I know a bunch of you are car people, or were in NSBE back in the day. But might any of you have any functional trade skills practical to your life now?

I can't swap out an electrical panel, but I understand circuitry and can read a multi-meter and have experience with all kinds of hard wired peripherals. But, plumbing--I'm totally afraid of it. I've never been able to fully fix a single plumbing project I've attempted, no matter how many YouTube videos I watch.

I also have it in my mind that I'm buying an old boat, to fix up this summer.
Something like one of these 25'-30' sailboat options https://www.ebay.com/str/boatdonationshomeofboatangel
So I signed up with my local Coast Guard flotilla, for their complimentary boat safety training. Then I figured I should take some sort of Marine Diesel Mechanics course.
Got to looking for options, which lead me into a worm hole.
Now I want to sign up for everything.

I was in Home Depot, on that below freezing day, buying all kind of shit I had no business buying. Fucked around and purchased all kinds of materials and tools to build a small side table for an oddly configured narrow corner in the crib, but now I feel accomplished.
https://i.imgur.com/yy5vpEB.jpg
...making me think, this must be what these nerdy MFers on here--saying they don't have TVs--do to satisfy their time instead.

Anyway, tell me your interest or talent in the trades.

I can build some shit with some wood, nails, screws etc but have never even attempted electrical or plumbing or masonry for that matter...

I have stirred and poured some concrete though...

& drive up her drive way, I make a plan in my mind to secretly go out and buy a bag of quickcrete to pour over the fucked up transition from their street into the driveway...just to stunt on her husband.

I've done a fair amount of work on my cars, but never anything powertrain related. Swapping suspensions, stereos, upholstery, exhausts, detailing etc. I think I could make it as a detailer and if I had to change careers all of a sudden that might be it. All that shit is backbreaking though, I don't know how people do it full time.

I have experience building stuff with wood and power tools but haven't done much in a long time.

I dont know anything about electrical. Thats like the one area that I don't even attempt. I changed out light fixtures and feared for my life the whole time.

I'm also a bit of a perfectionist so unless Im confident I can do a really good job I'd rather just have a pro do it.

Nice work on the table btw!

During a recent trip for a game, where the whole crew met up from all over the east coast, the day everyone was going home he leaves first, then suddenly shows back up to the rental about an hour after he left.
His factory car stereo system apparently died suddenly, he couldn't charge his phone for directions home. It never occurred to him to check the fuse. And he was fully prepared to have the whole thing swapped out...at a best buy up the street.
Of course it was the fuse.

I bet you can't watch just one
https://youtu.be/Cn2ld4uecFY

My kitchen sink drain seal was leaking so I replaced that.

I’m afraid of electricity tho

I have a ton of shit to do this spring. Need to rip down the old deck and get a new one built.

Oh, I also fixed my garage door. Had to take it apart. My wife and I didnthat shit the first year we had or house. She also helped with the dryer. We will try to fix most things before calling an expert.

Youtube?

I had to do a process of elimination. All I had to do is buy a new battery since I could get it to start when I moved the fam with a stick when it kicked on and didn’t move. But how many people even know there is a battery in an AC unit?

Now the dryer? We had to take the drum off and put it back together. When it started spinning we looked at each other like we were bosses

....

It was all very basic. We were really just hanging out attaching pieces of scrap to other pieces of scrap, but I hope to get into it more and find useful things to do with it.

Really want to get into woodworking. I have a thousand books floating around my house but I hate those cheap-looking particle-board bookcases. Want some hardwood bookcases, but they're super expensive (mainly due to materials, admittedly), and I have my own particular tastes that rarely show up in mass-produced furniture. So I want to get into that and make my own. Someday.

I manage my own server and workstation hardware, if that counts.

Done some electronics projects with arduinos and raspberry pi's. Built an arduino timer attached to a micromotor to drive a camera mount for astrophotography. Also built a raspberry pi spectral analyzer that takes live sound as I practice my saxophone and shows the spectrogram on my TV so I can fine-tune things that are tricky to hear.

Haven't done much "around the house" DIY work, mainly because I've been renting for basically all of my adult life.

I think I could really get into maintaining a classic car, if I had a garage. Actually my uncle has a pilot's license, and at one point he built a plane from a kit, which kinda blew my mind. I'd love to do that someday.

When I go into Home Depot, it's usually to pick up things to make demonstrations for my physics classes. Built a working bugle out of a copper pipe and some funnels last year.

When I have a little more space I want to build a harpsichord. You can buy kits of wood that's already aged. Might also build a grand piano but that's a much more ambitious job. I'd probably have to just buy the cast-iron frame.

So at this point I have more "ideas to get skills" than actual skills.

I'm a physicist, but a mathematical physicist. I was always terrible in the lab back in school, and nowadays they don't even let me teach the labs (not that I mind). So I think part of this is my experimental/engineering side finally kicking in.

Start with that book case though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjQvG2o6kCA

maybe it's just the idea that getting wet n dirty beats electrocution so I don't have the same apprehension I do when messing with electricity... I get that for both tho you stop the flow and cut it before proceeding.. so it's a psychological hangup more than a practical one...

mostly though I lack the motivation to take these projects on.. I prefer working with wood a bit... and ultimately I prefer to do scale modelling to anything involving tradework... but I'm not incompetent just lazy.

I often think I would've enjoyed bricklaying and masonry...

I never really worry about it.

I have built stuff before and I can install fixtures in a house (sinks, toilets, etc.)

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I'll fix up certain things around the house. put a gas stove in, fix on the hvac system. I'll do what I can depending on timing, cost, and how much I have to learn. same with cars.

I don't enjoy any of it, so I'd be fugged up if I had to make a living doing physical work.

We use a lamp.

I need to fix it.

That will be my next project.

I've done minor plumbing shit at home.

When I did carpentry the master carpenter I trained under was scared of electric because of a past experience so I never messed with it either.

like that master carpenter, he probably could very easily do plenty of electric work, but in his mind would never touch anything related to electric, even if doesn't realize it, because of reinforced union loyalties, or the way contractors work in unison not to step on toes.

>like that master carpenter, he probably could very easily do
>plenty of electric work, but in his mind would never touch
>anything related to electric, even if doesn't realize it,
>because of reinforced union loyalties, or the way contractors
>work in unison not to step on toes.


nah this dude was a very straight shooter, we spent a lot of time together and talked about literally everything.

I should have clarified better. I’m speaking broadly and to it probably being a subconscious choice.

I failed miserably, of course, but on this subject:

>scared of electric because of a past experience

I remember that this was when I learned electronics can still have highly charged capacitors that will fuck you up even if everything is completely unplugged. That was exciting.

but i'm a professional mover. moved a couple from the UK with two babies today. amazon employees living that nice life while we're out here grinding. story of seattle these days. i drive and load box trucks, take care of people's belongings, help them keep their stress in check on moving day. feels like an underappreciated trade but i'm biased. very hard to retain quality labor because depending on the company, you're not always looking at a guaranteed 40 hours especially through the wet ass winter. been trying to figure out what to pursue next but i actually enjoy the work most days: meeting new people every day in new places, there's a lot of interesting things to observe. having a good crew makes all the difference. in a good head space now and trying to grow the company and see what's what in terms of can i get to a place where the income and possible future growth starts looking real and justifying the hard, spine-endangering work.

i do feel sometimes that okps are spending a lot of time sitting down staring at a screen and sometimes it shows. it's all love though. i like to be outside seeing the city, meeting people. tried out a different factory production type gig for a couple months recently and that place felt like jail, so i feel for those who've gotta go to the same place every day with the same pain in the ass coworkers. working with my hands feels good: into the body, out of the spinning head.. i'm trying to get my basic carpentry better this year.

What you're explaining is exactly hat they do.
Sometimes they're the highest paid people on set.

Easier said than done, but yeah.
For Washington State - https://www.teamsters117.org

i'll look into it.

handling art and high end antiques, etc is another route i've considered. i've got a friend who does this. you get to graduate from 'mover' and call yourself an 'art handler'. end of the day, someone still has to move highly valuable stuff and there's not exactly an academic pipeline producing people who can finesse a hand-truck or 4-wheel dolly.

Motorcycles are my main thing, but I could tear into a car if I had the space (off-street parking) and tools (tranny jack & wheel lifts).

Electrical, I can do everything inside the panel (walls, sockets, lights, etc.) I'm not trained/licensed, so I don't mess with the box, however.

I actually got trained in basic plumbing years ago, learning how to cut & solder copper intake pipes. I've also installed fence posts, tile floors, toilets & sinks, etc. but at my level all of this would fall under "basic carpentry" rather than specific skills.

I took shop in high school and even though the projects were kind of idiot proof, I liked working with my hands. Used to work on my bike when I had one back when.

Even a couple of weeks ago when I was just hanging prints in the home it felt good to pull out a tape measure and get the pieces of art up. Although based on my misalignment of the artwork, maybe I want to reconsider taking up woodwork as a hobby. Ha!

My main problem is a lack of space and money. I'm on disability and have been for sometime and just don't have the income to buy tools and materials. Plus being out here in LA and renting an apartment, there's not any free space to work in a shop.

But I'm thinking of buying a bike soon so that at least would be a hobby.

https://alliedwoodshop.com/

Or even better priced, Santa Monica College’s Community Ed creative offerings.
http://www.smc.edu

I've replaced the belt on my washer
replaced the garbage disposal (and did my mom's when she found out I did mines)

found a work around to a broken knob my mom had on her waster..

replaced the toilet kit (inside) on both of my toilets.. this is after I noticed my water bill increasing.. and realized that both of the toilets were leaking...hence the large water bills.. once replaced my water bill decreased immediately.. (I replaced my moms too)

built my PC.. I have some upgrades to do but it's still running

as some one mentioned above I too want to get into woodworking (carpentry).. I might end up doing a woodworking shop class that I see posted up around town..

electric.. I'll try a few things but I'm not comfortable

I am semi-handy around the house. I have painted my entire house top to bottom - like I couldn't do any special techniques, but just simple paint the walls you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference between my work and if I hired someone to do it. I've done some dry-wall work (fuck that, hire someone to do it) and I'll do other regular-degular homeowner stuff - installing interior doors, swapping outlets, install appliances.

I do dabble in woodworking/carpentry. I am not going to be framing out houses but I've built out my own closets organizers, made a laundry organizer/drying rack contraption, radiator covers, etc. I have actually started building furniture - my work isn't at for-sale level pieces, but I've made a bookshelf/organizer for my son's room, a nightstand for myself, and a coffee table for our living room.

Either roll up your sleeves or pay out the pocket.

I got good at painting. Though I did have some professionals tackle the walls in the staircase as I didn't have a 18 foot ladder or scaffolding.

Replaced all the valves in my toilets. Bought one of the duo flush units. Didn't like it. Swapped it out again.

Installed the ceiling fans in the house, and swapped a few electrical sockets to ones with USB ports built in. Wasn't too bad. Any other heavy electrical work I'll call my brother, who's licensed by trade.

Bought one of those Big Green carpet cleaners you can rent at Lowes. It's a beast

Replaced the garbage disposal unit when it died. Wasn't difficult at all.

My favorite was fixing my fridge. The main PCB was failing, which caused the fridge to turn on and off. Google + Blog + Amazon Prime got me the pieces I needed to replace. Took the back of the fridge apart, pulled the PCB, soldered the pieces I needed, and got the fridge working on Sunday night.

i use to tear things apart for fun as a kid. try to see how they worked and sometimes make little hybrids of broken electrical toys.

as an adult i would instantly try to fix anything that was broken before paying to get it repaired. fixed a washing machine, would do car maintenance, install and repair ceiling fans, replace all sorts on PCs/laptops.

now??? im more inclined to google how much it will cost to replace something before fixing it.

i did fix a leaky shower last year though. it was probably original parts since the 60s so had a stripped bolt i had to cut a notch into and finesse to take off.

i definitely wouldnt say i was ever an expert in any trade but i always felt i could do most anything with some help by google/youtube.

a friend took me out on his 21 foot sailboat a few times two summers ago. bit of a burnt old hippy. he'd be down in the cabin hitting a bowl while a big ass cargo ship was bearing down on us giving us horn blasts. "uhhh man, i need you up here" "dig it mannn, dig it". close to verbatim. got some good video of close range passes by these huge yang ming ships. int'l capitalism almost ending us. smh.

i didn't learn a lot but i did get in the zone a few times at the helm--gliding along , feeling it. then the wind would shift and i'd usually lose it. but i felt that hook.

curious to hear more about your experiences. i'd like to get out on the water more. may start with a kayak i can throw on top of my car and go from there.

I sailed little sunfish on lakes growing up, and progressed up to small catamarans in the ocean on vacations. My family has always had boats, but I never had much interest when anyone would go out--until my 20's. So I eventually got certified through the American Sailing Association--as a requisite to take out a family 36' on my own without anyone complaining, and for insurance purposes. But I did learn technical maneuvers and terms--though I still only use three basic knots.
I mostly coastal cruise on the Chesapeake, but never go into those shipping lanes and always follow the right-of-way rules. Crabbers and fisherman are the only boats I've had issue with.

There are a bunch of ways to learn to sail. People will say learning on small watercraft like a kayak or a sunfish is best to get a feel for the water. But I think crewing for someone, like with your hippie friend, is a much faster way to get comfortable on open water.
Sailors need crew all the time and they also sometimes pay. Many sailing clubs, where ever you are, let you join without owning a boat or having much experience, and they provide their own classes and events for learning.
The Coast guard offers various free basic boating courses, via the Coast Guard Auxiliary (I've been playing around and have been meaning to join as a volunteer--mostly for the security clearance and ability to shop at a PX).
American Sailing Association's classes, which can be a bit pricey, but shop around, different ASA schools have different prices. I took one of the certs on the weekend of a business trip, only because it was $500 less expensive to do it there than the schools near me.

Sailing is just like driving, learn the rules and practice and you'll get it.

Links:
American Sailing Association - https://asa.com/
Coast Guard Aux - http://www.cgaux.org/
Crew - https://www.findacrew.net

if there is no translatable skill for the apocalypse, I am fine with dying

I have a plethora of survival skills only used in emergencies...

it's flooded with barber tutorials.

i havent had good lasagna in so long. my brother would make some good lasagna.

ive always been too scared to try lol