Only real men can DIY...(heh)

[Frank_NH]

I had to laugh when I saw this...

DIY is in decline because today's men are too soft

"...undeniably, today’s 20- and 30-somethings don’t seem to possess your traditional “dad skills”. The dismal fact that a mere five per cent of 18-24s would attempt to unblock a sink doesn’t bode well for humanity – unless you’re a plumber."

Pretty sad really - but my Dad taught me how to solder, so I'm good to go for all my DIY projects.

Three cheers for us DIYers - the last of a dying breed!  

[Vince]

I agree.... And the fact that you can now get facial care products specifically designed for men is an example of the downward spiral of manliness... My dad was always 'fixing' something, whether it was a partition wall or dismantling a dirt bike in the garden....  

[dbat69]

Yayy for DIYers

My dad was always one to fix things and do things.  I got my inspiration from him, ... why pay someone for something you can do yourself?

Watching the 'old' TV repairmen was a treat - give it a good thump on the top first, see if that works before opening the back up - those were the days , ehh?
I still use the give it a bang method  cheeky

It is a sad fact of our 'throw away' society that nothing seems to be built to last or the cost of repairs outweigh the cost of new.  Having a go at repairs seems to be beyond comprehension these days.

[Silver Blues]

Yep, just like most of us, I learned it all from my dad too. Not all that much love for DIY these days anymore. I say that like I'm an old person

dbat69 wrote

It is a sad fact of our 'throw away' society that nothing seems to be built to last or the cost of repairs outweigh the cost of new.  Having a go at repairs seems to be beyond comprehension these days.

Unfortunately, true

[rocket88]

agreed. my dad is and was a repairman and i learned from him. i grew up watching him fix appliances and electronics and he taught me whatever he could and i could absorb. in fact when i was a little kid, like around 3-5 he taught me how to solder. what made this really funny is people would come in to the store about repairs and they would see this adults that were experts and this little kid sitting and working, or coming up and helping them. i mean really you hear me shouting i needed parts, or to pass me the fluke, etc like i was in my 30's and doing it for years. lol

unfortunately, we live in a time where people want things as cheap as they can get, and don't care about quality. this is why it costs more to repair new stuff then old stuff.

i'm glad that there is a space like this where we "real men" can hangout and share in manliness. and i can say this, when i actually have kids, i'll be damned if i don't teach them what i know ,and learned from my dad. plus, i'll have to pass on the ancient weller soldering iron i learned on, that he used and learned on, like an ancient relic. it will probably still have the original tip. someone has to know how to do this stuff in the future.

on that note got to go meet up with my dad for dinner and beer.

[motterpaul]

I'll tell you guys something - you are really lucky that you had dads like that. My dad wasn't one of those guys, especially with me being the youngest (meaning I was the least doted over). My dad was not handy, especially with electronics - he was a doctor who never talked about his work at home because how does a kid relate to a "radiologist?"

So - I split off from my parents at 18, moved the L.A. and almost everything I ever learned, from how to play guitar to recording techniques to fixing equipment and how to make a living without a college degree I learned on my own. Fortunately I was pretty smart and able to teach myself things, and more educated people never intimidated me so I figured out how to meet the right people and get ahead - but I wasn't always very wise.

I had a friend who had a very cool dad. When I was 21 and living in Hollywood he had a house in the hills right by "Blue Jay Way" (from the Beatles song) - it was called "Skylark Lane" - Anyway, I asked him what I could do for a living and he said "Do something with your hands." - Which is the best advice I ever got. I took it metaphorically to mean "people will pay you to do things they can't do for themselves, but there has to be an end result." I had never looked at life like that before, but it obviously stuck with me.

Dads who teach their kids how to do things are the best, and it sets a very good example.