So is there anything this forum won't DIY?

Datsun240ZGuy said:

Beer Baron said:

High pressure steam boilers.

Ever heard anybody describe superheated steam?

not since ENME 315, aka Thermo 2.  

In reply to Mndsm :

Not if you do it right and like roofing, it's all about the knowledge. 

Drywall...

I -can- diy drywall but I hate it so much I will gladly hire it out.

Then I think about most of the drywallers I've met and grudgingly do it myself.

In reply to ShawnG :

BTDT. That's another one of those skills that I hope to never use again. Luckily for me, my wife will happily tape and finish it as long as I hang it. 

One of the greatest things about DIY- and to an extent, blue-collar skilled labor like plumbing and electrical- is that it gives you a greater base level of understanding about something we use in our everyday lives, to know when you need to call a professional and how to take an "emergency" to an "urgency". Being able to look at something and go "ER, NOW" or "Tighten this nut to stop the flow, now we need a plumber soon and not on emergency rates" makes someone very intelligent.

11GTCS said:

ShawnG said:

"Anything anyone knows is written down in a book somewhere." - My grandfather.

Further to this from one of my college professors: " We won't necessarily make any of you any smarter but we will show you how and where to look things up to get the correct answer."  Way before the internet at this particular point in time so yeah, books rule.

Honestly the greatest thing college teaches you, and shows to the world, is that you can withstand a ton of bullE36 M3 and have the mental fortitude to manage high-stakes E36 M3.

The greatest lesson I got from just completing my RN was not just the (frankly absurd) number of skills and knowledge I have to have for my job, but the knowledge that I've now worked in some really bad situations with people who should never teach ever, and that I have the willpower and the capacity to work and thrive within it, despite the challenge.

I think most tasks can be accomplished with a mix of intelligence and knowledge. To a degree they are interchangeable, you can substitute some of one for the other. The third part that I think a lot of us DIY'ers possess is desire. We want to learn how to do the job, be it to save money, make it our own, or because we trust ourselves to do a better job despite the lack of experience. Because we care more about the outcome. One can have plenty of intelligence and knowledge, and still do poor work if they have little care about the outcome. Or if they have other priorities- like profit- that affect the final result. 
 

I hate farming out work to others. When I was young and poor, I had no choice. If it needed to be done, I had to learn how to do it myself. I found that I often achieved better results than professionals, because I was directly affected by the final outcome. I could also invest more time in the project to make sure it was perfect. As I get older, wealthier, and busier, I realize that I don't have the time to do all that needs to be done myself, and in some cases it makes sense to pay the man. But I absolutely hate it, and I try to learn as much about what is being done as possible. I've learned that professionals are just people who specialize in a particular skill set, and can be just as good or bad at it as pretty much any other person at any other skill set. 

I'm not a doctor. I have no training in the medical field. Yet I can't count the number of times that I have found solutions that doctors missed, or diagnosed a problem more accurately than a doctor. It's not because of knowledge. It's because I'm good at problem solving, finding info, and I have a direct interest in the health of my family. I'm also less likely to stick to a predetermined conclusion that would lead me in the wrong direction.

I don't have the knowledge/tools to do house stuff, so I hire it out. 

And even with the BRZ I had the Subie specialist here in town do the suspension/exhaust/alignment/wheels, because I just really don't enjoy spending my weekends in the garage anymore working on cars. I thank that to my S52 E30 build I did in gravel driveway and then my NA track rat with a few blown 1.6s and those motor swaps and different suspension and brake setups.

In reply to Boost_Crazy :

Lol. I once took a friend to the hospital for a hand injury.

Doc is showing him the x-rays and saying "Nothing looks broken" we both point to the x-ray and say what's that then?

Yup, fracture.

In reply to ShawnG :

H.G. Fischer was one of the pioneers in X-ray imaging from over a 100 years ago.  I worked for his son Warren G Fischer in the early 1990's. 

Warren told me his father, an engineer would go into operating rooms and show doctors better techniques.  Almost telling them to move over.....

Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:

Keith Tanner said:

Keith Tanner said:

Everything started as DIY at some point.

This is the first Mercury capsule being transported to the pad on a couple of mattresses.

Of course, this is how SpaceX sometimes transports Raptor engines...

I wonder why they're not using cybertrucks?

They have at least once. I chose not to use one of those pictures because it would derail things - and the Fords are a lot more frequently used because SpaceX has been humping Raptor engines around on trailers for longer than the Cybertruck has been around. 

My wife comes from a DIY family - including building the log house she grew up in. So when I dive under a trailer to fix a brake problem at the beginning of a 1000 mile drive home, she takes it as completely normal behavior and a bare minimum of general competency. It's so frustrating :)

SV reX said:

Toyman! said:

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

Toyman! said:

The rocket surgeon isn't smarter than the average Joe

yeah, he probably is.

He's not. He just has specialized knowledge pertinent to his job and field. Anyone one of us could build a rocket. All it takes is the knowledge and the drive to do so. 

 

I really wanted to debate you on this, but apparently you were right 

Brain surgeons and rocket scientists really aren’t smarter than most folk
 

Using a particular exception like Albert Einstein really doesn't count. 

Not sure I would draw the conclusion based on what they tested for. Very few engineers I know would rate well on emotional anything. And why is that and planning about how smart someone is?  
 

More importantly, why doesn't everyone become a brain surgeon or aerospace engineer?  I spent a paltry 30 years in auto engineering and I don't have to work anymore. And I didn't have to change someone's toilet at 10pm due to some drainage problem.  I kind of understand why people po-po desk jobs, but if your family is the most important thing in your life, it's really a dream gig. 
 

So if engineers are just as average as you, go get the engineering degree and solve the real EV problems (both sides- make HC more sustainable or make batteries as cheap as most people think they are). 

I didn't read the whole thread but I'm pretty sure that nobody here would be willing to DIY the clutch on a Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4

In reply to alfadriver :

I don't see what being able to drive a train has to do with any of this.

anything this forum won't DIY?

I have not read about anyone paving the own driveway. Never seen a Compact Rollar Machine at a rental place

MyMiatas said:

anything this forum won't DIY?

I have not read about anyone paving the own driveway. Never seen a Compact Rollar Machine at a rental place

Paving could be a diy but it is something that you really need to orchestrate with 5-10 people along with the delivery of materials and machines at specific times in the process. Other than that and hard physical labor that is relatively time sensitive anyone can diy it. 

Sonic said:

I didn't read the whole thread but I'm pretty sure that nobody here would be willing to DIY the clutch on a Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4

Actually, I did mine on a concrete slab. It was engine out since the oil pump had come apart from a turbo failure. The car was cheap but the work and parts were not. Super fun car once it was all back together

I've done more driveway slabs than I can count.

ShawnG said:

In reply to alfadriver :

I don't see what being able to drive a train has to do with any of this.

Once a locomotive engineer corrected me; you operate a locomotive despite whatever cocaine induced state Casey Jones was in.  

alfadriver said:

SV reX said:

Toyman! said:

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

Toyman! said:

The rocket surgeon isn't smarter than the average Joe

yeah, he probably is.

He's not. He just has specialized knowledge pertinent to his job and field. Anyone one of us could build a rocket. All it takes is the knowledge and the drive to do so. 

 

I really wanted to debate you on this, but apparently you were right 

Brain surgeons and rocket scientists really aren’t smarter than most folk
 

Using a particular exception like Albert Einstein really doesn't count. 

Not sure I would draw the conclusion based on what they tested for. Very few engineers I know would rate well on emotional anything. And why is that and planning about how smart someone is?  
 

More importantly, why doesn't everyone become a brain surgeon or aerospace engineer?  I spent a paltry 30 years in auto engineering and I don't have to work anymore. And I didn't have to change someone's toilet at 10pm due to some drainage problem.  I kind of understand why people po-po desk jobs, but if your family is the most important thing in your life, it's really a dream gig. 
 

So if engineers are just as average as you, go get the engineering degree and solve the real EV problems (both sides- make HC more sustainable or make batteries as cheap as most people think they are). 

If you can find a study that shows that engineers have a higher average IQ than the rest of the population I'll gladly agree with you. I looked. I couldn't find any such thing. 
 

I agree about the emotional stuff (why would they be engineers if they were good at that?). 
 

I've worked with some amazing engineers through my career, but I've also sat at the table with many who didn't seem to understand crap.  There are a lot of engineers who are definitely not geniuses.

And to answer your question... It's not a dream job for me. There is nothing more awful to me than spending all day working in an office.  I wouldn't trade places with most engineers for triple my salary. 

Was once at the Home Depot plumbing department looking pensive when a helpful associate asked if he could help. "Trying to find the parts to build an artificial left ventricle that can beat at 10 Hz" said I.  "I will leave you to it then" said he, and went away to help a normal person.

He must have told the story cause to this day I cant get help at the plumbing aisle unless I hunt someone  down.

How can you tell the difference between an introvert engineer and an extrovert engineer?

The extrovert engineer looks at your shoes when he's talking to you. 

Datsun240ZGuy said:

How can you tell the difference between an introvert engineer and an extrovert engineer?

The extrovert engineer looks at your shoes when he's talking to you. 

Thank you Bob Zany

I thought there was at least majority agreement here that garage door springs weren't DIY, but besides that...

Sunflowerbw said:

I thought there was at least majority agreement here that garage door springs weren't DIY, but besides that...

I replaced mine.