Thread: How bad can tradesmen get?

Originally Posted by superquag

He also re-built my Pajero diesel. Compressions were at the top end of the tolerance scale and within ONE needle-width of each other. Ran very smoothly too ! Just wished I'd taken his advice about removing the balance shaft...

It's always nice doing follow up maintenance after guys like that have done the work...

they're the few the rare, the special jobs that all mechanics love, when it actually goes all by the book and you get everything done that you say you will and you get it done inside the allotted time so you have a few minutes to do some of your own tidy up work in the bay as well as having all your pack up done before the end of task timing.

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

When I was operating Viking Engineers in the late '80's, I was doing some marine engine work for a local slipway and marine business. I was overseeing an overhaul to a main engine in a very old tug from the Solomon Islands. The senior apprentice from this place was assigned to the job, a fourth year who had finished college with good results. One afternoon I asked him to book out the big hand cranked ridge remover from the main yard and bring it the next day. No ridge remover, already booked out on another job. Says I "Righto, grab your scrapers and hop up on that engine and take off the ridges." Dumbfounded apprentice within a few months of becoming a full blown fitter tradesman wanted to know how he did this. I gave him a few minutes of instruction in the use of scrapers and told him to get on with it and that he must have missed all the prac. in first year college if he didn't know how to use scrapers. He was made to scrape all seven cylinders to my satisfaction. He hated me intensely after this particularly as I told his master he was bloody incompetent (many other reasons not just scrapers) and should never become a tradesman without repeating years 3 & 4. No notice taken unfortunately.

I guess it my age, I spent 100's of hours as an apprentice hand lapping valve plates off of compressors now - throw the whole lot out and chuck a new unit in

This is a great thread for poeple that like to see the quality of trademanship these days .... from the local builders.

Caravaners Forum • View topic - ROGUES GALLERY or HORROR STORY ???



How to earth the 240volt circuit of a caravan ... if you silicon and staple that earth wire to the wood frame.... she'll be good and safe, that sucker will never fall of

seeya,
Shane L.

I think we have a winner

Originally Posted by AndyG

I think we have a winner

It's probably a dumb question, but are we sure the works been done by a "tradesman"? I haven't read the entire thread yet as I'm on my phone. The reason I ask is that on several occasions, I have watched "non" tradesman do this kind of work.

Originally Posted by Chops

It's probably a dumb question, but are we sure the works been done by a "tradesman"? I haven't read the entire thread yet as I'm on my phone. The reason I ask is that on several occasions, I have watched "non" tradesman do this kind of work.

All those pictures are of 1->5 year old 'vans that manufactures have built

At least with LV stuff things can't go too wrong...

We have recently had 2 instances at work where tradies have drilled or screwed into steel door frames, rendering them live by drilling or screwing through the cables running in them!

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

This is a great thread for poeple that like to see the quality of trademanship these days .... from the local builders.

Caravaners Forum • View topic - ROGUES GALLERY or HORROR STORY ???



How to earth the 240volt circuit of a caravan ... if you silicon and staple that earth wire to the wood frame.... she'll be good and safe, that sucker will never fall of

seeya,
Shane L.

I'm reading that whole thread now . . . holy blinking moley! I guess I won't be buying a caravan for a while.