The amateur mechanic of old

[Chasfield]

Attached are some small excerpts from an ancient little book I bought about 30 years ago in a second hand shop.  Note the cover price of 3 shillings.  I am not sure of its publication date but I would guess it was sometime between WWI and WWII.

In those days the amateur mechanic would undertake all sorts of scary tasks, including lapping crank pin and main bearing journals back to roundness. Big end and main bearings would then be de-shimmed by a couple of thou and hand scraped to fit the cleaned up journals, assisted by marking compound that showed up the high spots that still needed to be cut back.

The author of the book does concede that things could get a bit complicated, alignment-wise, when there were more than two main bearings. A satisfactory bearing fit being "a condition which an amateur repairer can scarcely hope to achieve".

Bullet owners would have been in their element in those days.

[Thumper]

Despite today's economic hardships I can say that I am truly glad this type of work is not necessary for me to do - economically or technically.

Back when that was your only transportation and you were lucky to have that, then you didn't have a choice.

Choices, ain't they great!

[Chasfield]

I think, though, that it is empowering to be self sufficient through the acquisition of deep skills.

These days we are too much the passive consumers.

[1Blackwolf1]

  We used to say the old timers like my pop lived in the stone ages, the man could repair most items with stuff off the scrap heap.  Learned a lot of cool stuff from watching him.  He still throws nothing but garbage away.  But being born in 1931 he learned to deal with life one blow at a time.  I remember him buying old books like that a garage sales.  He'd read them like I read a novel/newspaper.  Will.

[Cabo Cruz]

Very cool, Br. Chas!!!

[Ice]

This method still works.

[clamp]

I used to have a 3 volume set of those type of books, they were a fantastic read. originally meant to keep things going during the war.

      Pages of pictures of how to straighten valves, weld blocks, repair tyres, anything,.             My dad gave them away.  he must have forgot he gave them to me.   I was a bit pissed about that but what can you say when he's 84