Are kids today, as "Hands on" as we were?.

John,I couldn’t agree more, I suppose it’s a “Throwback” from being a Copper, the people I dealt with mainly, were the down and outs, drunks, domestic violence,etc. Y’know, the parents who set a good example to their kids, then wonder why, when there comes a knock on the door one day, and their kid is dragged away.they wonder why.

Jim.
Lincoln .7

Jim, my comment was to let you know all is not lost. There are plenty of good kids out there (at least in my circle of acquaintances). Lord knows there are plenty of lager louts/drunks/druggies and grifters out there (too many for any welfare state to support, but that’s a thread for another time), but it’s not all bad news.

Chas, Mothers out at Bingo, Dads in the pub, and the kids are O.K. shoplifting at the corner shop. Status Quo.!!

Jim.
Lincoln .7

Your last comment is certainly apt. But although much of what you say before that is true the OP is asking about childrens’ general “hands-on” skills and/or knowledge. If all you know about is how to type wrongly spelled text and gawp at You Tube for half the day then that is hardly utilising computer skills. The computer should be a tool to enable you to broaden your horizons and understand how things work, as well as many other things as well, of course.

There are many jobs which require minimal computing knowledge and remain essentially manual and require manual dexterity. As you say if parents are not interested then it is unlikely their children will be either. And if the do not encourage a latent interest it is worse.

A different generation of kids have a different skill set.
How often do modern cars break down…and can be repaired at home (in other words when they rarely break, they need a specialist, not some dad with his son fixing a Escort with a couple of spanners)? A neighbor is a long time professional mechanic (Jaguars and Aston Martins) and now owns a Cobra and Ford GT-40. He doesn’t even try to repair his new Mustang at home. Without a diagnostic computer, you’re usually sunk.

No, tomorrow’s citizens need to know computers and electronics…which they’re learning. It’s not the end of the world, it just looks that way if you’re expecting the world to stand still.
I’m sure old guys said the same about my generation spending so much time watching TV (or in my case reading aeroplane books and magazines…I began reading my dad’s Aviation Week starting when I was 9 or 10).
And the generation before that probably complained about young people listening to the radio for fixing up old cars.

Besides, I know plenty of younger people who are handy with their hands…on 17 year old just finished restoring a 1979 Camaro Z-28 and helps his dad rebuild a Stearman and repaint their Citabria, and a family down the road has their kids take car of and ride their horses…and sell eggs for a future college fund…they also ride dirt bikes on their acreage. Another friend has a 25 year old son with a degree in engineering. He’s also a licensed aircraft mechanic. After work (working with electronics and designing high end test equipment) he flies and restores airplanes…he’s finishing up a beautiful Bucker Jungmann. Still another friend, who recently restored a 50 year-old V-8 GT car for me, is assisted by his grandson.

It comes down to parents. Lazy, stupid parents usually produce lazy, un-intellectually curious kids.

I remember changing dead fluorescent tubes in a VC Ten cabin and as I pulled it out I put my hand across the terminals at one end, the other end being still plugged into the Aircraft and it lit 🙂 so I popped it back in as fixed 😀

I still rebuild aircraft engines bar cracking the crankcases.

New machines may use less water and powder, but they are nowhere near as good at shifting dirt, I have one, my old machine used to clean my work clothes, my current Boche just doesn’t come close.

After, thankfully, not electrocuting myself to death trying to mend my washing-machine I cut the plug off and went and bought a new one. I was a bit shaken but it was my own stupid fault; I thought I’d unplugged it (again) after tinkering with it but I hadn’t!

I have to say the new machine is a big improvement on the old, which lasted nearly nine years, and which I’d repaired at least once. The new machine was £295 (which works out at about 9p a day if it lasts as long as the old); new kit may not be so repairable but it isn’t expensive really.

And buying-new can be cost-effective; new machines use less water and power than old. I can understand why your late mother was fond of her machine though; sometimes you just like the way stuff works so why change?

I love rebuilding engines but I haven’t done one for about twenty-five years; there is nothing as satisfying as belting along in a car powered by an engine that you have rebuilt. The problem these days is that modern engines are complicated and I’m not sure I’d completely trust myself to get it absolutely right plus I don’t really have the time or space (or need) to rebuild any engine.

Creaking,

My late mum had a Hoover Hotpoint top loader that she loved, it was pre megga computerised and I could buy parts from Hoover, she let me know it wasn’t pumping well and I was able to actually buy from Hoover, the bushes, bearings, seals and impeller, so I rebuilt the pump etc.. she still had it when she died and had been using some 25 odd years and didn’t want it replacing as it was small and easy to use.
Every time I went home she would give me a list, one was the cooker rings were getting hot, the rheostats had obviously failed, (ring temp knob) and I was amazed when I turned it on to see it glowing White, no kidding, not red or yellow but white, I could have used it to weld with the amount of current flowing through it, I managed to order all the rheostats and replaced the lot…
Nothing phases me, my Supra 3.0 straight six had a knock after getting the head done (i did it) so was either big ends or little ends were now showing up after the compressions improved, I pulled the engine and dismantled it completely, replacing the big and little ends, simply rolled out a roll of paper laid it out as I went along ending up at the block, then reversed the process… People I knew had a main Honda dealership and couldn’t believe I was doing it, not a problem in my eyes.

I should have guessed, I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t give a baby a Firearm as a Christening present whilst in Church!!

Jim.

Lincoln .7

She got one about 6 or 7 years ago.

Rick. Are you buying her a Firearm for her Birthday?. (Just had to get that in :highly_amused:)

Jim.
Lincoln .7

My kid was welding by age 9, but she’s never ridden a bicycle. She will be 16 at the end of this month, she drives herself to school.

I think the problem is not so much the disassembly of modern kit but the diagnostics and replacement of the right part or module (even if it can be obtained).

I’ve repaired both my last two dishwashers. One was a faulty pump (new one obtained from eBay) and the current one had a float valve clog with lime-scale (my fault – running it without enough salt). The internet is a great place to search for diagnostic and repair tips.

I tried to repair my washing-machine the other day but gave it up as a bad job when I electrocuted myself!

Standard procedure around here when throwing-away any kit is to dismantle it to find out how it works (and remove any useful looking components). I had a clear-out of old (working) computers the other day; I’ve now got a little pile of cooling-fans looking for a use!

Chas, You would have a job changing the spare on my car, it HASN’T got one, just a can of sealant, a small compressor, which you plug into a Ciggie lighter in the boot, and away you go…….In theory.
Jim.
Lincoln .7

I as an engineer work on the principal that if it is a sealed throw away item it has to have been assembled, and that means it can be disassembled one way or the other.. And I do.

I agree. I always tell myself that if a human being put it together then I can take it apart ‘cos I’m human too. However I have been stumped by failure to get a dead rechargeable battery out of a well known brand of electric toothbrush. It is absolutely sealed in and can only be accessed by destroying the casing. As far as I know there is no service replacement option. You just have to bin it and buy a new one.

I will say this for today’s kids: their hand/eye coordination is fantastic. You should see my grandson doing aerobatics with his radio controlled model Stuka. My only regret is that he didn’t build it but only put it together. At school he takes a subject called DT which means Design & Technology (woodwork to you and me). For GCSE he designed and built a beautiful pedestal table containing a maze through which a large ball bearing has to roll avoiding drop through holes.

Kids need to be inspired by the older generation. You have to tell them stories and illustrate them in a practical way. My granddaughters aged 5 and 6 are curious about “the War.” I told them how people used to hide in shelters when the bombers came (with suitable sound effects). I made them a small Anderson Shelter from cardboard which they took home and hopefully for a show ‘n tell at school. Two weeks later they were taken to the B of B Museum at Hawkinge. Guess what? They instantly recognised an Anderson Shelter there and were allowed into it. One of the Guides was so impressed by their questions and interest he gave them a strawberry plant.

Cars definitely are more reliable and the build quality incomparable to thirty years ago.

I still like to do as much as I can on my own cars; mainly because I don’t like paying through-the-nose to have work done unnecessarily.

Brake-pads are the worst for this; the service interval on my Audi is 20,000 miles (incredible in itself) so the dealership always wants to leave me with more than 20,000 miles life left in my brake-pads. Inevitably that means changing pads that are less than half-worn.

I change them myself when they are right-down and usually change the discs at the same time (as they wear quicker than the pads); ironically the pads cost more than the discs! Cost by my Audi dealership to do this on all four corners – over £500!

Audi charge over £50 to supply and fit an air filter; I can by the same part for under £8 and fit it myself in about ten minutes.

I change the oil and the filter too…..now that I’ve bought a special tool to get it out.

Yep, some Audi versions of mine has them because the exhaust was larger and took up the space it occupied, and even then the other versions had a space saver.. I bought an Audi compressor on evilbay for a pittance new, one of the plug in the ciggy lighter and blow jobbies, I use it for normal topping up the tyres. 🙂

spare wheel?? seem to be an optional extra these days, which came as a bit of a surprise to me when i ventured into the world of newish cars… bottle of gunge and a compressor seems to be what you get now days… 😮

Yes I agree about wheel changing. I’ve changed a few over the years but a few months ago actually failed to free two of the wheel bolts they were so tightly fitted. That and weakening muscles I suppose. A passing motorist came to my rescue but it was a salutary lesson.

As Posted, Do you think kids today, are as hands on as we were when we were kids, do they spend too much time on their game stations, and on their mobiles, when they could be doing other more useful things?.Things like getting their hands dirty by helping Dad to repair the family car etc, if you get my drift.

Jim.

Lincoln .7

I think a lot of them are Jim, its just a different sort of ‘hands on’ – my Nephews are happy to pull computers to bits and add go-faster bits which is outside my comfort zone or even interest.. 🙂 there are less oportunities for traditional tinkering, so i think us oldies should encourage any youngsters who do show a bit of interest…