Finding a book in a pile of stuff reminded me of MacGyver. Those who watched TV in the mid to late 1980’s may remember a show called “MacGyver” which was an action show wherein the hero solved problems in unconventional manners thanks to scientific knowledge, creativity….and some degree of luck provided for him by the show’s writers. For some of us, such problem solving skills are very real. Ask any old-timer from Alaska or many who grew up on a farm during the depression and you will learn of some very creative hints to solve otherwise major difficulties. I am one of those who, while a bit younger, grew up around knowledgeable people when it came to such matters and was quick to apply my natural abilities to such endeavors at any opportunity. These days, it seems an underappreciated skill set in most workplaces where many seem afraid to tackle anything outside of their area of specialization. Given derogatory names in some parts of the country. Frowned upon by factory reps and academia. Both, in my opinion, due to monetary motives. But in a remote field setting, such skills are still more valuable than gold. This sort of creativity will, at the minimum, increase the likelihood of a successful result on the job and extreme cases may also be a true life saver.
Classes for this sort of stuff today are likely only found in backcountry survival schools or the military. But such creativity has more day to day applications than the (hopefully) rare instance of being dumped in the jungle and having to eat bugs and hike out naked as seems to be popular on scripted TV shows that pretend to be real. Even the “Survivor” game show seems silly to those who might say that the goal is to be rescued from the island…..so naturally the quickest solution for the players is to be voted off (and home)……failing that, at least show the wisdom and initiative to go eat what the camera crews and director are being fed as it is certainly better fare than the bugs. TV. Pfui! For the rest of us, such knowledge is more likely to come into play along the side of a road with a stuck or broken vehicle, a closed store. …..or an empty wallet.
Once I was driving from Fairbanks to Anchorage (about 360 miles) …during the trip, the alternator quit charging. Not much to do about it in the middle of nowhere, and knowing that the ignition system does not consume much power by itself….I switched off all non-essential loads and pressed on. This car, unfortunately, had an electric fuel pump that had a significant current draw. So, eventually the engine sputtered as the battery went dead and I coasted to a stop partway down a hill. Never Never NEVER stop at the very bottom of a hill if you can avoid it–unless you are really certain that is where you want to be. You’ll see why…
Upon inspection I found that the brushes in the alternator had worn enough that the lead wire was now taut from the spring tension. This resulted in not being able to make good enough contact with the slip rings and therefore not enough field current to produce power. No new brush sets to be had within at least a hundred miles in any direction. So, I clipped the lead wire and added a small piece of extra wire to make it longer. This allowed the brush to travel the needed extra amount to make good contact. Put it all back together…..and found the battery to be too dead to crank. No shocker. (no pun intended there, btw) ……this is where the hill comes into play. I put the car in second gear, held the clutch…..and let it begin to roll down. (stopping before the bottom of the hill saved me from having to push the car by hand–laziness and efficiency really are close relatives) Once I hit about 20 miles per hour, I let the clutch out….this spun the engine fast enough that the alternator in concert with what little battery power remained, produced enough juice to run the fuel pump and ignition system to start the engine. After it was running, the repaired alternator began charging the battery as it should and away we went. Total time stuck on the side of the road: 30 minutes. Way quicker than a tow truck! …and in Alaska, probably a few hundred dollars less too.
Another time, we had an aircraft grounded from flying a survey mission due to a camera mount crab angle control switch failure. No replacements were on hand, the weather opportunity was not likely to last more than a day, and no business was open that would have had one. …..So I just made one. From a block of wood, a couple of clips, and a strip of scrap aluminum. One Single-Pole-Double-Throw Momentary switch made to order that Dr Frankenstein would have been proud of…and once the crew was assured it would not electrocute them or start a fire, off they went. Less than a dollar’s worth of pieces and less than 15 minutes of my time….A 100K job got finished before the weather turned ugly. On time and under budget as they say.
The above are just two of many improvised solutions. While modern computerized vehicles are less likely to be repairable outside of a fully equipped service bay there are still many basic answers to a variety of problems….from being stuck to broken belts or hoses…or even broken suspension or frame parts on a deserted off road trail. Most of it boils down to having a full understanding of how the basic systems work and some basic physics knowledge…….and of course, the creativity to find and use available objects to perform some of the functions you need.
Nearly impossible to cover all the possible scenarios….even in an intensive class. But….as I discovered while digging through some items in my home (If you haven’t figured it out by now, I keep some strange stuff around here.) the US Army tried to accomplish just that with a course they taught during WWII. Special Text #12 of the Armored School was entitled, “Emergency Repairs of Automotive Vehicles” This booklet covered almost anything imaginable from minor to very major improvised repairs using some of the most mundane items…..right down to timber, rocks…..and even a strip of bacon! Although, using a perfectly good edible strip of bacon as a temporary substitute for a connecting rod bearing liner seems blasphemous. Needless to say, that’s a repair you better complete before anyone wakes up and wants bacon with their eggs or you’ll have a fight on your hands that would make the battle of the bulge seem like a schoolyard brawl. On the other hand….if that bacon came from a ration tin, letting it spend a few days in an engine may very well improve the taste.
What is interesting about this book, aside from the very amazing solutions presented, is that it inadvertently makes a good effort to get the reader into the mindset of looking at every object around them as something more than it first appears to be and then giving them the idea that there is no harm in trying. That sounds pretty valuable regardless of who or where you are and should be appreciated in and of itself.
Thumbs up!!! Although fairly adaptable & resourceful, I wish I had more of that basic knowledge & physics understanding Thanks for a great article.
That can be learned! Plenty of resources….then maybe try a few things on some stuff where the outcome is not critical…after a while you will become more aware of what you can make happen and more comfortable tackling such matters.