> I should have mentioned that I began to lean over fenders when I was 13.   
    > Watching master mechanics gives you confidence to do that kind of work   
    > when it comes to your turn.   
      
   I never had the opportunity to apprentice with something like a master   
   mechanic, but I am pretty good at figuring things out.  That has gotten me to   
   where I am today, but which isn't bad - all things considered.     
      
    > Did I mention that I had to rebuild the gear box on my friend's lathe   
    > before I could make those parts? Somebody had jammed the gear box by   
    > getting something caught in the 3 jaw chuck and locking it up, stripping   
    > the gears in the box. I found bearings, shafts and some gears online, but   
    > not everything. So, it doesn't have two ranges of feed/threading speeds,   
    > but it does have an automatic carriage feed that it didn't have before.   
    > There's a shear pin in the shaft that drives the carriage, but it was too   
    > strong for the spindle lockup and is why the box was broken.   
      
   That is really cool.  I was all proud of myself for swapping the water pump in   
   my daughters car this winter (in bad weather conditions).  The most difficult   
   part of that other than getting hose clamps off that were in horrible   
   locations was "removing it from the car".  I had to cut several hoses, move   
   the battery, etc to get it physically out of the car.  I had it off, but   
   couldn't get it out from the compartment.  I ended up having to replace extra   
   hoses since I had to cut them.  It was a learning experience and all worked in   
   the end, so that was good.  Although, I couldn't get the car started after the   
   operation.  Guess what the problem was?  The damn factory alarm system.  I had   
   removed the battery.  You have to lock/unlock the car to reset the alarm or it   
   cuts the fuel pump.  That was a nice new bit of info I didn't know before for   
   that car.   
      
   - Mark   
      
   --- WWIVToss v.1.40 Registered    
    * Origin:  http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (1:261/1304.0)