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Rich Riddle
01-13-2018, 4:27 PM
I have wanted to learn small engine repair for some time. Tell us what you'd like to learn.

Dave Zellers
01-13-2018, 4:44 PM
Welding...

Al Launier
01-13-2018, 5:42 PM
I've wanted to learn how to weld. Unfortunately, I've never really had metal fabrication projects that could justify the time to learn or the expense for equipment that I couldn't handle with conventional metal machining.

Frederick Skelly
01-13-2018, 6:30 PM
Definitely welding.

Lee Schierer
01-13-2018, 6:56 PM
How to keep my mouth shut and listen more.:rolleyes:

Dave Zellers
01-13-2018, 7:38 PM
How to keep my mouth shut and listen more.:rolleyes:

So, welding then? :)

Brent Cutshall
01-13-2018, 10:02 PM
Machining. Machinists make some nice stuff.

Dennis Peacock
01-13-2018, 10:20 PM
You know, that's a really good question.
Appears that a lot would like welding. I've done some welding but was never really good at it. Always thought having a machine shop would be awesome.

Since I'm in the middle of being a caregiver for my mother.....I'd love to learn how to remove the pain from people's bodies and restore life to them like they had when they were 100% healthy and whole.

Morey St. Denis
01-13-2018, 10:50 PM
Charisma.

Those possessing noticeable Charisma can readily carry the day & further entertain notions of ruling the world!

John K Jordan
01-13-2018, 11:44 PM
I have wanted to learn small engine repair for some time. Tell us what you'd like to learn.

Hmm, that's a tough one. I've got the welding and machining down, whitewater kayak, piano, flying, cave diving, embroidery, motocross...
Tried wind surfing once and once was enough.

What I really want to learn is how to infuse kids with a passion for life beyond the electronic screen.

michael langman
01-14-2018, 12:12 PM
You guys crack me up.:). I was a toolmaker for most of my life. Someone saw me use a micrometer in a tube mill and said I should be a machinist. I took their advice, and spent most of my life making and doing complicated manual machining that most machinists could not do. I am not bragging, just saying the truth.

I had a small engine that would not work. Rebuilt the carburetor and was so proud of myself. Taught myself the theory of the combustible engine. Bought the specific manuals for all of the small engines I have. Chainsaw, weed whacker, generator, rototiller, snowthrower, yard tractor, garden tractor, all of the vehicles I have owned in my life. I have never had any of my combustion engines repaired by anyone other then myself except for once. I have had every single engine in the above listed equipment literally in as many pieces as it was able to be taken apart to be fixed as possible. They all run as new as the day I bought them.
Last summer I had to rebuild the engine in a john deere 318 garden tractor. Supposedly the best garden tractor ever made, according to some well informed garden tractor owners. The engine, an Onan 18hp, horizontally opposed 2 stroke engine was made to be rebuilt, and run forever. It was nearly destroyed by it's previous owner and was sold to another person who was not able to fix it. The shell to the snowthrower was destroyed because they never replaced the wear plate that protects the shell to the snowthrower. The gears inside the gear case to the snowthrower were broken into pieces and had to be replaced.

I had bought a small mig welder to do the body work on one of my vehicles. I used it to repair the walk behind snow thrower I used for 15 years to do my 175 foot gravel driveway. I taught myself to weld with it and repaired the shell on the 4 foot tractor snow thrower by cutting out sections of the shell and welding in new steel. I was a welders helper ,for 4 months in 1977, in Tyrone Oklahoma, and saw what a good weld was suppose to look like and did all of the grinding for the welder I worked for who was welding gas pipe 32" in diameter together. I went out and bought a used Lincoln AC Tombstone welder from an ironworker for 100.00, and made the implements for my garden tractor, 5 years ago.
I have a 1999 GMC 4x4 pickup truck I bought new and took great care of. It sits outside with a rusted through piece of junk frame and the truck itself looks 2 years old at most. I intend to fabricate and replace the frame and drive the truck for the rest of my life.
When I left the Navy in 1982, the gave me a certificate that said, " Because of Your Can Do Attitude, etc,etc,etc ; something they say to every sailor that leaves the service. That really stuck with me throughout my life and I never hesitated to tackle any kind of job I felt I was able to accomplish.
If you want to do something then do it. Everything is at our disposal to learn and do whenever we want to.

Life is Hard, but Life is Good.

Jim Becker
01-14-2018, 1:53 PM
Welding...

Yea, this one has crossed my mind, too, but I'm going the CNC route (pardon the expression), so there'll be no funds for a welder any time soon.

I'll mention that cooking has become somewhat of a passion with me, too, and I do plan on getting some formal instruction (or work experience) at some point to enhance that.

Frederick Skelly
01-14-2018, 3:49 PM
How to keep my mouth shut and listen more.:rolleyes:

Ok. That's another. Me too Lee.

Matt Day
01-14-2018, 4:38 PM
Words words ....

So your saying you want to learn humility?


Lol, just kidding.

I’d like to learn more about welding and machining. I’m planning to take some classes soon. Plenty of other things just don’t have the time.

Jerome Stanek
01-14-2018, 4:43 PM
Learn to keep my mouth shut when wife is wrong

Art Mann
01-14-2018, 5:23 PM
True 3-D CNC rounting. I have done a lot of different kinds of 2-D and 2.5-D but i have never even used canned 3-D models, much less original designs.

Mike Henderson
01-14-2018, 5:50 PM
I'd like to learn CNC routing. That is, how to program one. So far, the cost of an CNC router has kept me from going forward on that. Also space in the shop for it.

Mike

Jim Becker
01-14-2018, 7:16 PM
Mike, there are some very capable, reasonably priced and small in size CNC machines available these days. As to the programming, go to the Vectric site and download one of the free trials, such as for VCarve Pro to play with...they have an extensive and excellent set of tutorial videos on YouTube that show just how approachable drawing and toolpathing can be for "normal people". I've learned a whole lot in the last month just watching those videos and playing with the software, myself.

Dave Lehnert
01-14-2018, 7:23 PM
Welding is also on my list.
I have looked into taking a class but they were all geared to someone wanting welding as a career .

Mike Henderson
01-14-2018, 7:35 PM
Welding is also on my list.
I have looked into taking a class but they were all geared to someone wanting welding as a career .

Some years ago, I took night classes at a community college on welding. In that class, they started us on gas welding and I did pretty good on that. Then they moved us to stick welding and I never really could do that well.

That course was geared to people who wanted to learn welding for a career. You can take as much as you want to, and quit any time. No matter how much you do, you'll learn.

I've thought about buying a MIG welder but I don't have a need to do a lot of welding. I have a small gas welding setup but I'm limited by the small size - it doesn't put out enough heat to do large things. I had to do something recently so I had a helper use a MAPP torch on the back of the metal and I brazed from the other side. Worked well for my needs.

I have a friend who has a lot of welding equipment so if I really needed something that I couldn't do, I could probably pay him to do it for me.

Mike

Arthur Fleming
01-14-2018, 7:59 PM
I would like to learn how a woman’s mind works. I realize I will most likely have to settle for something much more simpler, like string theory, or quantum physics. LOLOLOLOLOL (good thing the Missus doesn’t read these posts, so I might be safe).

Peter Kelly
01-14-2018, 8:12 PM
Sewing, leatherwork, knife making. Not necessarily in that order.

Anyone interested in machining and (TIG) welding, check out This Old Tony (https://www.youtube.com/user/featony) & Ox Tool Co (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZC9LGZLfyjrKT4OZne-JNw) on YT.

Peter Kelly
01-14-2018, 8:13 PM
I would like to learn how a woman’s mind works. I realize I will most likely have to settle for something much more simpler, like string theory, or quantum physics. LOLOLOLOLOL (good thing the Missus doesn’t read these posts, so I might be safe).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS37SNYjg8w

Kev Williams
01-14-2018, 8:44 PM
One thing I want to learn?

Patience.

Examples: While I would probably be dang good at woodworking and auto/body repair, I Simply Do Not Have the necessary patience those two hobbies/professions require.

michael langman
01-15-2018, 11:32 AM
I didn't mean to come off on the wrong foot in my previous post.
I just felt it funny, that so many guys longed to do what I had already done, out of necessity, to get by in my life. Although it wasn't easy I still somewhat enjoyed myself; and not raising a family was able to have the time to do other things.

Don Orr
01-15-2018, 2:45 PM
A musical instrument.

Arthur Fleming
01-15-2018, 5:48 PM
Peter,that was riot!

John K Jordan
01-15-2018, 11:07 PM
Sewing, leatherwork, knife making. Not necessarily in that order.

If shopping for a sewing machine you might consider an embroidery machine for the extra capability. I bought one after shopping for a sewing machine a few years ago to make some physical therapy things after my wife's fool surgery. I realized one day I could make nearly anything I needed of from wood, metal, plastic, and leather but when it came to cloth I was helpless! I might be the only guy pushing 70 in my area with an embroidery machine but it has been handy - I've made a few gifts and even better, several kids have come to learn how and make something.

Another perhaps "odd" hobby for an old guy is spinning fiber into yarn. I have three spinning wheels and a drum carder and an endless supply of alpaca and llama fiber. I learned to knit a few years ago and when I get better at it I have a goal, to show kids the whole thing: here's the alpaca, this is the fleece, this is roving used to make yarn like this, ...and here's the hat! So many kids these days seem clueless about anything they can't get at Walmart or McDonalds. Yikes, I have to duck out now and wrangle the horses to keep my macho card up to date. :)

JKJ

Rich Engelhardt
01-16-2018, 6:09 AM
I didn't mean to come off on the wrong foot in my previous post.Not at all (IMHO). You pretty much summed up what I was thinking. IMHO - the biggest hurdle to overcome is going against gravity.....as in....get your butt out of the chair and do something about what you want!



and not raising a family was able to have the time to do other things.LOL! Talk about opposites! I was thrown into being a single custodial parent, with a ~ 2 year old daughter and a 4 month old son, when my ex-wife decided to"find herself", which was such a common thing for people to do back in the 60's and 70's.
Talk about necessity being the mother of....whatever!
I don't regret a second of it though - - raising the kids - -I never felt it got in the way of anything.

Pat Barry
01-16-2018, 7:35 AM
3D printing. Its the future!

Rod Sheridan
01-16-2018, 7:58 AM
Learn to keep my mouth shut when wife is wrong

Jerome, that's cheating.

Rule #1 is that your wife is never wrong, therefore you're proposing to learn something you'll never have to demonstrate any knowledge of, or skill in.

That's called a non existent skill:D

regards, Rod.

Rod Sheridan
01-16-2018, 7:59 AM
How to keep my mouth shut and listen more.:rolleyes:

Lee, that's exactly what I have to learn as well.

Maybe we could attend that course together.............Rod.

Marshall Harrison
01-16-2018, 8:18 AM
Peter, that was hilarious but probably not politically correct. But who gives a not about PC?

I want to learn to use hand tools. After 30 years of software development (which changes almost daily) and subjecting myself to continuously having to learn new things I really want to simplify my life. That's why I want to learn how to properly use planes and other hand tools.

Marshall Harrison
01-16-2018, 8:21 AM
One more- I want to learn everything there is to know about Gustav Stickley and Craftsman furniture. I love that style of wooden furniture.