kirboover
Well-known member
Does anyone else compulsively disassemble things to see what they do and how? I have a MAJOR problem with that. Everything I own has probably been disassembled once or twice.
Taking things apart...
- Thread starter kirboover
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human
Well-known member
I've done that since childhood but I was at least in my teens before I became routinely successful at putting them back together again, much less repairing or improving them.
madman
Well-known member
I wouldn't call it a problem. I'm the same way, I've been dismantling things since I could hold a screwdriver. It's not a problem, it's a gift.
suckolux
Well-known member
Starting at a very early age, I also took apart everything! thankfully my dad was very good at putting it back together and explaining things. That also led to me being given early tools of my own.
huskyvacs
Well-known member
Only when I have to. You don't ever want to be putting the door boot seal spring back on a Maytag Epic Z washing machine just for fun.
fan-of-fans
Well-known member
When I was a kid I did like to take things apart. I used to take apart old vacuum cleaners (mostly these were incomplete or otherwise unusable anyway) as well as VCRs and tape recorders, etc. But I never put them back together.
These days I try to avoid taking things apart, unless I really have to and really have an idea what I'm working with. If it's too hard to get the screws out or I'm not certain if I'll be able to get it back together right, then I just leave it.
Nothing is more annoying when trying to work on things and not being able to get it back together properly, or stripping out a too tight screw. I sometimes feel like even if I take something apart and get it back together it still won't be "factory right" anymore. Particularly when wires and things have to be just so for it to fit.
I do enjoy thought taking things apart as far as I can to get them completely dust and grime free. Like bag and motor compartments on vacuums, etc. I like to know the motor housing is carbon dust free and any old dust leakage is gone. It's just a nice feeling having an entirely clean machine again, with a fresh bag and filters.
These days I try to avoid taking things apart, unless I really have to and really have an idea what I'm working with. If it's too hard to get the screws out or I'm not certain if I'll be able to get it back together right, then I just leave it.
Nothing is more annoying when trying to work on things and not being able to get it back together properly, or stripping out a too tight screw. I sometimes feel like even if I take something apart and get it back together it still won't be "factory right" anymore. Particularly when wires and things have to be just so for it to fit.
I do enjoy thought taking things apart as far as I can to get them completely dust and grime free. Like bag and motor compartments on vacuums, etc. I like to know the motor housing is carbon dust free and any old dust leakage is gone. It's just a nice feeling having an entirely clean machine again, with a fresh bag and filters.
kirbyklekter
Well-known member
Oh yea, absolutely
Old appliances that I acquire get cleaned inside and out.Especially kitchen appliances like mixers.It's kind of fun opening up an appliance that I worked on 20 yrs. ago or so to see how I repaired it then. Some times I apply anything I've learned since then and improve the old repair.
Some manufacturers now use those security screws that require a special driver to remove making it hard to repair if you don't have said screw bit.
@madman Can these security screws be dealt with by means of a kit containing the various screw drivers or bits? Like Harbor Freight. Some times the piece I'm working on is just too big to lug down to a hardware store to show what I need! I wrecked a coffee maker trying to drill out the head of said screw, it was counter sunk and glued also. Mean!
Old appliances that I acquire get cleaned inside and out.Especially kitchen appliances like mixers.It's kind of fun opening up an appliance that I worked on 20 yrs. ago or so to see how I repaired it then. Some times I apply anything I've learned since then and improve the old repair.
Some manufacturers now use those security screws that require a special driver to remove making it hard to repair if you don't have said screw bit.
@madman Can these security screws be dealt with by means of a kit containing the various screw drivers or bits? Like Harbor Freight. Some times the piece I'm working on is just too big to lug down to a hardware store to show what I need! I wrecked a coffee maker trying to drill out the head of said screw, it was counter sunk and glued also. Mean!
suckolux
Well-known member
By the time I was probably first or second grade the relatives all knew to save broken things for David! Not just vacuum cleaners I was branching out 
. My fifth grade teacher offered me the families Hi-Fi, a large blonde console model that her father-in-law couldn't get working. She brought it to school one day in her husband's truck and then gave me a ride home they unloaded it and carried it in my bedroom and before the parents were done talking I had it working 
. My fifth grade teacher offered me the families Hi-Fi, a large blonde console model that her father-in-law couldn't get working. She brought it to school one day in her husband's truck and then gave me a ride home they unloaded it and carried it in my bedroom and before the parents were done talking I had it working kirbyklekter
Well-known member
@ suckolux
That's pretty good, what was wrong with it. Did they load it back on the truck to take home same day?
That's pretty good, what was wrong with it. Did they load it back on the truck to take home same day?
suckolux
Well-known member
I used to wear out record players quite often I guess I was into the records and so I was quite familiar with the mechanical workings of the turntable The rubber wheel that rolls the turntable had simply slipped off on the spring it was the first place I looked! She was very impressed , and no I got to keep it!
human
Well-known member
Life Lessons...
David, that's pretty good. You got to 'school' the teacher.
I think a lot of my propensity to take things apart came from my grandfather. He gave me a box of tools (stubby screwdriver, keyhole saw, pliers, tack hammer) when I was three or four years old. I still have the toolbox and the pliers. He also taught me how to use an electric drill around the same time. Growing up, whenever I spent time with him, we were always working on projects—car repairs, fixing outboard motors, household appliances and electronics, etc.
I remember when I was in my early 20s, just after college, I was spending some time at my grandparents' house, looking for a job in the city where they lived, and I started having car trouble. He bought the parts but had me to put them on while he coached me through it, giving me encouragement and asking me leading questions to make me think through the process. Doing stuff like that, he taught me not to fear taking things apart, just to be methodical and pay attention to what I was doing. That's been a very empowering life lesson that I carry with me to this day.
I also try to pass that lesson along to others when I can. Last summer, I found a hood at the junk yard to replace the one on the quasi-girlfriend's minivan, on which the paint was messed up. While a seemingly radical solution, it was a whole lot cheaper than getting the hood repainted. I used the swap as an opportunity to teach her ten-year-old daughter how to use a ratchet wrench and after I showed her, she did all the unbolting and bolting with my supervision. It gave her a great sense of accomplishment and I rewarded her with a little Harbor Freight socket set of her own.
David, that's pretty good. You got to 'school' the teacher.
I think a lot of my propensity to take things apart came from my grandfather. He gave me a box of tools (stubby screwdriver, keyhole saw, pliers, tack hammer) when I was three or four years old. I still have the toolbox and the pliers. He also taught me how to use an electric drill around the same time. Growing up, whenever I spent time with him, we were always working on projects—car repairs, fixing outboard motors, household appliances and electronics, etc.
I remember when I was in my early 20s, just after college, I was spending some time at my grandparents' house, looking for a job in the city where they lived, and I started having car trouble. He bought the parts but had me to put them on while he coached me through it, giving me encouragement and asking me leading questions to make me think through the process. Doing stuff like that, he taught me not to fear taking things apart, just to be methodical and pay attention to what I was doing. That's been a very empowering life lesson that I carry with me to this day.
I also try to pass that lesson along to others when I can. Last summer, I found a hood at the junk yard to replace the one on the quasi-girlfriend's minivan, on which the paint was messed up. While a seemingly radical solution, it was a whole lot cheaper than getting the hood repainted. I used the swap as an opportunity to teach her ten-year-old daughter how to use a ratchet wrench and after I showed her, she did all the unbolting and bolting with my supervision. It gave her a great sense of accomplishment and I rewarded her with a little Harbor Freight socket set of her own.
suckolux
Well-known member
I'm sure you're correct on all of those early lessons learned bringing us to where we are now Edgar. Good job.
Deleted member 5000
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long live screwdrivers
I think i once took apart a vacuum when i was 8 or 9 and put it back together and it worked surprisingly.
The problem is when i was younger i used to take apart laptops and could not put them back together meaning the laptop became useless.
Now i have the necessary skills & tools to take apart almost anything in my house but i only take apart stuff if i have a reason too as i always feel like i'm going to break it and regret it.
I think i once took apart a vacuum when i was 8 or 9 and put it back together and it worked surprisingly.
The problem is when i was younger i used to take apart laptops and could not put them back together meaning the laptop became useless.
Now i have the necessary skills & tools to take apart almost anything in my house but i only take apart stuff if i have a reason too as i always feel like i'm going to break it and regret it.
vacuumkid47
Well-known member
I do still take things apart just to see what they do, but lately, I think that becomes a problem with me not remembering how they went back together in the first place. I'm a very forgetful person.
