A couple of days ago Hillbilly did a story on what a man really needs to know. He included a flow chart which really summed up all you need to know to fix stuff. Being a engineer and tinkerer myself I have always liked to take stuff apart and fix them or make them better. In my years of experience I have discovered some Undeniable Laws of Engineering I thought I would share them here.
10 Laws of Engineering
1- Interchangeable Parts-wont, any interchangeable part will have to be modified to fit correctly
2- If it jams, force it. If it breaks it needed replacing anyway. Applies to almost any part that has been on the car since gas was under a dollar a gallon
3- Any tool dropped while repairing a car will roll underneath to the exact center, if it is not in the center of the car it will be inside the engine or some other equally hard place to get to and will require hours
to retrieve.
4- If you fool around with something for a long time you will screw it up, if it's fixed stop working on it unless you are willing to sacrifice it to potentially make it better.5- Every Job will take twice as long as you expect. Ignore this rule at your peril, don't start on a 4 hour job when you need the car in 5 hours to take your wife out for your anniversary
6- If everything seems to be going together perfectly you obviously don't know what is going on. sooner or later you will realize you forgot an important clip or pin and have to take it apart again, usually this is discovered at the end of the job with leftover parts. Thus the reason for rule # 5
7- Leak-proof seals, will trust me on this one, nothing is leak proof. It may be leak resistant but not leak-proof. You can make it leak. Also see rule # 4
8- There's never time to do it right but there's always time to do it over. This is probably one the most important rules. Do it right the first time just keep in mind rule # 5
9- A short cut is the longest distance between two points. Rarely will a short cut save you any time. Also see rule # 8
10- A $300 radiator will protect a $4 hose by bursting first. The most expensive parts fail before the cheep ones
All good points. Funny thing is all your rules apply to our lives in many ways too.
ReplyDeleteAll very true things. Reminds me of my childhood; my stepdad was always outside tinkering on the cars. Frequently I had to help with bleeding the brakes or handing off tools, etc. I learned two things from it: Don't be afraid to spend a little money on a good used car, instead of buying a cheap one that you have to spend every weekend working on; and marry someone with tinkering skills. Haha! Actually I'm not too awful with car maintenance myself. I can change oil, change filters, spark plugs, etc...even been known to put in brake shoes and pads, though that involved a lot of unladylike language.
ReplyDeleteOutstanding post
ReplyDeleteStephen, Thanks, it does apply to other aspects of life.
ReplyDeleteKris, Good for you, car maintenance is a good thing to know.
mmasse, excellent point, I have been known to walk or ride a bike to find a part.
Rob's Bunker, thanks. glad you enjoyed.
You and Papa Bear must have went to the same school!
ReplyDeletei agree with Mamma Bear - i had no idea that Duke, Papa Bear and jambaloney all went to the same school....no idea!!!!
ReplyDeleteloved this one Dear friend - loved it!
your friend,
kymber
this was stolen from private workbook that has been missing for a while, i would like it back duke!
ReplyDeleteMamma Bear and Kymber, who would have thunk it.
ReplyDeleteJambaloney, It's in the mail
I like it. Maybe we should make some t-shirts. Sounds like money...
ReplyDeleteHillbilly, all that writing we would need XXXL shirts.
ReplyDeleteThree more.
ReplyDeleteGrease is cheaper than machinery.
Don't force it; get a bigger hammer.
Don't use your finger for a drift pin.
Well Seasoned Fool, good ones, have a good Thanksgiving friend.
ReplyDelete