Life before allen keys

[Ridgeway]

I have my fathers (was then used my me) Dunlop tyre patch tin that i used to catch around with some "tools" in.

How many times i've had those flat spanners slip off a nut and nearly wrecked my hand, i just can't remember

 

[Jenkins]

I've got one of the dumbell spanners and a variant of the flat one in my toolbox as well. The dumbell was only used a few weeks ago as it's the only one I've got that could fit over the little nuts used to clamp mudguard stays. One question - why is it that no matter how carefully you put the dumbell down so that the required nut size is upwards for ease of use, you still end trying at least a couple of the other openings before getting the correct one?

 

[winjim]

I remember getting one of those dumbells in my Christmas stocking once. Happy days.

 

[snorri]

I always thought they were made of cheese.

Cheese was around long before polystyrene, seems more likely.

 

[TheDoctor]

Happy days, when the only tools you needed were a pair of pliers and a butter knife. Before those sneaky Allen keys and cross head screws meant you had to use tools that actually fit.

This sounds like the great British motorbikes where you could strip the engine and gearbox with a tin opener and a piece of string. Because every other weekend you'd have to do just that in a layby beside the A20. But the frame would never rust, because the engine pissed oil from every joint...

 

[nickb]

I'm pretty sure my dad introduced me to such tools before I actually had my own two-wheeler. By the time I did - aged 8 - I was familiar with cone spanners and could rebuild a bottom bracket. Thanks dad xx

I tried to teach my own son such skills but the Playstation2 won

 

[Dogtrousers]

I tried to teach my own son such skills but the Playstation2 won

You were also disadvantaged by the fact that by the time the PS2 came out there were 729 different standards for BBs each requiring their own tools. Back in the day there was one standard, with some different threads.

 

[nickb]

You were also disadvantaged by the fact that by the time the PS2 came out there were 729 different standards for BBs each requiring their own tools. Back in the day there was one standard, with some different threads.

Very true.

Cars were also easier to work on back then. I watched Ford v Ferrari a few days ago and it was great seeing Ken Miles elbow-deep in grease, fettling his cars. Can't imagine Lewis Hamilton skinning his knuckles whilst bleeding the brakes on his Mercedes.

 

[snorri]

This sounds like the great British motorbikes where you could strip the engine and gearbox with a tin opener and a piece of string. Because every other weekend you'd have to do just that in a layby beside the A20. But the frame would never rust, because the engine pissed oil from every joint...

Sounds a bit like my experiences with British Seagull outboard motors. People said they were wonderful because it was easy to fix them, ignoring the fact that they needed to be fixed frequently

 

[nickb]

People said they were wonderful because it was easy to fix them, ignoring the fact that they needed to be fixed frequently

My first car was a Hillman Imp. In about 2 years of owning it, I had the engine out twice and the cylinder head off three times.

Happy days!

 

[BrumJim]

I always thought they were made of cheese.

If they were, there would be a stock of them in my fridge.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I tried to teach my own son such skills but the Playstation2 won

Please don't give up. I despair at a society where people can't fix/fit/fiddle elementary mechanical things. Not only does such skills get things fixed and provide satisfaction, but it also teaches deductive skills.

 

[MontyVeda]

That’s why we always gave them a tap with a hammer first

you carried a hammer in your saddle bag

 

[nickb]

Please don't give up. I despair at a society where people can't fix/fit/fiddle elementary mechanical things. Not only does such skills get things fixed and provide satisfaction, but it also teaches deductive skills.

He's a 25-year-old structural engineer now

 

[TheDoctor]

You were also disadvantaged by the fact that by the time the PS2 came out there were 729 different standards for BBs each requiring their own tools. Back in the day there was one standard, with some different threads.

Ain't that the truth.
I can testify that a British BB looks as though it ought to go into an Italian frame, but one side is very slightly too big. The other side is also slightly too big, and threaded the other way round. Took me ages to spot that...