How Do You Best Learn About Mechanical Stuff?

[Al Skierkiewicz]

I started small and watched a lot of people. Most notable was my dad who was a mechanic all of his life. When he saw that I could handle a tool, he gave me something that was already dead to take a apart. At six or seven I was taking apart carburetors if I could loosen the screws. I was bound and determined that if i took it apart I had to put it back together without extra parts laying out. I proceeded from that to disassembling anything that was dead or was being thrown out. That was a lot of vacuum cleaners, bikes, typewriters, kitchen appliances, etc. Not only did I learn what was wrong but why it had failed. Occasionally, I was able to actually make repairs. I also learned that there are somethings that just aren't worth fixing because they were a bad design to begin with.
VCR's are a good place to start. Everyone has one and they go bad once in a while. With the power unplugged, figure out how to get the top and bottom covers off. Note the type of screws you remove. Place the machine on a non-conductive surface, like a big piece of cardboard. From this point on, do not touch anything in side the machine! Plug in the power and insert a cassette. Using the remote press Play, fast forward, etc. and watch what parts move and how the tape is handled. Remove the power cord and see if you can get it back together.