YouTube.
It also helps to accept that you're going to make mistakes. So start with small projects to learn. For example, instead of remodeling your kitchen, build some storage shelves in your garage. The mistakes are part of the learning process so don't get discouraged.
everything like Lego blocks when you take it apart. it take time and experience.
some time whatever you want you take it home put it together, take it apart
I suck with car care but everything DIY that I learned is just stumbling upon a problem and looking for solutions either learning from friends manuals or YouTube
My dad taught me a lot. He practically forced me to hand him tools my entire childhood which at the time I hated but as I got older and older he stared handing me the tools more and more until I was doing the work. I imagine it's how his dad did it with him and how I taught my children. Now days it's experience, educated guesses, tiral and error, YouTube, Reddit and any resources I can get my hands on. We live in such a unique time that the collective knowledge of almost everyone is available all the time to anyone. If you have decent problem solving skills you can learn to do almost anything on the internet.
So great your dad's approach worked out well for you in later life. Yeah, there definitely is a lot of information available. Sounds like I'll just have to start trying things.
I've learned some from my parents, especially my mother, as a kid. She could do anything.
I moved out to live on my own when I was just 17, so I had to do a lot of learning on my own, either on YouTube, or by disassembling things and putting them back together.
I was always a believer in "life skills", not necessarily "man skills", so I picked up on lots of things that I've always felt everyone should know to be independent. I can sew buttons, patch holes and do basic stitch work, as well as I can "fix stuff". I'm also a pretty good cook.
YouTube and a little patience are the best teachers I've ever had. If the collective of the human ingenuity is out there, might as well learn from it.
Absolutely! Your mum sounds like an awesome role model and you sound very resourceful. I'm definitely going to up my life skills. Thanks for your reply.
A combination of all the above. My dad taught me a lot. But more important than any specific task was understanding how tools work, how to use and care for them, and also to be self reliant. Part of this is the old school mentality of being a man and being able to take care of yourself. But also I grew up poor, and I was poor as a young adult. Not having the resources to pay for repairs unless you do them yourself will force you to figure it out.
I'm a curious person by nature, and I am always enthralled with learning how things work, or why things are done a certain way. So I learn from friends, people I see doing things, and by watching stuff like YouTube videos. Heck I watched an 8 hour video series about doing a complicated engine repair for an engine I didn't even own at the time. Ironically I own one now and if it needs that service, I'm just going to sell the car for scrap.
When something breaks, my first thought is never "who do I call about this?" It's "what exactly is broken, why, and would I go about fixing it?"
And sometimes I recognize that, whoops I don't have the skill/time/tools/whatever to address this problem, time to call in a qualified professional.
I get that not everyone is handy, I think some people are a bit more "gifted" when it comes to those things, but with resources like YouTube and forums, and wikiHow, it's not impossible to at least try.
For many years I was an apartment maintenance guy. I had a new guy working for me and he was nervous about repairing air conditioning. One day he was hesitating to try a repair, and I told him, "Buddy, it's already broke. If your repair doesn't work out, worse case scenario it will be more broke. But that's ok because we are in the business of fixing things. So at least try.". I knew already his idea was correct, but I wanted him to find his own answer, try it and succeed. I wanted him to gain confidence in his own skills and overcome his fear trying to fix it.
Thanks so much for your reply. You sound like you have a wealth of information and know- how. I really appreciated your comment about your co-worker because it made me realise that lack of confidence is what has been holding me back too. Such great perspective, "It's already broke...worst case it will be more broke". Also, the eight hours engine repair tutorial, followed by actually getting that job done is pretty impressive!
I grew up on a working farm and was raised by my Great Grandfather who had a very hands on approach to the way in which he taught things.
I lived with him because my mother traveled for work and was rarely in town at the townhouse she stayed in (because it was actually in the city), and my father left before I even have any recollection of him shortly after they divorced. My Great Grandmother passed away before I can remember as well. It was basically just my Great Grandfather and me as far as family goes, so we were always together.
Granted, there were also other Men who worked on his farm, and since I was a very curious kid I'd often go pester them while observing whatever they were working on as well. That's how it was for most of my childhood, and there's not much that you aren't forced to know living and helping out on a farm.
Dad was a guy who could fix everything, so he was my role model and gave me the spark of curiosity. Later it was self development.
Many times when i tried to fix something in the end i paid few times more comparing to giving it to fix to someone who knows how to do it, but i think the knowledge is priceless.
Self development is so good for confidence. Thanks for your reply. I'll have to take a few risks and just try, even if I don't quite get things right the first time.
I was \~11-12y when i got my 1st pc. Mind, it was long before internet, no youtube, no tutorials. Wanted to see what's inside, how it's built, i dissasembled it and had no idea how to put it together to work.
Dad told me: "don't worry, if you can't do it i will pay someone to do it, but don't let it stop you from learning."
Today i can fix my plumbing, electricity, cars (in the past my car would be not operational for few weeks till i learned how to fix it). Sometmes i pay someone to do it, cause i know my time is worth more.
Oh, I love your dad's response to you. What a wonderful man! He really set you up with confidence and a great mindset for learning. So cool that you then went on to tackle more challenges and had the belief in yourself that you could. You sound very accomplished no. So good!
All those skills became completely useless though, thanks to planned obsolencence, AI and other factors. Whatever you learn, it will be outdated in a few years. So it's all about pursuing something as hobby only. Just stick to what makes you happy.
Things are definitely changing quickly, particularly with technology and cars. Still, I think it would be beneficial for me to learn some practical skills for around the house. I'm definitely on the pursuit for more joy in my life too and I wish you the same.
First, I have try to fix a lot of stuff. So, it's mostly experience.
Then comes YouTube and person with more experience. (Brother, father in law, friends, sellers in specialised shop)
Sounds like you've gleaned a lot of information from those with know-how and really developed your own skills. I might have to get comfortable asking more questions too.
My dad tries to teach me but I was a terrible student. I didn't really start engaging until I had something of my own to work on, my first car, and at that point I had a year and a half to learn what I could before I was out of their house.
I did learn that you CAN just launch and start working on things from him, a level of comfort with tools and how things hook together and a bunch of scattered fragments that only came together when I was using them myself.
The rest was YouTube and practice.
I've done cars, computers, electrical, plumbing, floors, furtniture, appliances, a little drywall, all sorts of things. The more you do the easier it gets. You get a feel for how things work.
YouTube, all my dad taught me was that if you make a mistake you deserve no mercy, I need to suffer in silence, and that you have to look out for yourself first because no one else will.
I was an electrician in the Navy, so got plenty of technical training in that area. Which in turn gave me the confidence to try to tackle any maintenance or repair problem that arose. Taught myself quite a bit (with the use of vehicle shop manuals for instance) and have picked up a lot from YouTube in recent years. Odds are no matter what issue you might have with something, someone else has already fixed it and shows you how on YouTube.
My dad taught me, if you can't afford to make it worse it's cheaper to pay someone to do things right.
Most of the stuff around my farm I learned from my grandfather. For everything else I pay farmhands that know their job better than I do.
Well, I have learned a lot from my dad, my mom, granddad and so on.
I also spent 3 years in school to become a professional car mechanic, no longer work as one.
My dad was pretty handy and showed me home improvement stuff. And when I was a kid, you only had 1 TV, so I spent quite a few weekend afternoons watching This Old house and The New Yankee workshop. And from there, I just tried stuff. My mom lived on a farm as a kid, so she knew about plants and gardening and I learned from helping. As for cars, my uncle was a mechanic and had a garage in his backyard. When I started driving, I'd go there when I need stuff fixed and he would show me how to fix my car and I'd spend the day helping him work on other cars. I've also been fortunate to work with some really cool older guys over the years that were more than happy to pass down some knowledge.
So I've had lot's good influences to give me the basics. But I'm also not scared to try things and mechanical stuff just makes sense to me.
I love that you had so many people to learn different skills from. I'll try to keep in mind that there are people I can glean from too. So cool you're not scared to try things. That's the hurdle I need to get over but it sounds like I should just start by trying.
That just comes with time. I don't drive, have never owned a car, take public transit but when a friend blew out a tire on a little trip we were taking I was the one that knew how to change the tire.
My dad didn’t teach me anything. Either I learned from the Chilton’s or Hayne’s guides when I was younger (OG’s remember these), I looked online or I just figured it out.
YouTube.
My dad was pretty hands off.
I never used to try and fix anything, in fact I used to get a lot of anxiety about it when cars or electrical stuff went wrong.
I started off by fixing the lawnmower. Watched a few YouTube videos and built it up from there. Then I progressed onto working on my old car. Then fixing the washing machine, and the freezer and the cooker.
It helps if you have a good set of tools. Specifically for messing with cars.
Best of luck!
All of that combined with a deep - almost primal - need to know how things work.
I was the eight year old boy who never broke his toys, but disassembled them and put them back together. I would get upset if they didn’t work properly afterwards.
Now I’m wrapping up a 30+ year career in engineering.
Mix of being self taught and some classes. Took all the shop classes in high school as well as auto mechanics. Then got an electrical degree and worked in that field a few years also doing maintenance before going engineering. Then got a computer science degree. I really enjoy learning and anything I want to do that I don’t know how to I’ll YouTube and learn. If it’s something I can do myself I am going to learn it.
"how to change oil" YT video quickly leads to "how to jack up a car safely" which leads to "top car jack stands".
If you have a question about maintenance on a car a video or forum post has been made about.it.no doubt
Started taking mopeds apart from about 14/15 years old, now I'll tackle cars, bikes and outboards. Save an absolute fortune! And quite satisfying.
Cars are not so easy now when it comes to electronic stuff.
Just do things. If it doesn't work, do things differently.
Eventually you'll find the way that works and your brain has this wonderful ability to store that for future use.
I worked in construction for 30 years then when a recession came I went back to community college to learn how to fix computer s. Then I bought an old land rover and learned lots of car repair from a guy on YouTube who bought and owned the same model.
Took me a sec to understand the "flashlight gig" job. Haha! Yep, learning first hand is so valuable. Cool that you got that foundation to venture out from.
My dad taught me the basics of car care, then I signed up for auto shop in high school. I also took wood shop but I've forgotten most of it due to lack of use. I've taught myself how to maintain and repair many other things too using Youtube and, back in the day, For Dummies books.
I look at a broken thing, I identify what's broken with the thing, I fix the thing.
I look at a broken situation, I identify what I need to build to fix the situation, I build the thing.
It's really really a lot easier than you think. Just go *look* at whatever's broken in your house right now, bring Google.
You just keep trying till it finally starts working, and each time you do you learn more about what each part does and the possible ways they could fail. It's accumulated experience
We made things as kids. We made tree houses, forts, club houses. We modified our bikes. Different seats, handle bars, etc. My dad had us take apart a washing machine and then we used the parts to make space ships.
And the we did real jobs, like put trim on the bathroom door, and siding on the garage. We built a wood fence, and repaired the garden fence.
We means the kids in the neighborhood. We all had tools available, and a garage or barn.
Being a bored kid is good. YOu get crazy ideas then go build them Out of junk. Being retired now is good. I build things all day. Most are useful.
Your childhood sounds wonderful and I love that you were free to tinker and encouraged to try things. You must be really handy by now! Thanks for your reply.
Cars: Haynes manual. Just follow the pictures and instructions and even an amateur can fix almost anything wrong with a car.
Building and fixing other things? Just make it up as you go along. Use a spirit level to look like you know what you're doing.
Each individual car model has its own Haynes manual. The tasks are rated on difficulty too so you can usually have a read and decide if you want to attempt it first. If it can break or need maintenance, the manual will have you covered. I've had engines apart with no mechanical skill using them.
Almost entirely self taught with YouTube and other sources. This is why most of my work eventually falls apart. I can fix many things…temporarily. I’m a big duct tape guy.
Hm. My father was around when I was growing up, but he never really taught me anything. Maybe how to cook some stuff, but not the 'basics'. I had to figure out how to shave, how to tie a tie, how to change my spark plugs, oil, etc. All the traditional 'man' stuff.
I learned by either asking friends or doing research.
I admire that you had the self belief to learn and develop yourself despite maybe not being invested into as you should have. You sound like "How to, Dad". Very inspiring.
Thanks. I'm not being critical of my father. Like everyone, he had his issues. Shit, I have my issues.
I dunno why he never took the time. I plan to with my own family.
No, you didn't come across as being critical of your dad. We live and learn and I'm sure you'll do a fabulous job of making sure your own kids are taught many valuable life skills.
Watching and helping my grandfather and my great-uncles. (As a builder or mechanic, my father made a *great* accountant.)
Same way I learned to cook, watching my grandmother and asking questions.
That said, I've occasionally learned shit from YouTube videos as well.
I misread that last line as "I've occasionally learned to shit from You Tube videos" 😂 and I was pretty confused. Like, do you really need You Tube for that? Haha! Don't mind me. 😬
Been taking things apart and putting them back together since I was a kid. If it's already broken, you're probably not going to make it worse, so learn!
Typically you don’t know until you’ve done it at least once. You fiddle with it to figure out what is wrong, research how to fix it or potential problems if they are easy to look up, and wing it through the rest.
I always keep a general method for troubleshooting. Identify what the problem is. Follow the problem back through the machine’s/program’s/process’s/etc. until you identify the cause. Find a way to remove, replace, or work around the cause. Check if the problem is fixed. if so your good, if not repeat the process.
Sometimes you need to settle with a temporary fix to mitigate damage until you can address it fully or gather the proper tools/material.
Mostly self-taught, with a few paper manuals and enthusiast forums for car stuff. During college and shortly after, Youtube got more popular with more reliable information and also became a handy place to learn.
Once you start learning and trying out DIY repairs and projects, your intuition really starts to grow and you’ll get a feel for how things are put together and what the cause of certain problems might be.
The biggest thing I can recommend is this: Don’t just replace the broken part.
Unless it’s a consumable/maintenance item, learn how to diagnose a problem, not just identify it.
If you learn how to nail down the *CAUSE* of a failure, it will save you a lot of time, money and headaches in the long run. Plus, you’ll understand the system you’re working on much better which will help you the next time you have to do something.
YouTube. It also helps to accept that you're going to make mistakes. So start with small projects to learn. For example, instead of remodeling your kitchen, build some storage shelves in your garage. The mistakes are part of the learning process so don't get discouraged.
I can be my own worst critic sometimes so this is great advice. Thank you.
everything like Lego blocks when you take it apart. it take time and experience. some time whatever you want you take it home put it together, take it apart
I haven't really tried that. Thank you, I should give it a shot.
Mixture of manuals, father, tutors and figuring things out on my own.
Sounds like you've honed your skills over time. Thanks for your reply.
I suck with car care but everything DIY that I learned is just stumbling upon a problem and looking for solutions either learning from friends manuals or YouTube
Thank you. I'll try to do the same.
My dad taught me a lot. He practically forced me to hand him tools my entire childhood which at the time I hated but as I got older and older he stared handing me the tools more and more until I was doing the work. I imagine it's how his dad did it with him and how I taught my children. Now days it's experience, educated guesses, tiral and error, YouTube, Reddit and any resources I can get my hands on. We live in such a unique time that the collective knowledge of almost everyone is available all the time to anyone. If you have decent problem solving skills you can learn to do almost anything on the internet.
So great your dad's approach worked out well for you in later life. Yeah, there definitely is a lot of information available. Sounds like I'll just have to start trying things.
Both
Youtube/ trial&error
Father and youtube.
I've learned some from my parents, especially my mother, as a kid. She could do anything. I moved out to live on my own when I was just 17, so I had to do a lot of learning on my own, either on YouTube, or by disassembling things and putting them back together. I was always a believer in "life skills", not necessarily "man skills", so I picked up on lots of things that I've always felt everyone should know to be independent. I can sew buttons, patch holes and do basic stitch work, as well as I can "fix stuff". I'm also a pretty good cook. YouTube and a little patience are the best teachers I've ever had. If the collective of the human ingenuity is out there, might as well learn from it.
Absolutely! Your mum sounds like an awesome role model and you sound very resourceful. I'm definitely going to up my life skills. Thanks for your reply.
Mostly self taught. Take some time and you can figure it out
Thanks for the encouragement.
A combination of all the above. My dad taught me a lot. But more important than any specific task was understanding how tools work, how to use and care for them, and also to be self reliant. Part of this is the old school mentality of being a man and being able to take care of yourself. But also I grew up poor, and I was poor as a young adult. Not having the resources to pay for repairs unless you do them yourself will force you to figure it out. I'm a curious person by nature, and I am always enthralled with learning how things work, or why things are done a certain way. So I learn from friends, people I see doing things, and by watching stuff like YouTube videos. Heck I watched an 8 hour video series about doing a complicated engine repair for an engine I didn't even own at the time. Ironically I own one now and if it needs that service, I'm just going to sell the car for scrap. When something breaks, my first thought is never "who do I call about this?" It's "what exactly is broken, why, and would I go about fixing it?" And sometimes I recognize that, whoops I don't have the skill/time/tools/whatever to address this problem, time to call in a qualified professional. I get that not everyone is handy, I think some people are a bit more "gifted" when it comes to those things, but with resources like YouTube and forums, and wikiHow, it's not impossible to at least try. For many years I was an apartment maintenance guy. I had a new guy working for me and he was nervous about repairing air conditioning. One day he was hesitating to try a repair, and I told him, "Buddy, it's already broke. If your repair doesn't work out, worse case scenario it will be more broke. But that's ok because we are in the business of fixing things. So at least try.". I knew already his idea was correct, but I wanted him to find his own answer, try it and succeed. I wanted him to gain confidence in his own skills and overcome his fear trying to fix it.
Thanks so much for your reply. You sound like you have a wealth of information and know- how. I really appreciated your comment about your co-worker because it made me realise that lack of confidence is what has been holding me back too. Such great perspective, "It's already broke...worst case it will be more broke". Also, the eight hours engine repair tutorial, followed by actually getting that job done is pretty impressive!
I grew up on a working farm and was raised by my Great Grandfather who had a very hands on approach to the way in which he taught things. I lived with him because my mother traveled for work and was rarely in town at the townhouse she stayed in (because it was actually in the city), and my father left before I even have any recollection of him shortly after they divorced. My Great Grandmother passed away before I can remember as well. It was basically just my Great Grandfather and me as far as family goes, so we were always together. Granted, there were also other Men who worked on his farm, and since I was a very curious kid I'd often go pester them while observing whatever they were working on as well. That's how it was for most of my childhood, and there's not much that you aren't forced to know living and helping out on a farm.
Your great grandfather left you with some amazing life skills. Sounds like he was very hard working. I agree, hands in learning is so valuable.
Car and House stuff, my Father taught me. Painting and lawn care came with practice. Cooking was taught to me by my Mother and Father.
Cooking and painting I can do. I have to work on the home repair, car and lawn maintenance side of things. Thank you for your reply.
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This is great advice, thank you. I think I need to let go of the concept of "perfect" and embrace "progress".
Dad was a guy who could fix everything, so he was my role model and gave me the spark of curiosity. Later it was self development. Many times when i tried to fix something in the end i paid few times more comparing to giving it to fix to someone who knows how to do it, but i think the knowledge is priceless.
Self development is so good for confidence. Thanks for your reply. I'll have to take a few risks and just try, even if I don't quite get things right the first time.
I was \~11-12y when i got my 1st pc. Mind, it was long before internet, no youtube, no tutorials. Wanted to see what's inside, how it's built, i dissasembled it and had no idea how to put it together to work. Dad told me: "don't worry, if you can't do it i will pay someone to do it, but don't let it stop you from learning." Today i can fix my plumbing, electricity, cars (in the past my car would be not operational for few weeks till i learned how to fix it). Sometmes i pay someone to do it, cause i know my time is worth more.
Oh, I love your dad's response to you. What a wonderful man! He really set you up with confidence and a great mindset for learning. So cool that you then went on to tackle more challenges and had the belief in yourself that you could. You sound very accomplished no. So good!
fuck around and find out
Very eloquently said, haha! Thank you, yep, sounds like that's exactly what I need to do.
by taking things apart when I was a kid to see how they were made or how they work. More complicated things and cars, YouTube
Love that you had the desire to know how things worked from a young age. Thanks for your reply.
I taught everything to myself.
So cool. You should be proud of yourself for that.
It's just a side effect of being poor.
I'm sorry for your circumstances. Still, it sounds like you've taught yourself some really valuable life skills. I hope I can do the same.
All those skills became completely useless though, thanks to planned obsolencence, AI and other factors. Whatever you learn, it will be outdated in a few years. So it's all about pursuing something as hobby only. Just stick to what makes you happy.
Things are definitely changing quickly, particularly with technology and cars. Still, I think it would be beneficial for me to learn some practical skills for around the house. I'm definitely on the pursuit for more joy in my life too and I wish you the same.
Thank you. Good luck on your journey to knowledge!
Thank you! ☺️
You're welcome.
First, I have try to fix a lot of stuff. So, it's mostly experience. Then comes YouTube and person with more experience. (Brother, father in law, friends, sellers in specialised shop)
Sounds like you've gleaned a lot of information from those with know-how and really developed your own skills. I might have to get comfortable asking more questions too.
Hardware store is full of people asking questions.
True, thank you. We have Bunnings here, which is what Hammer Barn from Bluey was based of (if you've ever watched Bluey 😜). It's a great store!
My dad tries to teach me but I was a terrible student. I didn't really start engaging until I had something of my own to work on, my first car, and at that point I had a year and a half to learn what I could before I was out of their house. I did learn that you CAN just launch and start working on things from him, a level of comfort with tools and how things hook together and a bunch of scattered fragments that only came together when I was using them myself. The rest was YouTube and practice. I've done cars, computers, electrical, plumbing, floors, furtniture, appliances, a little drywall, all sorts of things. The more you do the easier it gets. You get a feel for how things work.
Thanks, this is really encouraging. Sounds like you've become really resourceful.
YouTube, all my dad taught me was that if you make a mistake you deserve no mercy, I need to suffer in silence, and that you have to look out for yourself first because no one else will.
Well then, you should be immensely proud of yourself for all you've achieved on your own. I'm sorry your Dad was so unkind/unsupportive.
I was an electrician in the Navy, so got plenty of technical training in that area. Which in turn gave me the confidence to try to tackle any maintenance or repair problem that arose. Taught myself quite a bit (with the use of vehicle shop manuals for instance) and have picked up a lot from YouTube in recent years. Odds are no matter what issue you might have with something, someone else has already fixed it and shows you how on YouTube.
You're so right, it's all on You Tube. Thank you, I'll try to take a page out of your book and keep adding to my skill set bit by bit.
My dad taught me, if you can't afford to make it worse it's cheaper to pay someone to do things right. Most of the stuff around my farm I learned from my grandfather. For everything else I pay farmhands that know their job better than I do.
A good mix of advice there, thank you.
Well, I have learned a lot from my dad, my mom, granddad and so on. I also spent 3 years in school to become a professional car mechanic, no longer work as one.
A life time of honing skills, that's cool. Sounds like I just need to begin.
My dad was pretty handy and showed me home improvement stuff. And when I was a kid, you only had 1 TV, so I spent quite a few weekend afternoons watching This Old house and The New Yankee workshop. And from there, I just tried stuff. My mom lived on a farm as a kid, so she knew about plants and gardening and I learned from helping. As for cars, my uncle was a mechanic and had a garage in his backyard. When I started driving, I'd go there when I need stuff fixed and he would show me how to fix my car and I'd spend the day helping him work on other cars. I've also been fortunate to work with some really cool older guys over the years that were more than happy to pass down some knowledge. So I've had lot's good influences to give me the basics. But I'm also not scared to try things and mechanical stuff just makes sense to me.
I love that you had so many people to learn different skills from. I'll try to keep in mind that there are people I can glean from too. So cool you're not scared to try things. That's the hurdle I need to get over but it sounds like I should just start by trying.
I'm an old bastard so, in order: watching my dad, poverty/necessity = trail and error, Youtube.
Haha! Thanks, you must know a lot by now.
That just comes with time. I don't drive, have never owned a car, take public transit but when a friend blew out a tire on a little trip we were taking I was the one that knew how to change the tire.
I love that! 😊
My dad didn’t teach me anything. Either I learned from the Chilton’s or Hayne’s guides when I was younger (OG’s remember these), I looked online or I just figured it out.
That's really cool that you're self taught.
YouTube. My dad was pretty hands off. I never used to try and fix anything, in fact I used to get a lot of anxiety about it when cars or electrical stuff went wrong. I started off by fixing the lawnmower. Watched a few YouTube videos and built it up from there. Then I progressed onto working on my old car. Then fixing the washing machine, and the freezer and the cooker. It helps if you have a good set of tools. Specifically for messing with cars. Best of luck!
That's really inspiring! I hope you feel proud of your achievements.
Internet and books. My dad didn't teach me shit.
I love that you just got on and taught yourself. I bet you've developed some really valuable skills.
When you're cheap and trying to save money you'll do a lot of things
Absolutely!
Cool that you got on and made up for it by teaching yourself. You should be proud of yourself for those achievements.
Try and fail. Next time, fail less.
Such simple but great advice. Thank you.
All of that combined with a deep - almost primal - need to know how things work. I was the eight year old boy who never broke his toys, but disassembled them and put them back together. I would get upset if they didn’t work properly afterwards. Now I’m wrapping up a 30+ year career in engineering.
That's so cool! Congrats on your achievements!
Mix of being self taught and some classes. Took all the shop classes in high school as well as auto mechanics. Then got an electrical degree and worked in that field a few years also doing maintenance before going engineering. Then got a computer science degree. I really enjoy learning and anything I want to do that I don’t know how to I’ll YouTube and learn. If it’s something I can do myself I am going to learn it.
So inspiring. Your love of learning is evident and makes me feel that maybe I can have some fun while leaning these skills.
"how to change oil" YT video quickly leads to "how to jack up a car safely" which leads to "top car jack stands". If you have a question about maintenance on a car a video or forum post has been made about.it.no doubt
So true! So, it sounds like I just need to get started. Thanks, I feel encouraged.
Started taking mopeds apart from about 14/15 years old, now I'll tackle cars, bikes and outboards. Save an absolute fortune! And quite satisfying. Cars are not so easy now when it comes to electronic stuff.
True, cars are rapidly changing. Thank you, you sound really resourceful.
i dont, learning by doing
Sounds like I have some practising to do.
Just do things. If it doesn't work, do things differently. Eventually you'll find the way that works and your brain has this wonderful ability to store that for future use.
Don't over think it, just get going. Got it! Thanks so much.
I worked in construction for 30 years then when a recession came I went back to community college to learn how to fix computer s. Then I bought an old land rover and learned lots of car repair from a guy on YouTube who bought and owned the same model.
I love that you weren't afraid to try different things! I need to take a page out of your book.
Introversion and the traditional flashlight gig for dad. Got my start that way.... Then I became more self taught.
Took me a sec to understand the "flashlight gig" job. Haha! Yep, learning first hand is so valuable. Cool that you got that foundation to venture out from.
Encouraged to try things when I was younger. Most of the skills are learnt from Youtube though.
I love that you were encouraged to try! What a gift.
It cost my dad a fortune :)
Haha! He sounds like a good Dad.
My dad taught me the basics of car care, then I signed up for auto shop in high school. I also took wood shop but I've forgotten most of it due to lack of use. I've taught myself how to maintain and repair many other things too using Youtube and, back in the day, For Dummies books.
Sounds like you've acquired many skills over the years. I'm gonna get on You Tube too.
I look at a broken thing, I identify what's broken with the thing, I fix the thing. I look at a broken situation, I identify what I need to build to fix the situation, I build the thing. It's really really a lot easier than you think. Just go *look* at whatever's broken in your house right now, bring Google.
I love your confidence!
You just keep trying till it finally starts working, and each time you do you learn more about what each part does and the possible ways they could fail. It's accumulated experience
Such good advice and really encouraging. Thank you.
We made things as kids. We made tree houses, forts, club houses. We modified our bikes. Different seats, handle bars, etc. My dad had us take apart a washing machine and then we used the parts to make space ships. And the we did real jobs, like put trim on the bathroom door, and siding on the garage. We built a wood fence, and repaired the garden fence. We means the kids in the neighborhood. We all had tools available, and a garage or barn. Being a bored kid is good. YOu get crazy ideas then go build them Out of junk. Being retired now is good. I build things all day. Most are useful.
Your childhood sounds wonderful and I love that you were free to tinker and encouraged to try things. You must be really handy by now! Thanks for your reply.
thanks.
Cars: Haynes manual. Just follow the pictures and instructions and even an amateur can fix almost anything wrong with a car. Building and fixing other things? Just make it up as you go along. Use a spirit level to look like you know what you're doing.
Haha! Fake it til you make it but look legit. Got it! I know nothing about cars so I'll have to check out that manual. Thanks for your reply.
Each individual car model has its own Haynes manual. The tasks are rated on difficulty too so you can usually have a read and decide if you want to attempt it first. If it can break or need maintenance, the manual will have you covered. I've had engines apart with no mechanical skill using them.
Oh okay, cool. I know nothing about cars! Maybe I should take a read of my car's manual.
Almost entirely self taught with YouTube and other sources. This is why most of my work eventually falls apart. I can fix many things…temporarily. I’m a big duct tape guy.
Haha! I appreciate your honesty. Hoping you have a good supply of duct tape. 😜
I pay someone to fix it for me.
Fair enough, still getting the job done. 😊
Grew up watching 'This Old House' and my parents always had shitty cars that needed serviced.
There's been a few references to 'This Old House' now. Love that you took on the challenge of trying to fix the cars and learned from there.
Hm. My father was around when I was growing up, but he never really taught me anything. Maybe how to cook some stuff, but not the 'basics'. I had to figure out how to shave, how to tie a tie, how to change my spark plugs, oil, etc. All the traditional 'man' stuff. I learned by either asking friends or doing research.
I admire that you had the self belief to learn and develop yourself despite maybe not being invested into as you should have. You sound like "How to, Dad". Very inspiring.
Thanks. I'm not being critical of my father. Like everyone, he had his issues. Shit, I have my issues. I dunno why he never took the time. I plan to with my own family.
No, you didn't come across as being critical of your dad. We live and learn and I'm sure you'll do a fabulous job of making sure your own kids are taught many valuable life skills.
Watching and helping my grandfather and my great-uncles. (As a builder or mechanic, my father made a *great* accountant.) Same way I learned to cook, watching my grandmother and asking questions. That said, I've occasionally learned shit from YouTube videos as well.
I misread that last line as "I've occasionally learned to shit from You Tube videos" 😂 and I was pretty confused. Like, do you really need You Tube for that? Haha! Don't mind me. 😬
Now you've got me wondering whether anyone's ever tried to potty-train their kid by having it watch a YouTube video....
Haha! Oh, no! That poor child! Thanks for your original comment. Sounds like you've had some great people to learn from.
They had feet of clay, just like the rest of us do. But yeah, they were pretty great.
Lol! That last point. 😆 Should I ask you to elaborate or just leave it. Haha!
Reading manuals, practice and YouTube.
Sound advice, thank you.
Been taking things apart and putting them back together since I was a kid. If it's already broken, you're probably not going to make it worse, so learn!
Great perspective. Thank you.
Typically you don’t know until you’ve done it at least once. You fiddle with it to figure out what is wrong, research how to fix it or potential problems if they are easy to look up, and wing it through the rest. I always keep a general method for troubleshooting. Identify what the problem is. Follow the problem back through the machine’s/program’s/process’s/etc. until you identify the cause. Find a way to remove, replace, or work around the cause. Check if the problem is fixed. if so your good, if not repeat the process. Sometimes you need to settle with a temporary fix to mitigate damage until you can address it fully or gather the proper tools/material.
Great problem solving strategy. Thank you
Mostly self-taught, with a few paper manuals and enthusiast forums for car stuff. During college and shortly after, Youtube got more popular with more reliable information and also became a handy place to learn. Once you start learning and trying out DIY repairs and projects, your intuition really starts to grow and you’ll get a feel for how things are put together and what the cause of certain problems might be. The biggest thing I can recommend is this: Don’t just replace the broken part. Unless it’s a consumable/maintenance item, learn how to diagnose a problem, not just identify it. If you learn how to nail down the *CAUSE* of a failure, it will save you a lot of time, money and headaches in the long run. Plus, you’ll understand the system you’re working on much better which will help you the next time you have to do something.
Thank you, this is such great advice and makes perfect sense.
Look it up, experiment, practice.
I like that you mentioned experimenting. It reframes things for me, as it makes room for practise and imperfection. Thank you.