equipment(zero turn, out front mowers and utility vehicles), multiple blowers, weedeaters, chainsaws and small walk behind packers, painters, aerators and the like.

Co workers are AMAZED when I have a hydraulic pump or cylinder torn apart or a chainsaw in pieces on my bench. Like, they have never seen anything like it. It just amazes me the lack of try in this world. Did I know how to rebuild that first saw? Nope, but I took it apart and learned a skill. My motto is, someone put it together, I can take it apart and fix it. Most are scared to even try, don't want to fail I guess. But if you fail at something, hopefully you will learn from it, I know I have.

I have also made tools to get stuff apart. JD will not sell a clutch removal tool for their small gators or bunker rakes. I made one.

Crude, but does the job.
Also welded up a wrench for a Toro workman tierod. As a regular wrench wouldn’t fit in the tight space. That is the tiered beside the pink tool.

I contribute a lot of my thinking skills to building Legos as a kid. I loved them. Would always be creating something new, mixing kits and just having fun.
As @D2Cat said, its the problem solving skills. Anyone can be taught to spin a wrench.

 

[JeremyBX2200]

He is right about not being able to find skilled labor. There was a long period of time where kids were pushed to go to college and academics instead of learning any trade.

The result now is that there is a big shortage of people that can fix/build/etc. I used to do side jobs as a handyman and had to turn work down because I didnt have the time.

I always felt a little guilty when I would show up and charge the people $50 for pressing the reset button on their GFI plug....lol.

 

[Butch]

My thoughts are that people who know how to fix and fabricate are a dying and vanishing breed...myself included. I have much skill and knowledge that could be passed on to someone but there is no one to pass it to.

Ain't that the living truth! I too am up in years and with more tools and shop equipment than some garages have and make a good living at.
I cringe at the thought that before I am even cold all will be on the likes of Ebay or Facebook.

 

[Butch]

I'm one of those that have minimal mechanical skills, spent years working on people (paramedic), but never developed much of mechanical skill. Grandpa and dad were always around and they could fix anything, so why should a I learn. I was the manual in the labor (lift this, hold that, etc.)

Grandpa has passed and dad is getting up there in years. Thankfully, I have a nephew that loves mechanical things and is very good at it.

With that, dad and the nephew is now trying to educate me and help me become more self-sufficient on the mechanical side. I know it about kills them watching me struggle along, when they could complete the task in minutes verses me trying to figure out which end of the screwdriver to use for a half-hour (ok not that bad).

So, I'm thankful to have those two to guide me and have come to realize the value in having some basic mechanical skills and starting to see the huge gap that others are referring to.

They are lucky..... they are passing it along to you....

 

[D2Cat]

Along with this story, talking about the latest generation of "mechanical lack of young ones"

I am an "ol" shop teacher for those that may not know, been doing it for 35 years at 3 different high schools, (I switched just last year to a "larger more sophisticated" high school this past year, with 2 twice as many students and ZERO hands on classes. My principal lined the path with lots of $$$ and has made my life very nice........... but the problem STILL remains.......... the students!!!

Great kids - but their interests are really hurting my feelings and lately I have been telling them!!! "I don't ask you to write a paper, nor memorize facts of history or do complicated math!" ALL I require is your imagination and determination to design and build a project that is better than your peers!

I teach 2 levels of what is called "Engineer explorations" ---- to me a class where we can talk a little bit about theory and whatnot but......... we touch things and build things to prove that it can be done and why it works in the real world!!!

For example - the ol mouse trap car (many of you have seen it) each student gets the same "kit" - a mousetrap, 4 cds , some dowel rods, nuts, washers, pieces of flat wood, a bottle cap, some small screws, string......etc

the premise is this - "F=M*A" , Levers, and pulleys - I want you the student to build a "car" that will travel further than anyone else using just these pieces........... there are rules, but I added that you must have a 2 stage transmission......... so the physics of the entire thing is friction against the floor, length of pull arm (lever), do I wrap the small axle first or last........... etc.....

I explain all of this simply because of the reactions........ they go at it from the same point of view, ZERO if any imagination nor "design". Some think it is boring....... I say - so you would rather write a paper in English? Now - to bad mouth the entire group is not true, the ones WHO are the most interested are the GIRLS in the class - and they are fun to watch!

The last "project" was to build a small sailboat that will weigh about 30 grams (8" long - 6" wide Styrofoam - dowel rods, sheets of tinfoil etc) and it must carry two heavy "ballast nuts" that each weigh 50 grams each - a fan will provide the wind and I made an 8' long moat that the boats will be floated down. We talked about the ol Columbus ships that had ballast in the depth of the hulls and why it was needed, we talked about hull designs and sail designs too........ That project didn't start well - but many learned quickly why sails are designed in a certain way and why hulls are designed for a reason.

I mention all of this - no they are not turning wrenches, but the way I look at it, I am offering them a way to experiment with ideas and goals and above all else, have a thought, see that it is wrong and move forward to making it better - the same way MOST of us did things in the past 50 years!!!!


Sorry for the long post - but I wanted to add to the young group that are not wrench turners are really missing out on life - and I am trying like hell to interest them in something besides their #@@#$#@%^@#$ CELL PHONES which they cannot live without.

In my other classes I STILL teach drafting on pencil and paper ........ well , for 18 weeks that is ...... then we hit the computer......... and the story goes......

Partner, you have to have the patience of Job.

 

[Daren Todd]

Now days, it's all about the code. What's the code? What does it say to look at?

That computer and code reader is a crutch for kids just coming out of diesel school or auto repair schools.

There is an inherent lack of what most of the older generation consider common sense and trouble shooting skills.

Had a deere tech find a sensor unplugged. Plugged it back in, then spent 5 hrs on the computer trying to figure out what the code was and what it meant.

Never thought once to disconnect the sensor that he just plugged in to see if the code went away

Needless to say, I flipped the heck out when the dealer tried to charge me 5hrs worth of computer diagnostics. When all they were supposed to do was a simple fix that I didn't have time for.

I dragged the tech, their lead tech, service manager and branch manager out to the shop to the equipment and asked them to show me how they hooked a computer up to that piece of equipment to justify the computer diagnostics.

I already knew the answer to my question, and wanted to see what they had to say about it.

The equipment was mechanically governed and didn't have a diagnostic port.

 

[Matt Ellerbee]

I see this daily. I take care of about 35 pieces of ride on equipment(zero turn, out front mowers and utility vehicles), multiple blowers, weedeaters, chainsaws and small walk behind packers, painters, aerators and the like.

Co workers are AMAZED when I have a hydraulic pump or cylinder torn apart or a chainsaw in pieces on my bench. Like, they have never seen anything like it. It just amazes me the lack of try in this world. Did I know how to rebuild that first saw? Nope, but I took it apart and learned a skill. My motto is, someone put it together, I can take it apart and fix it. Most are scared to even try, don't want to fail I guess. But if you fail at something, hopefully you will learn from it, I know I have.

I have also made tools to get stuff apart. JD will not sell a clutch removal tool for their small gators or bunker rakes. I made one. View attachment 73585
Crude, but does the job.
Also welded up a wrench for a Toro workman tierod. As a regular wrench wouldn’t fit in the tight space. That is the tiered beside the pink tool.
View attachment 73587
I contribute a lot of my thinking skills to building Legos as a kid. I loved them. Would always be creating something new, mixing kits and just having fun.
As @D2Cat said, its the problem solving skills. Anyone can be taught to spin a wrench.

I’m also in the same camp as, if you can’t fix it with a hammer, you have an electrical problem. AVE is my hero.

 

[D2Cat]

My motto is, someone put it together, I can take it apart and fix it.

My motto is: Someone built it, now that I see what they did I can take it apart and make it better.

 

[Butch]

Grandad could throw a two up hitch on the plow horses in his sleep and fix a broken harness with a pocket knife. Those days are gone. We are living in a new and different technology. The idea that an ordinary individual will or should have the skills and equipment needed to repair every day modern devices is simply not realistic. I am a computer professional with 50+ years in the business. I can diagnose an operating or network system failure but cracking the case on a laptop is not in my skill set. When it dies I replace it. If I live another 20 years the car I will he driving will he an electric mystery and my 3000 SF shop full of ICE automotive tools will be obsolete. Times change and people's skill sets change with them.

Dan

Old Hokie.... You are 100% correct! But I pretty much kept up with the newer technology... analyzers and the like... however, My problem is I am 72 yr old and it is a chore for me to get down and up much less getting to the the actual repair once its diagnosed. Most these days I can wrench on a project one day and be laid up on a heating pad for the next 2 or days. Pulling, tugging and lifting on stuff is pretty much getting to be a thing in my past. Over the last year or so I have called in help from my grown grandsons. I hate to do that because I know they'd rather be somewhere else...

"Getting old allows us to amass skillsets and knowledge over time but when we arrive there the body is too worn out to really enjoy them."

 

[Yooper]

Lots of good replies to this post!
I just realized that maybe I and many of you were born too early. Our troubleshooting skills would command top dollar. I was talking to a business owner who purchased a machine based solely on the reputation of the tech guy that serviced that particular brand. He knew if called upon this guy would get his computer controlled machine that he depended on for a living up and running quickly. It was like an insurance policy in his mind

 

[85Hokie]

Partner, you have to have the patience of Job.

Well.............. NO !!! When I told my mother that I was going to be a teacher............ SHE SAID - I hope like hell they understand you the first time........ God help them if they don't!!!

Here is the kicker - if I am trying to explain bernoulli's principle and there are students who don't get it ... I will find 5 ways to explain it better....... but there are always those that don't give a shyte and those drive me batshyt crazy. So I do have a little - but some days I leave patience at home!!!

I tell you what I do not have patience with ........ and that is me!!!! I cannot hold onto anything, hell cannot pick up a dime off the floor, yeah the bending part sucks but the fingers trying to do something I should be able to do..... getting old does suck, but the living beats the hell out of the other choice.

 

[Old_Paint]

It's very hard to not climb up on my soapbox about this.

getting old does suck, but the living beats the hell out of the other choice.

I hear ya brother! But the alternative probably doesn't hurt near as much. Living with pain every day gets to the point of just existing, not living. I was forcibly retired in December because of musculoskeletal issues, from a job that has NO list of physical requirements or specified skill set because I was no longer qualified for the job. Pardon me? After 40 years, I'm not qualified to do it? Well crap, if I'd known that, I'd have stayed on the farm.

 

[nbryan]

I'm one of those that have minimal mechanical skills, spent years working on people (paramedic), but never developed much of mechanical skill. Grandpa and dad were always around and they could fix anything, so why should a I learn. I was the manual in the labor (lift this, hold that, etc.)

Grandpa has passed and dad is getting up there in years. Thankfully, I have a nephew that loves mechanical things and is very good at it.

With that, dad and the nephew is now trying to educate me and help me become more self-sufficient on the mechanical side. I know it about kills them watching me struggle along, when they could complete the task in minutes verses me trying to figure out which end of the screwdriver to use for a half-hour (ok not that bad).

So, I'm thankful to have those two to guide me and have come to realize the value in having some basic mechanical skills and starting to see the huge gap that others are referring to.

You did gain certain physical and situational judgement skills as a paramedic, among other skills I'm sure, that serve you well as you pick up a different set of tools to serve a different need with the tractor work.

 

[kubotafreak]

“Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.” The quote, from a postapocalyptic novel by the author G. Michael Hopf

War, feast, famine…

I can stomach the lack of mechanical ability in my fellow man. The lack of regard for history is really disappointing though. I would like to keep speaking US english for myself and my children.

 

[GSD-Keegan]

For me, I see a obvious co-relation in those with lack of knowledge and/or enthusiasm to learn, WITH entitlement. “If somebody else will do it, why should I”. That’s not my job. Somebody else can do that. I don’t get paid to do that. Easier for me to run up my debt rather than learn how to do it. And also applies to a lot in life. My marriage didn’t work…but I didn’t put any effort into it. My dog is just to hard to handle or a bother. Just put it down. I don’t have the time to train my dog. My car is junk. Everything is wearing out, but let’s drive all over the place, on a vacation and eating fast food everywhere then say I don’t have any money and my dog crapped in the house, my cat ate my pet hamster, and there’s an eviction notice on my door. Oh, but wait, I have another welfare cheque in the mailbox. Good to go. My kids get to go to school and be fed breakfast and lunch! They also get a back pack full of school supply’s obtained from donations from the general public. And a plus, they get a free iPad to do their homework or for those online learning days. Plus I get to use it for my Facebook chats and sell my marijuana!

 

[fried1765]

I see this daily. I take care of about 35 pieces of ride on equipment(zero turn, out front mowers and utility vehicles), multiple blowers, weedeaters, chainsaws and small walk behind packers, painters, aerators and the like.

Co workers are AMAZED when I have a hydraulic pump or cylinder torn apart or a chainsaw in pieces on my bench. Like, they have never seen anything like it. It just amazes me the lack of try in this world. Did I know how to rebuild that first saw? Nope, but I took it apart and learned a skill. My motto is, someone put it together, I can take it apart and fix it. Most are scared to even try, don't want to fail I guess. But if you fail at something, hopefully you will learn from it, I know I have.

I have also made tools to get stuff apart. JD will not sell a clutch removal tool for their small gators or bunker rakes. I made one. View attachment 73585
Crude, but does the job.
Also welded up a wrench for a Toro workman tierod. As a regular wrench wouldn’t fit in the tight space. That is the tiered beside the pink tool.
View attachment 73587
I contribute a lot of my thinking skills to building Legos as a kid. I loved them. Would always be creating something new, mixing kits and just having fun.
As @D2Cat said, its the problem solving skills. Anyone can be taught to spin a wrench.

"Legos"??
I am dating myself.....Erector Set!

 

[jimh406]

I don’t think it’s a skilled labor problem. It’s a labor issue period. No, not all of the younguns refuse to work. But, there are a lot that have been encouraged to seek avenues that make no sense at all. We can have only so many liberal arts majors who think they deserve high wages.

Then, there are those who happened to pick a technical degree. Even those seem to have an issue with working for high wages. No, not all.

Parents and schools should focus on helping kids figure out how they will make a living at something they like to do, and skip the they are entitled because they are are great people and need a fantastic work/life balance to get ahead in life. Work/life balance is a joke unless you are ok with never being exceptional at work. That’s ok if you don’t. Everything is a balance.

The country wasn’t built by minimum wage workers who barely will work 40 hrs a week. My dad and mom were blue collar who frequently worked overtime. I graduated from college, but working harder than the majority and being responsible helped me retire early.

 

[bird dogger]

"Legos"??
I am dating myself.....Erector Set!

Me too! Erector sets ruled back in the day!! Wish I still had mine.

 

[Matt Ellerbee]

"Legos"??
I am dating myself.....Erector Set!

Hahaha! I had one of those too!

And Lincoln logs!

 

[woodsy]

Watching Mike's video and reading comments here makes me feel fortunate
to have grown up working on farms even though it was azz busting work.
Although can't say I would be good at troubleshooting the newer computerized tractors.
Generally speaking most repairs back then were done on
the farm.
Either fix machinery with what you have or maybe go to town for a part or
rig things in the field to work temporarily at least till parts were available.

Not bragging but since those long gone farm days have managed to keep a JD running for 30 yrs and it never saw a trip to the shop.
Upgraded to a 95 Kubota this year and knock on wood so far despite some
issues have managed to keep it running with little downtime. Preventive maint, is key to alot of it, staying on top of things.
Seems as long as I stay at least 10-15 yrs behind the latest technology can keep things running w/o dealer shop help. Same with automobiles. Occasionally have to buy a new tool to fix something .
Plus can ask for help here and get plenty. Thanks OTT !
Too bad about the mechanical skills in decline with all the homeowners
buying more tractors and equip. than ever.
Probably more of a challenge with the newer computerized equip. but anyone can learn how to do alot of repairs with the right tools and shop manuals.