Examples of people who have no mechanical "feel" for things
 

I'll start with one. People who crank a valve open or closed HARD against the stop. As simple as a garden hose or a propane tank valve. The automotive equivalent is cranking the oil drain plug on insanely tight.

Rgds,
Chris W.
'95 E300D, 345K

My wife is pitiful when it comes to mechanical things. Thankfully I love her for all the other things. I will say (proudly) that last week I talked her (on the phone) through jump starting the pickup:).

People who strip oil pan drain plugs, I mean come on its not that hard.

The friend who watched my '71 for me while I was overseas and couldn't tell that the transmission was slipping badly (due to him having run it out of fluid).

Designers who use multiple datums on a 3 view drawing...

Can you explain what that means ?
Is that something like someone saying ' they proved the null hypothesis ' ?
Something by definition they have done wrong if they are doing that ?

People who crank a thermostat or fan speed switch really far when they are uncomfortable, rather than making a small adjustment.

-J

I had a room mate once who did that. The bad part is he was a Construction Mechanic 1st Class in the Seabees. He finally stopped after about the third time I explained how the control algorithm for the AC worked.

Hope you instructed her to wear safety goggles.

It kind of annoys me when I see people hit the steering lock when turning, and keep on cranking the wheel hard against the stop.. you can usually hear the power steering pump squeal in displeasure

+1

my wife does this, And worse- when she is exiting our Subaru wagon (which has frameless windows) she closes the door by pushing on the window glass (not the heavy metal door...) it kills me.

I also dont appreciate the 'throw it to the stops' mentality when it comes to 'consumer' control systems. I was with a Machine tool Controls EE (!!) when he rented a Lincoln Town car with auto climate control- it was summer and he just couldn't wait for the car to sense that it was hot inside, he *had* to push the fan to "RLY FAST" as soon as he started the engine...and then back it down manually about 5 minutes later- never putting it in 'automatic' mode (the way it was intended to work). And he was a controls guy...




Datums and 3-view drawings ? my layman's translation would be - it means that if you are machining a piece of metal (drilling holes, cutting edges straight...), you need to measure something multiple times from different places before you are sure that the hole/edge is in the correct place. Better design (using 1 datum) involves more effort on the part of the designer, but requires less thought and checking during production - which is the way it should be done.

am I close ?
-John

People who accelerate into stop lights. I see it all the time ... and it's even worse when someone floors it to pass you as you approach a stop light.

My definition of "Mechanical Feel" translates to my trade as this...

Detail drawings in ACAD are generally done in a "3 view drawing", meaning 3 sides of the part are shown, so someone is able to machine the part and make it to print.

A "Datum" is a point on the part, usually a corner, where dimensions generate.

Someone who has no "Mechanical Feel", or mechanical experience will use multiple datums to dimension from for each view...meaning they will have some features dimensioned from the left side, some from the right side, some from the tip and some from the bottom. When this is done, it creates more work for the person machining the part, because they have to re-dimension the part to make it easier to machine.

Therefore, when someone lacks the "Mechanical Feel" they lack the experience to properly draw a part. They may be able to draw, but they cannot draw it in such a way that it can be made properly.

I hope that's clear as mud. :D

They have to do it.......all of them.

The reason is the fact that the time sitting at the red light doesn't count in the overall trip time.

Got it?

I see your point as far as what you consider a datum. On ASME drawings you genrally have three datums, for Geometric Dimensioning and Toleranceing. Basically, you are dealing with a three dimensional or Cartesian cordinate system. So, usually two or three datums are needed. 'A' is usually the base, "B" locates in the 'X' plane or a hole and 'C' clocks the part or keep it from rotation. Mating surfaces usually have another datum. Usually, your dimensions come from 'B' or 'A'. On some parts, dimensions will be from another datum or feature. That signifies or keeps say bolt holes related to that feature. A good example would be bolt holes for a starter boss on a flywheel housing
Tom

I done some construction inspection for TARGET stores. You would love them. They have had it with plans that have too many dimensions on them---when they make a change, there are too many places where they have to change that dimension, and all the others that would now conflict. So they dimension everything only ONCE in the drawing set. You may have to search for it, bit the dimension you need is somewhere in the 30-40 sheet set of drawings. But when they revise the location of a wall by 6 inches, they only change the dimension; not the drawing.

Very intelligent on their part, IMO.

in high school I had the wires wrong on a chevrolet starter, I cranked it and the starter did not disengage. my mom didnt bat and eye and said "you turned the key to hard"

My wintertime favorites:

1. The guy who starts his car in 20 degree weather and immediately revs it to 4,000 RPM to hasten the performance of the windshield deicer. Only the most anal of weaklings carry a windshield scraper in their car.

2. Stuck in a snow rut in your unshoveled driveway? Here's the solution:

A. Place transmission in Drive and press that pedal down! A cold drivetrain is essential for best performance. The speedometer should be indicating at least 65 during this procedure.

B. Grind little rubber bits off of those Chinese WalMart all-season tires as you spin them through the snow and down to the pavement. Love seeing those black flecks on the snow.

C. As quickly as your cat-like reflexes allow, flick the shift lever from Drive to Reverse, letting the drivetrain feel the shock of a forward rotating tire against a now rearward-rotating transmission.

Bonus points for the above if the car has a ton of well-packed snow under the frame, neatly immobilizing it until spring thaw...

Had friends with teenage boys visit recently.

With the added company, the hot water was probably limited by the time the boys got to the shower.

Apparently in an effort to extract more hot water. one of them twisted the faucet lever beyond the limits of the housing, effectively wrenching it 180-degrees from the normal orientation! :eek:

Fortunately, I am in the middle of doing a repair on the same faucet, so I didn't tighten the set screw, otherwise, the valve would have been snapped off!

Boy, does THAT bring back memories!!!
I worked in a transmission repair shop back in the '80s. Good shop--good reputation--lots of word-of-mouth referrals. We also honored our warranty.
After one large snow fall the towing service dropped off a customer's car for repair. he had just had the transmission repaired, and now, for no reason, it wouldn't work. He categorically denied even having tried to drive in the recent snow until we got it up on the lift and saw that the treads on the snow tires were MELTED.

Generally the bloke who pushes everyone else out the way to have a look at the problem - and then gets his fingers caught in the cooling fan...

My neighbor, changing a light bulb is pushing his technical abilities.

Normal maintenance, whats that ???

Lost one mower no oil, I need to check the oil ??

Current one (bought new) went 4 years before he had it serviced.

His cars suffer the same basic schedule, when it breaks get it fixed.

My brother is driving my mother's car down a portion of an interstate which threads through an urban area and features at least one exit ramp per mile. Engine stops running. Car rolls to a stop on a narrow shoulder and Bro calls the very low-priced version of AAA, which is...me.

Bro: "Can you pick me up at XXXXX? The Celebrity stalled on Interstate XX and it won't start."

Born to be used: "(sigh) Yea, I'll be there in twenty minutes."

Pick bro up and drive to the scene of the crime. On the way, I ask a few questions - Did it run out of gas, did you notice any strange noises or behavior, etc. I receive negative responses to all queries. It's a puzzlement.

Now we're at the car. Interstate traffic is picking up nicely, and getting out of my car and behind the wheel of the Chevy is akin to running the bulls in Pamploma. I turn the ignition key to the "run" position, showing about a half-tank of fuel. I twist the key to "start" and am treated to a single click and a high-pitched whine - the engine is not turning over. I pop the hood and tell Einstein to get behind the wheel and hit the starter. Same noise, and zero rotation of any of the accessory pulleys. Battery seems strong, and I'm stumped. Bro gets out of the car and joins me underhood. Again, I ask if he noticed anything odd.

Bro: "Well, the oil light came on a few minutes before the engine stalled..."

Rapidly Becoming Pissed: "Did the light stay on?"

Bro: "Yup."

I place my hands up in the surrender position, which allows the hood to slam shut, and play Toro with a Kenworth on my way back to my car. Now the real AAA is called and the carcass is dragged to our mechanic. The car is shoved onto a lift, an inspection plate is pulled from the transaxle area, and the mechanic pushes the end of a crowbar against the teeth of the flywheel to try to rotate the crank. No mas. An autopsy indicated that the oil pump failed, and one long block later, the Chevy was back on the road. My brother further divulged that the engine started to get very loud and ticky after the oil light came on but that he was sure that he was going to be able to drive it the remaining ten miles to the family driveway...

You got an 800 number;)?

Forget it - I've wised up and now overcharge...

That reminds me of a technician I had working for me a few years ago. The job he was on was wrapping up, and I needed him to go to cover another site. He said he couldn't go because his car was out of oil. I asked how he knew that, and he responded, " It was making the same noise it always does whenever I run it out of oil"!!

For clarity purposes, I'll explain it as such...I'm an old school tool and die maker. I use manual machines to produce parts as needed for my projects, mainly because my employer is too cheap to buy newer machines. Our machines were state of the art in 1980...LOL

Anyway, when running holes spreads, I work off of one X,Y datum, or "0", if you will. The prints we are given, quite often have holes dimensioned from different surfaces. Holes on the left side of the part are dimensioned from the left edge, and the right side from the right edge, instead of having a corner as the datum. To produce it as dimensioned would add to the time to produce the part, because you would have to zero your read out a multitude of times.

Dimensioning it from one edge means you have one starting point, and all numbers come from that one point.

This is why I request part prints and such to come to me on a disk...I'll take a few minutes to re-dimension it in such a way that it's faster to produce. Other people don't care to think that far ahead in advance to find an easier way, and IMHO, take too long on the part.

Perhaps it's due to my years of experience in management and design that I try to find the easiest and best way to draw and dimension the part, because I know the information that the tool maker needs to produce the part.

I just call it common sense...do your job in such a way that the next guy down the line in the process can't make a mistake.

well, there was my rock star wannabe co-worker, who told me that the shop-vac was "broken", because it was blowing out air?

and then said we had to turn the "water main" off, to change out a toilet. (how can you be 40 years old and not know what a shutoff is?)

and my israeli friend, who believes that copper pipe and galvanized pipe are easily connected - dielectric unions are a big scam - yet wondered why all his water pipes were corroded and leaking?

My father is a highly educated, well spoken gentleman; unfortunatly mechanically declined. I once drove 60 miles round trip to repair his mower........Yes it was out of gas.

I have a friend who should have his meager tool selection confiscated. He "gears up" for his automotive repairs with a pint of Johnny Walker. I cant begin to enumerate the amount of **** he has utterly destroyed.

How about the folks who get in the cold car during wintertime and immediately crank the fan to "high" (assuming that will somehow make the air hotter faster)? Yeah...

Those who try to pry apart frozen burger patties with the tip of your (really nice) chefs knife and are surprised when the tip snaps off.

Usually the same people use a screwdriver as a pry bar and complain when it bends or the tip breaks.

Yep. Pry bars are pry bars for a reason. To break patria apart I just drop them still in the sealed bag to break them free. Or use a sanitized pry bar ;)

Reminds me of another story.
A friend of mine was working a summer job, helping to build houses. He swears that on one day he saw a guy and his helper use a screw driver as a chisel to make a space to install an electrical box. Then immediately use a wood chisel as a screwdriver to pry open a can of paint. They had all the right tools; just no feel for when to use which one.

This woman

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=8274026&rss=rss-wpvi-article-8274026

I don't know where to start

go to india, bangladesh, pakistan or anywhere and see what their highly qualified mechanics do on a norm.

customer = my little dinky car heated up a little please check to see if anything is out of place (most drivers there dont know anything about cars)

the mechanic would then remove and bin the T-stat valve, rig the radiator fan to run all the time, fill the system with saline well water, get his money and the customer drives off happy that the temp gauge is now glued to "C" all the time. They later come back in about 20,000 miles with an engine that is sludged up or has bad crank rattle. mechanic blames it on the "modern thin oils" lol.

customer pays for cheap machine job, assy in a dusty environment with slipping tools and returns back in another 20,000 miles for another full overhaul job.

Sounds like a plan to eliminate unemployment.

Or this guy:
Wax cylinder

As a professional M/B tech one of my pet peeves is finding the 13mm oil drain plug rounded over. I mean come on, if you don't actually have a metric tool set a 1/2 inch is a near perfect equilivent to a 13mm. Considering that either is probably the MOST COMMON BOLT SIZE EVER it must take someone special to round over all six corners of the hex with what I'd assume is a combination of channel locks, vice grips, and a hammer.

saw a teenager the other day trying to undo a flat head screw with a Phillips head driver. Had his ipod sound in his ears so no point trying to explain.

Probably they used a 9/16 or 14mm on it because it was too for to walk across the shop & get a 13mm!!!!

This isnt so mechanical but how bout using the edge of your kitchen knife to scrape things off the cutting board as opposed to using the spine of the blade? That's always kinda bugged me. Thanks for letting me get that off mah chest.

Yes, that one kills me! There are SO many people that just can not grasp that turning the stat all the way will NOT get it to that temperature faster.

My wife tends to view Thermostats as "on-off" switches--going from one extreme to another.

1. people who assume in an emergency that since washer fluid is blue and refreshing looking, it will help them put out an engine fire, with the results you can imagine. :D (have to own that one, though I was sleep deprived)

2. Certain people who consistently slam their auto transmission gear lever as hard as possible upwards when its time to stop, who slam it down as hard as possible when its time to go, and never actually verify what gear the lever is actually in. The same people who are capable of driving extended distances in 2 or 1, and call yelling about how slow the car is as it revs along a 5000 rpm!

one of mine ~~~ how hard can you slam shut that passenger door

People who secure light fixtures to the outlet box using wood screws, because they don't have the #6 or #8 machine screws.

exactly, no need to slam. Just follow through with the door and it will close. My girlfriend slammed my trunk closed on the 300D and the force broke one of the bulb holders and I had to replace it. I showed her how to close a trunk without slamming. All you do is push it down and give it a firm downward push once you feel it latch and its closed.

That kind of reminds me of the people who drive with at least one foot on one pedal at all times... if it's not right down on the accelerator...

There is a law here...........you must have your right foot mashed all the way down on the accelerator............or the brake.

Coasting is not allowed.

If someone is coasting to a red light in front of you, mash your foot down, pass them on the right, and then mash the brake pedal to stop at the red light.

Coasting is not allowed.

Brake pads are cheap.

Gas is cheap.

I think that is how they train Pan ( or scrapper) drivers--Either full on the throttle, or on the brakes--if necessary drop the bowl-except on a paved road!