DIY dunces?

[Don]

looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional Handymen' then.

Don.

[M]

Following up to Don

25% cant change a fuse,jeez. Bloke next door is just like that, gets SWMBOs dad over.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional > Handymen' then.

You could add in the person who set up that pic in the article.

No one in their right mind would use a power screwdriver for that task - far too much risk of damaging an 'ornamental' screw head.

[Tim S]

Don coughed up some electrons that declared:

Sigh... On the bright side, the survey might have been drawn from Daily Mail readers...

For what it's worth, my Dad would tackle most things, slowly, but with a high degree of competance. Gas, electrics, woodwork (he'd change a rotton sill, not the entire window frame).

At the age of 4 I had some comprehension of bulbs and batteries. Learnt that that 90V hurt (valve radio battery).

At 6 I was allowed to dismember a broken valve TV. I could put a plug on flex from perhaps age 7 or 8 (2 pin lamp BC, round pin 2/5/15A and 13A. I rewired a garage under supervision at about 14. Fixed a brick wall (only a few bricks but it looked good and never fell apart) around the same time. Made soakaways, pedastal for a water butt, basic plumbing etc.

Think I was about 13 when I was charged with replacing the cam controller in a washing machine - had to label about 60 wires and get them back onto the new part in the right order. And it worked.

My daughter could work either a soldering iron or the solder quite well (but not both) at 4 years old.

Kids aren't stupid but you have to make the effort. I love taking mine down to the Bungalow, to show them what a building looks like in various stages of dismemberment. They get to see all the interesting things I buy like CUs, light switches and various tools.

I don't know if it's due to:

1) Both parents working, so less time and more inclination to get trades in;

2) People really are more useless;

3) Society is getting dumbed down and discourages from being self sufficient in the name of H&S.

Cheers

Tim

[mark]

> It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional > Handymen' then.

I quite like the Sarah Beeny story on the same page.

mark

[M]

Following up to Tim S

increased affluence is probably a factor, with cars increased complexity and blackbox factor is too.

[Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot]

> It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional > Handymen' then.

"Fantastic news! A survey of 3000 men of all ages has discovered that a huge

80% of them are perfectly capable of changing a plug. Furthermore a massive 93% of those asked found changing a light bulb easy. It was discovered that those with more life experience found the tasks simpler. Who'd have thought?"

Si

[Tim Downie]

> It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional > Handymen' then.

Anyone else think that the illustrated plug looks a bit odd? The earth wire looks thinner than the others and appears to be solid cored. In fact, it looks like it's been photoshopped in afterwards into a picture of a two core wired plug. The live & neutral look to be tinned with solder which I thought was a no-no.

Also it's a long time since I've seen one of those "fibre board" looking cable clamps.

Tim

[M]

Following up to Tim Downie

is that right? I didnt know.

[Tim Downie]

Dunno for sure (I sure someone will come along who does) but I seem to recall it causes the wires to come loose as the solder undergoes plastic deformation with heating & cooling cycles.

Tim

[Dave Liquorice]

And not actually connected to the earth pin. At least it is a good length so of the cable does get pulled it might be the last wire to part company with its terminal.

Aye, it is odd.

Yep and with quite a bit of exposed wire. I don't like that or having the live and neutral cross over each other.

Agreed, they are now plastic or the wings to push the cable between.

[Alang]

Makes it brittle

[Bob Mannix]

It's more that the solder deforms as the screw is tightened but has zero springback as the screw changes slightly with temperature, leading to it working loose. The copper on its own has a little elasticity.

[Man at B&Q]

Solder isn't brittle!

[Alang]

Copper wire and solder put under stress becomes brittle

[Tim Downie]

Um, that's what I just said. "Zero springback"="plastic deformation"

Tim

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Heating the wire to solder it seems to make it more brittle next to the solder. Do this and flex it and see where it breaks.

[The Medway Handyman]

Lovely Jubbly :-)

[The Natural Philosopher]

It not the heat, its the inability of solder loaded wire to flex because the strands cant slide over one another.

Its the sort of reason why we don't use large steel cables to replace I beams and vice versa ;-)

And why cart springs are made of layers of steel (mostly)

Or why a car made out of floppy glass fibre cloth doesn't actually handle like wet handkerchief once the glass cloth is full of resin.

[John Rumm]

Indeed, having just magnified it, it does look faked. The shadow from the earth being cast in a different direction to that from the fuse being another clue.

Yup, not good practice.

At least they show the earth as a little longer than the others...