Are you mechanically inclined?

[Belrix]

I'm a computer geek for a living. We were talking at lunch today of the number of us white-collar workers who seem to be helpless with DIY stuff.

There seems to be two types, for sure, but I pride myself on trying things myself.

I've rewired an entire house, done basic plumbing (including copper soldering), framed and wallboarded, tiled floors, hung doors, and completely remodeled a bathroom. I can handle basic car repair and have done repairs to both my and my friend's washing machines.

I can bring home the bacon and I can fry it up in a pan (I'm a decent cook) and I'm crocheting an afghan for my bed right now.

(yeah, I know those last two aren't mechanical - I'm just on a roll).

So, are your home-repair manual's pages dog-eared?Are the manual's pages on plumbing wrinkled from the water you forgot to turn off before pulling your taps off? Do you know what a Chilton's (or Hayne's) is?

Are you mechanically inclined?

[Cat Whisperer]

You betcha. I'm a handy gal. My preference is for doing things outside, but my hands are rarely idle (I work as an accounting clerk, currently transitioning into landscape design).

[vetbridge]

I do all the things Belrix mentioned, except the sewing. I suture every day at work, though, and my kids will bring sewing to me instead of their mom. But I don't like it, not one bit!

[Asimovian]

Not in the least, and I always feel vastly inferior because of it. I mean, I can put together IKEA furniture, but that's about the extent of it.

The mechanical highlight of my life was earlier this year when I changed the oil on my motorcycle without too much help. I have zero confidence when it comes to using most tools more complex than a screwdriver. I am not proud of this fact at all. I've actually given thought to taking an auto maintenance class at the local community college to help me get over that a bit.

I think I just lost all my street cred with this post.

[Anne Neville]

No. I have a T-shirt with the Far Side "School for the Mechanically Declined" cartoon on it.

[Ghanima]

I am mechanically inclined, but I also have boobies so I don't have to be. :D

[fishbicycle]

Nope. My father could build an addition on the house, assemble a TV from spare parts, install a furnace and the ductwork, fix the car, refinish a hardwood floor, put up panelling, a dropped tile ceiling, retrofit insulation, you name it. But I could not touch the tools, and he never taught me any of that stuff.

Chilton's is a car repair manual, isn't it? I've never owned a car, and it's just as well - I have no idea how they work, or what anything under the hood is called. I tried to take electronics and shop in high school, but apparently, entry-level courses in these subjects require extensive knowledge beforehand, and plenty of practical experience, none of which they were willing to provide.

[Khadaji]

Short Answer: No.

Longer answer: I could be if I wanted to be. But I hate hate hate DIY stuff.

My Dad fixed everything himself. He would never buy a tool or part if he could make one. Everything would eventually get done, but it took 10 times as long and I learned to dread doing it.

He saved my parents a lot of money over the years, and they needed it, so I respect him for that.

But it still made me hate doing it.

[Duke of Rat]

Yep, I am. My earliest memory is taking the wind-up music box out of the back of a teddy bear. Started taking apart alarm clocks when I was about kindergarten age, lawn mower engines at maybe 2nd grade. I was building go-carts and welding during grade school. Have overhauled automatic transmissions, car engines, motorcycle engines, lathes, lots of machinery. D 379, 3408 Cats, duplex and triplex pumps and draw works on rigs. Electric motors, hydraulic motors and rams, air motors. Abu Garcia 4600 C3/4 (and lots of others, but the 4600 is what I like to use) reels, Johnson, Evinrude, and Scott Atwater outboard motors (had to make parts to fix the SA), trolling motors. I've fixed a lot of mechanical stuff, too much to really even list.

[Anne Neville]

Nope. My father could build an addition on the house, assemble a TV from spare parts, install a furnace and the ductwork, fix the car, refinish a hardwood floor, put up panelling, a dropped tile ceiling, retrofit insulation, you name it. But I could not touch the tools, and he never taught me any of that stuff.

My dad is very handy as well, but my sister and I were never encouraged to learn any of that kind of stuff.

[Tully Mars]

I'm a computer geek for a living. I consider myself very mechanically inclined. I will also concede that this is is not so common.

I was just having a conversion with a good friend about how full my schedule is. I'll list a few things I've done recently and leave up to the reader to decide:

I remodelled (paint and new floor) the dining room two weeks ago.

I currently repainting and reflooring the living room during the evenings.

I replaced the fuel line on the John Deere and re-primed the injector pump.

I mounted and balanced new tires on the motorcycle.

I changed the oil, rotated the tires, and repaired a hole in a tire on my wife's Altima.

I installed eave vents on the house.

I helped a friend build a deck using beams I sawed from bug-killed pines trees that I'd salvaged.

I cut and hauled some prime white oak logs that I will later saw into lumber from some land that was about to be bulldozed.

Here's some of the not-so-mechanical accomplishments:

I fixed a delicous seafood pasta dish and a favorite salad for my sister's birthday party for 10 people (after mowing pastures all day).

I learned to cook a seared tuna steak that was better than any I've had in a restaurant.




I guess I'm kinda hijacking, but I've had a rough week and this little inventory has made me feel a little better.

[River Hippie]

Yep, I am.

[Cowgirl Jules]

I'm on the mechanically-inclined end of the scale.

I started my new career with my hands, and that's still my favorite part even if I am forced to use my brain most of the time lately. Just today I fixed the mix-valve faucet in our office.

I own a tool belt and know how to use everything in it. (And a growing collection of non-tool-belt tools.)

I owned the Chilton's for my first car, which my Dad tought me to take apart and put back together, although I am not a fan of auto mechanicing, and take mine to a shop now.

I can build things and fix things. I am not afraid to dive in and take something apart - I can almost always get it back together.

But then, I'm not a computer geek. I pay people for that part (or ask nicely.)

[Tripler]

Yup, I are.

Pop taught me plenty--a little electrical, a little plumbing, a little framing, some painting, a little automotive . . . of course, then again it helps that my grandfather was a machinist back in the 20s and 30s.

I have more tools than I know what to do with. It also helps that I was in a heavy construction squadron which 'retrained' and honed all of my skills. Hell, a few weekends ago, I went to help with a Habitat for Humanity house, and was laying out studs and such faster than the "construction director" could keep up. I got bored, but ended up showing some of the n00bs what to do so they could productively swing a hammer and help out.

So yes, I am mechanically inclined. I can weld, too.

Tripler
MacGuyver ain't got nuthin' on me.

[Chronos]

Give me a roll of duct tape and a Swiss army knife, and I can jerry-rig anything I need. And I can generally manage to take the screws out of something pre-made and put them back where they came from. But if it's a job that calls for precision or fine detail, I'm probably not the man you're looking for.

[Hockey Monkey]

My Dad has been a mechanic his entire working life, so I kinda picked up the mechanically inclined gene from him. I'm a girl and while my sister wanted dolls and such, I wanted Lincoln Logs and an Erector Set. Both of which I would play with for hours on end. I built her a dollhouse for her Barbies - 2 stories with an attic, and a working garage door for the Barvie 'Vette - when I was 12. I took my bicycle apart and put it back together more times than I can count. I used to be a machine technician in a textile mill. I'm a Schlofhorst certified Spin Frame Technician, a Truetzschler certified Carding Technician, and a Rieter certified Draw Frame Technician. (Never thought I would get to brag that.) I haven't worked on any of that type of stuff for close to 9 years now, so I finally sold my toolbox to my step-father who became a Card Tech, when I moved and had nowhere to store it. Currently I have a small portable box that has a hammer, battery-operated screwdriver, laser lever, and a couple of sets of pliers and assorted wrenches. I love taking things apart and putting things together. I can even weld. :)

[Ludy]

I can fix most things, it comes with the job. I work in theatre and I am responsible for the upkeep of the sets, props, costumes, and the creation of special effects. Because of this I have had crash courses in anything from pneumatics to plumbing to zipper repair to cooking up some fake blood and everything in between.

Surprisingly since I bought a house this past spring my work knowledge is translating itself nicely to my home repair.

The only thing I am not that great at is electronics. I’m learning, but I have no background knowledge in it so it’s a bit slow going. The good thing is that my fiancé is an (theatre) electrician so I ask him questions constantly.

[Rick]

Am I mechanically inclined? I think the answer is yes. :D
In addition to all phases of auto repair, I have done body work (Don't like it, but I can do it) including paint.
Around the house, paint, drywall (I suck at mudding though), everything electrical up to and including a new breaker panel, Hang doors, Plumbing both fresh water and DWV, rough and some finish carpentry.
What I don't do: Welding, stucco, refinish floors.

I will hire out some things I know how to do, just because a pro can do some things a lot faster than me.

[Rick]

Missed the edit window.
Yes I cook and I run a hell of a BBQ pit. I can sew, but the wife is much better at it than I am.

[sturmhauke]

I can build a computer from parts, and I've done some soldiering as well. I can do basic home repairs, up to replacing tile, light switches, and plumbing fixtures. I could probably learn to work on cars, but it's easier to pay someone else. I have changed tires and batteries though. I also build models and wargaming miniatures.

[beowulff]

Yes.
I'm like the Watchmaker Moties.
I once fixed a friend's car stereo with the only object within reach - the lead foil from a bottle of champagne.

[Cat Whisperer]

<snip>But if it's a job that calls for precision or fine detail, I'm probably not the man you're looking for.
Oh, that's my specialty. I love fiddly little precision things. Not to brag (but this is kind of the thread for it), I did some aptitude testing once, and my hand-to-eye co-ordination and fine motor skills were off the charts (at the top end, smarties). I don't really understand why after 30 years of typing, I still make as many mistakes as I do. :confused:

I have more tools than my husband. {preens}

[1010011010]

I'll fix things if they're broken. I leave them alone if they aren't.

I have mechanical aptitude, but not much inclination.

[engineer_comp_geek]

I'm a computer geek for a living. I consider myself very mechanically inclined. I will also concede that this is is not so common.

I'm a computer geek too (bet you couldn't guess that from my name, huh) and I'm fairly mechanically inclined. When I was a kid I always liked to figure out how things worked. I fixed my own bicycle when I was very young. When I got a car, I fixed it too. I started out doing simple things like brake jobs, partly because I wanted to know how the car worked, and partly because I kinda choked and said "you want HOW MUCH???" whenever I went to a professional mechanic. I'm nowhere near the level of Rick and GaryT here on the board, but I've managed to swap out two engines in my life (both times putting a V8 where a V6 used to be) and I've resurrected a truck that sat for 2 years, and a VW that sat for 20 and managed to get them running again, which I consider to be not bad for an idiot backyard mechanic like myself.

I'm Mr. Fix It around the house. I do everything from drywall to plumbing, though I REALLY HATE plumbing. I've rewired some of my house (because the guy who originally did it didn't know what the hell he was doing, IMHO). I have a EE degree, but there's a lot of EE's that shouldn't go anywhere near house wiring. I re-framed my back door, installed a new storm door on the front of the house, and hung a set of french doors. My neighbor and I replaced my septic pump. I very strongly recommend that you leave that job to the pros. It's not fun.

I also freely admit that I had to call a plumber after I tried to fix a leaky faucet. Oops. I told you I hated plumbing. Sometimes I do screw things up, but that's how you learn.

I completely understand where fishbicycle's father was coming from. A part of me doesn't want my kids going anywhere near my tools. My tools are either not put back in the right place or they just mysteriously disappear, sometimes never to be found again. Stanley makes a 5 pack of screwdrivers that's nice and cheap. I've bought several packs. My theory is that if I buy enough screwdrivers I'll eventually overwhelm the kid's (and Mrs Geek's) ability to hide them elsewhere. As much as it annoys me when they lose tools, I try to encourage my kids to do as much as they can on their own. The only things I don't let them touch are my woodworking saws. Anything that's not likely to cause them to lose a finger or two they can touch. I just taught my 13 year old daughter how to solder. I taught my 14 year old son how to solder last year. They've already ruined one soldering iron tip, but those are cheap.

After the thread on fans in GQ about a month ago, I made pop-pop boats with my kids. It was a fun Saturday.

Computer geeks do get a reputation for being clutzy nerds who don't even know which end of a screwdriver is the handle, but in the office where I work there's a lot of us who are all fairly mechanically inclined. Admittedly, there's a couple of guys there who haven't figured out which end of the screwdriver is the handle, too. But, if I start talking about car engines, you can be sure there will be a crowd of at least half a dozen all gathered around comparing notes and offering advice.

[Sofaspud]

Yup, born and bred handyman here. I know very little about auto mechanics, but it doesn't scare me and I only need to be shown once. Or have the Chilton's handy.

For that matter, I know very little about the 'how' of anything, I'm just good at figuring it out. Give me ten minutes to monkey with it and I can probably tell you how it works and what's wrong.

If I had a specialty, it would be in the "Why didn't I think of that?" department. I can't count how many times I've heard that from people while working on projects. I suppose you could say I'm improvisationally inclined.

Most recent examples:

* Turned several large, bulky contraptions into compact folding contraptions, using nothing but rusty nails, a saw, and a rock for a hammer. The items in question went from needing 2 pickup trucks or a flatbed to haul to folding up and fitting in/on an ordinary passenger car. I am not exaggerating in the slightest.

* Used my edumacashun in fizzicks to drain a waterbed much more quickly than the instructions that came with it would allow. Siphons are wonderful things.

* Fixed a neighbors TV, stealing a part from their defunct old radio to get the job done. (Bad cap in the power supply.)

I go through duct tape like toilet paper, I'm tellin' ya.

[Danalan]

Oh yeah. I've fixed cars, houses, flight simulators, x-ray machines, lasers, computers, and just about everything I ever broke. I can do computer programming, counted cross-stitch, minor surgery, and bale hay.

[fishbicycle]

I wanted to point out that I'm not totally useless. I can paint inside and out, and I surprised myself (and my wife) by installing our garbage disposal unit and the dishwasher, never having done either before. I can take a barebones computer and install the drives and cards, replace a power supply, install the OS, drivers and programs and that kind of thing. I can put up shelves. But fix a broken machine? Change the oil? Put in a window? Resolder a connection? Nah.

[Triskadecamus]

I have tools in my locker at work. (Not a mechanical job) I have boxes with standard sized screws, nuts, buttons, needles, thread, string, duct tape, coaxial cable hardware. Everyone brings me the broken stuff.

No, I am not all that mechanically inclined. I don't do cars, except on the side of the road, if I have to. Homo habilis and beyond, folks who "can' do that mechanical stuff" are lazy.

Tris

[ParentalAdvisory]

I'm a computer geek too (bet you couldn't guess that from my name, huh) and I'm fairly mechanically inclined.

My profession involves computers, and I've been into them since I was 13 or so. But I'm also handy with most things mechanical. The only thing I haven't been dug too deep into on a car is the transmission. I've swapped them out, just never rebuilt one yet. Like you, I learned early on that knowing how to fix car problems save a ton of money in the long run. Plus I just like to tinker with them. At 17, I was fortunate to be involved with some people that had a sprint car (http://www.podnest.com/images/KREITZ2.jpg), that at the time were running quality 600hp alcohol motors like this one (http://www.gaerteengines.com/victorylane/Images/360sprint.jpeg). There at about 800hp+ now. These cars were torn down every week, and the engine every few weeks or so, to basically the frame and back again. So I logged lots of hours working on these beasts for a few summers while soaking up the knowledge. Most other things I either can cut, weld, bolt up and/or repair fairly well. If I ever needed a tool more then once, I bought it. So I have a good assortment of tools to get the job done.

[Solfy]

I consider myself a very handy white collar worker. No one told me when I chose a career in chemistry that more important that Le Chatelier's prinicple is "righty tighty, lefty loosey."
In the lab I've assembled benchstop strut systems, built improvised Schlenk systems, disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled HPLC flow cells (which surprised the routine maintenance guy who said "you're not supposed to do that to those!"), repaired and replaced components in several instruments, and rebuilt teflon diaphram pumps.
I'm one of the go-to people in our group for fixing equipment.

At home I credit being raised in a fixer-upper house and having a can-do mother with my handyman skills. I do not believe one needs a penis to use a circular saw.

I can refinished woodwork, hang and finish drywall, lay a tile floor, and do basic plumbing and electrical repairs. I can also bake a cake, do calligraphy, spin lace weight mohair yarn, knit a sweater, play a Chopin waltz, and french braid my daughter's hair.

I like to be well rounded. What I can't do is change the oil on my car. That's next on my list of things to learn.

[Anaamika]

I am not. Sigh. A few years ago I was set on making my own dollhouse, with wood from Home Depot, etc. Suggestions were made that I should get cardboard and start with that as a sample, and if I did that successfully then I could go on to the wood.

Well, I brought the cardboard home. The ensuing mess decided for me that i was never ever going to build a dollhouse worth it.

I might still try though. :p Dolls can just live canted.

[Lissla Lissar]

Nope. I can't do anything electrical, plumbing, or carpentry-related. Complex machinery generally terrifies me. Mr. Lissar isn't very good with fixing things, either. We're a non-handy household.

I can design and sew historically-accurate costumes, spin, make a basic loom and weave, and bake bread without measuring, though. So I'm not totally useless in a societal collapse. :D

[Bayard]

Another computer geek checking in. I have always envied my dad and brother, who are the handymen of the family. I am consciously trying to build mechanical skills, and they are usually happy to give advice. To whit:

1. I always try to fix stuff around the house before calling the pros. I even got over my fear of plumbing by replacing the ballcock in the toilet without flooding the neighborhood.
2. I have been teaching myself woodworking. I recently designed and built a spice-and-sundries chest that impressed even my woodworking-master dad. Bird's-eye maple inlays, the whole nine yards.
3. I bought a 65 Corvair and have been repairing it myself. I haven't had to do anything serious like swap the transmission, but I've done some body work, brake work, a tune up, and a few other things. I recently learned that I have to replace the choke linkage on one of the carbs. I have no idea how to do that. To the reference materials!

[minor7flat5]

Total computer geek for the past fifteen years.

Back in the day, I was a machinist.
Before that, a nuclear power plant mechanical operator.

I really miss the hands-on mechanical stuff. The machinist job was perhaps my favorite ever -- there's something very satisfying about clamping a hunk of steel or aluminum in a Bridgeport mill and slowly making something useful with it.

[Cat Whisperer]

<snip> What I can't do is change the oil on my car. That's next on my list of things to learn.
I used to work on my car myself, but that's one of the things that I gladly pay someone else to do now. Part of that is that I don't have a garage, so working on my car would involve everyone in the neighbourhood watching the girl work on her car, and part of it is that they are so electronic now that it's not a simple case of using hammers, wrenches, and screwdrivers. Plus my car is still under warranty - I'm not messing around with that.

[NurseCarmen]

I'm just like the OP, even down to the Computer Geek. But I don't knit.

I can use a sewing machine without much of a problem. After all, technically, it IS a power tool.

[Projammer]

Another mechanical wizard checking in. Any home repair or construction gets done by me. I know my way around the kitchen well enough that I field special requests for work and family potlucks.

Current projects include restoring a 48 Chevy, doing all the work myself. Just finished the brakes from pedal to shoes.

[ZipperJJ]

I wouldn't consider myself to be mechanically inclined. I can build a computer from scratch (parts, not soldering) and am great at troubleshooting software but that's about it.

However, I'm a humdinger of a worker. My dad does all the stuff you guys and your dads do (and he can beat them up!) and it was me, not my brother, who's been following him around all these years helping him put things together, build things and fix things.

So I know all about tool safety, what tools fit what job, what all the different screws, nuts and bolts are for. I'm good at designing solutions but not as good at implementing them.

My dad's a handy man. It would break his heart if I surpassed him in his skills and didn't need him anymore. So, for the sake of Dear Old Dad, I just take the role of helping out the mechanically inclined.

[enipla]

Very.

I'm a computer geek too for a living too.

But I also designed and built a two story addition onto our house. Including moving the well pressure tank and plumbing the addition for a washer dryer. Had to trench a new drain line into the septic tank. Did infloor heat in it too.

I also rented the track hoe to do the foundation excavation. Did not do the concrete work though.

Last weekend I fixed a thermostat that had shorted out. On Tuesday I replaced a thermo couple on our propane stove.

[SmartAleq]

I'm pretty good at mechanical stuff--fixed my own bikes from get go, took auto shop in high school and have wrenched my own cars fairly extensively. I really hate getting my hands greasy, though, borders on a phobia so I try not to actually touch the damned things unless I'm broken down somewhere and have to. I'm very good at troubleshooting, not only cars but computers, electronics, phones, and household issues as well.

I can handle power tools (recently learned how to use an air hammer--fun!) and I'm good at building stuff--not pretty, but it will WORK and hold together. Mostly what my mechanical aptitude is best for is finding solutions--most recently figuring out the best way for three people to move a 700 lb compressor unit across thirty feet of uneven, muddy ground into another building, then getting it upright again (about 80% of the weight is on the top of that thing!) without blowing a hernia or breaking the unit. I can eyeball something and tell you whether or not it will fit in a given space or around a corner--very handy when moving house. I have a good grasp of leverage and how to maximize effort to achieve the most effect with the least energy expended.

I really, REALLY hate and fear working around live electricity, though, so I leave wiring to others. Plumbing I understand but it is always so gross to actually get into that I'd really rather let a plumber handle it--well, except for easy stuff like changing fixtures or putting in washers. I can do computer stuff but the SO is a wizard at it so he usually takes over, unless it's my laptop--he's very hands off about that! Smart man... :p

[Spoons]

I guess so. I have a Hayne's manual that is dog-eared, oil-stained, and in pretty rough shape. But it got me through many Saturday morning sessions under the hood of my old vehicle.

I've done such things as deck building and repair, all kinds of roofing, painting, simple plumbing and electrical work (as a kid, I ran a power line to my treehouse, and had it electrically lit), and general carpentry and metal work. I can handle all kinds of power tools, as well as the old fashioned manual tools that sometimes do the job better/finer/more exactly. I got to the point where I was asked to write a monthly DIY column in a local "house and garden" kind of magazine. I did, and had a great time doing it, since it often involved interviewing local tradespeople. Great chance to learn more.

I never did anything professionally in any case. I just like being a DIYer. My Dad loved DIY stuff, so I guess I get my interest and skills from him.