Who is going to fix things when we are gone?

[Geo-TH,In]

Recently the exhaust valve on my Jubilee was stuck open.

The carb on my 1950 Farmall C was leaking and a gasket was leaking anti-freeze.

The drive belt and idler pulley on my JD lawn mower needed replaced.

Then a Friend needed the same thing done to his JD mower.

I'll soon be 75. There is more sand at the bottom of my hour glass than on the top.

What I've done isn't rocket science, but Who is going to fix things when we are gone?

When we are gone, will our old tractors and lawn mower be sitting in a field of weeds?

 

[Absent Minded Farmer]

Atlas & Spot got it covered!

Mike

 

[Butch(OH)]

My son's are 30 and 31. When they were very young they were always at my side in the shop and learned things. When they were in high school I told them that if they wanted a secure and high paying career without having $100,000 educational debt all they had to do was apply themselves in a mechanics job because few others want to get dirty. Today they both make huge money working on heavy equipment and have offers to work at many places. AND zero college debt.

 

[Princeton Bill]

I think there are more young people fixing things than we old geezers know about. Oliver Heritage magazine has a great letter from a young man in Canada that is restoring old tractors. I know a few young guys that elected to go to trade schools instead of college. When I think back on my youth, a lot of the town kids did not know much about fixing things unless their parents had a garage or a parts business. It was the farm kids that could fix things.

 

[centash]

The same type of people who now shoe horses etc....if there is a demand for a service, it will be answered.

Ben

 

[jm.]

I am 80 and I just gave my wife my friend George in Ind phone number. Sure he can keep this mess going..LOL I have so many unfinished projects she will just have to have a big sale.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

I know a man who two boys are following in his footsteps. He's a commercial union electrician.
He thinks the same way, no college debt.

Not so sure his kids would become electricians if he wasn't a union electrician. The good old boy system at work.

Both his boys are working for the same company he works for.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

My boy has your phone number in case he wants to get rid of my Kubota.

He wants to keep my Jubilee.
I'm trying to educate him on how to work on it.

Only problem, he's too busy with work.
Work sends him to workshops where he plays golf at some expensive golf courses he could never afford to play at.

 

[M-MAN]

I worry about the same thing myself. I'm afraid my old tractors will slowly fade away. I worry about the kids more. They will be replacing things I take care of for them now.

 

[dhermesc]

Actually those old tractors will probably be sitting in a scrap pile in China waiting to be melted down and turned into Buicks and Jeeps.

 

[Traditional Farmer]

Just push a button on the cell phone,fixes everything.

 

[Stephen Newell]

My guess is things won't get fixed. You can't seem to be able to hire anything repaired anymore and young people are more likely to trash anything broke.

 

[Crazy Horse]

As usual, I think we're far too doubtful about today's generation and sell them short. Plus we flatter ourselves with our briliance and talent. Remember that our grandfathers and fathers asked the same question back in the day.

 

[544hydro]

I m guessing civilization will end once the current generation of old geezers passes. Young people won t be able to figure out anything. This message has been the same generation after generation. Time marches on, things will be fine.

 

[Ellis Kinney]

My neighbor and I were sitting on his front porch the other evening discussing exactly the same thing. Who will keep the farm and machines up after we are gone. Ellis

 

[Steve in VA]

Remember These will be.......

 

[Bruce from Can.]

I think that once our generation has passed, most of the old stuff will go to scrap. Lets be realistic, if you intend to make your living farming these days, you are not going out shopping for a 8N Ford, a 77 Oliver or a 730 Case or IH M. There isnt much work left in a commercial farm for these small tractors to do. And farming was the reason they were built for in the first place, we use them as toys and entertainment, finding jobs for them cutting grass or moving snow. All because we are nostalgic for the time in our lives when these tractors were imported to scratch a living from a farm. Every year there are less and less implements available to hook up to these old work horses of our youth. So it wont really matter if there isnt anyone left that can fix them, virtually no one will want them anymore.

 

[wilson ind]

GEOTGE if tou are gone





























































i will just have to buy a new mower.

 

[RJKeith]

My dad passed away a few years ago. He could fix anything, as long as he didn't think a part cost too much, then it would sit until he found the part for less, LOL. When I was fixing an old tractor, he would always rebuild my carburetors. After he passed away, I had to find a commercial shop, which did a lousy job. So I rebuilt it again, and again, earning a lot about carburetors in the process, which I suspect is how he learned. I think in 50 years, todays youngsters will be asking the same questions, at least if the politicians will still let people buy gas and diesel.

 

[tomturkey]

Yeah right George, you would never put in a good word for your kin. You would never explain the advantages of learning a trade to a young-un. And of course you would never help your son or daughter get a job with a reputable company, Because that might look like the good ole boys. Or maybe its just the high paying Union electrician that you are really offended by. gobble