How Who influenced you? Where did you get your ability to...(semi long post)

[War Machine]

John Wayne

[Chili]

I can see a definite influence from 2 people primarily, my Dad and my maternal Grandfather.

From my dad I picked up a number of things. My motivation to fix things on my own definitely comes from him. He was always the type of guy that preferred to do things himself.. Repairs around the house, fixing his cars and even larger projects. About the only thing I would say my father is an expert in is driving trucks, because he did that as a career for most of his adult life, but aside from that he has a decent amount of knowledge about hundreds of things..

My parents divorced when I was like 8, so unfortunately I missed out on alot with him becuase we lived in Southern CA and he lived in WA. Fortunately I moved up to WA before the 10th grade, so I was able to spend more time with him, but still wonder if I would have turned out differently / better had I spent my entire childhood in his home.

My Grandfather was a master carpenter / cabinet maker the bulk of his adult life. I grew up just a few blocks from them so I often went over after school and on weekends and he always seemed to be outside working on some project for a family member or friend. If there is one thing I think I would enjoy doing as a career it would be wood working. More utilitarian than artistic, just as my grandfather did. He also served in the Army and we were always alike in personality.

[Baron Von Crowder]

For me it started with my dad and grandpa. I grew up watching them in the garage, going to NSRA shows, etc. I have very early memories of playing in my room and then hearing a loud roar (dad cranking up an open header engine in the garage) and running to the garage just to stand there and listen and watch.

Thanks to them I was always the kid in school reading car mags when other people were reading comics or novels or whatever else. I think it was 7th grade or so when I distinctly remember reading a Ferrari article in Car & Driver and deciding that I would be an engineer and have a job in the automotive industry.

10 years later I had an engineering degree and a job at an engine company. I should probably write my dad a thank you note.

On a Post-It?

[Sean88gt]

2 main influences, the Foyt family took me in when I was very young. The other is a man i still visit and work with on a weekly basis, taught me most of what i know....as he retired to arlington from southern california. Ron can be seen on multiple covers of hotrod magazine from the 60's while his chassis business was going.

http://cacklefest.com/Albertson.shtml

My mother and father were architects who were eaten up with the car hobby, however, professional motorsports is the only way i've ever made a dollar.

Decent brag.

I would say my dad, grandpa(s), uncle and several key people that impacted me throughout the years.

[Snatch Napkin]

My Father, Grandfather, Auto tech teacher, and two close friends.

My Father customized Harleys in the 60s and 70s and always had a thing for anything mechanical. He learned a lot from his Dad.

My Grandfather was an early hot rodder. He loved to brag about his Model T's and A's that would just run off and leave anyone. His favorite story to tell was when he was taking his date to the movies in the city. This fellow in a newer (for the time) Buick kept speeding up and slowing down on a two lane highway. My Grandfather got tired of it and went to pass him, which started the race. The fellow in the Buick thought for sure he would be able to outrun this pieced together car. Pa smiled and kept his foot in it. His date was getting nervous as they passed 100 mph. The Buick was doing pretty good against this flathead v8. He was only half a car length behind my Grandfather. Then it chunked a rod, giving the pass to my Granddad.

My Grandfather also taught himself the ins and outs of being an engineer. His Father was apparently a mechanical genius, but never pursued anything in the field.

My Auto Tech teacher, Mr. Lindow, was one of the few people to be able to get through to me in High School. I listened to every word that man ever said, whether it was a mechanical lesson or one of life. I will always have huge respect for that 5' tall man that could drop you like a sack of potatoes.

I'm constantly learning from friends as we build stuff pretty regularly. Every once in while I get the honor of showing them something that my other mentors showed me.

I certainly feel that a lot of what I know seems to be inherited, though. There truly is something mechanical to my family's thought process.

[0 GT 2]

My mistakes.

[Mysticcobrakilla]

2 main influences, the Foyt family took me in when I was very young. The other is a man i still visit and work with on a weekly basis, taught me most of what i know....as he retired to arlington from southern california. Ron can be seen on multiple covers of hotrod magazine from the 60's while his chassis business was going.

http://cacklefest.com/Albertson.shtml

My mother and father were architects who were eaten up with the car hobby, however, professional motorsports is the only way i've ever made a dollar.

Would that be Ron from RES?

[Grape]

Would that be Ron from RES?

yep

[Mysticcobrakilla]

yep

Hell of an awesome guy, if you learned from him I know you learned from the best.

[jason07]

Solid barg Brooks! You are my favorite fabricator!

(stemming from Dr. Dave's post on school)

Dave's post got me to thinking - I didn't really do real good in school, just average, but I got lucky and retained what little I paid attention to. A very minimal college education that honestly amounts to nothing - and made a couple lucky guesses in the career field and now make decent money. Long story short, I had very little influence from my mother (who I lived with for most of my youth) to go to school, do better, get educated etc.

I don't have ANY idea how I picked up on manufacturing / machine work / fab work - other than my dad is a brilliant fabricator via his military experience. I don't think he had any formal training either other than what he picked up in the service.

In the late 1991 I got a job working on oil field equipment starting out at a whopping 5$/hr. At that point, I had NO experience in anything other than taking my car apart and putting it back together - but I knew basic stuff. Through 12 years of working there, I ended up working, part of which was in the machine shop part of the business- with NO training, All I learned was picked up through bullshitting in the shop, watching the machinists - rarely did I pick up something that I had to be 'trained' on... and even then, I did VERY little fab work. Things like reading a micrometer and understanding why certain machine practices work and some dont, I already knew, but had no idea how.

Here I am some 20 years later and I do the work that I used to look at and think that there would be no way I could ever do that kind of welding/fabricating/machine work etc...

I look back and think of all the people I worked with that came and went and had no idea WTF they were doing, and had been doing this kind of work for longer than I have - Where did they 'learn'??

I can't help but think that some of this shit is hereditary, but I have actually worked along side of my dad in that kind of work for a VERY small amount of time - so picking it up from him probably in that manner didn't happen.

I sit back and reflect often - I see my brother in a similar light, he's a hell of what I'd call a 'house fabricator' - he's remodeled his house from one end to the other, and has NO experience (he sells cars!). It looks like something from better homes and gardens. My 2nd brother, similar - but makes things out of what Id' call junk. Things like a desk out of two tool cabinets and a top sourced from government surplus, but completely functional.

I don't know where I was going with this other than, It's fascinating what you know without bieng told or taught.

Who influenced you in your learning / job / life?

[Strychnine]

On a Post-It?

LMAO. Pretty much, yeah.

2 main influences, the Foyt family took me in when I was very young.

It was before my time but I remember my grandpa telling me that he used to build radiators for AJ.

[cobrajet69]

... and several key people that impacted me throughout the years.

Sorry, I meant it to be more of a tender thrust than an impact.
I'll be more gentle next time.



David

[slow99]

I'd like to just take a minute to remind myself, and you guys, how awesome I am.

[Grape]

I'd like to just take a minute to remind myself, and you guys, how awesome I am.

are you a CPA?

[racrguy]

My father got me started because we'd work on the cars, build the furniture, everything. I remember when I was a kid I'd take things apart and try to put them back together, when I couldn't I'd always get my dad to put it back together. I can't remember when, but at some point I stopped needing his help to put things back together. The most infamous story I've got is my father had a brand new drill that I took apart, it never worked right after that. He was pissed. lol

I think I'm to the point now where in order to progress much farther I need to find someone I can apprentice under and watch how they do things. I don't know how to run a CNC machine, a mill, or a metal lathe, but it wouldn't take me long to figure it out, and machining stuff sounds like it'd be a ton of fun for me. I love building stuff.