Your first memory of tinkering.

[clay1811/44c]

What is your earliest memory of tinkering with something mechanical. Not sure if this would count as tinkering. But I remember going in the garage and playing with the push mower. It had a handle on the top of the engine that you cranked then pushed a button to release the spring tension. I just thought that was so neat.

[J-Mech]

Originally Posted by clay1811/44c

What is your earliest memory of tinkering with something mechanical. Not sure if this would count as tinkering. But I remember going in the garage and playing with the push mower. It had a handle on the top of the engine that you cranked then pushed a button to release the spring tension. I just thought that was so neat.

How old were you?
If you are talking about what I think you are, those push mowers came out in the early 2000's.....



I built a 3pt hitch out of a barn door latch on my pedal tractor when I was like 5 or 6, and it worked! Only had a up and down position, but I attached a 1/16 scale folding chisel plow to it and could lift and lower it. Even though it was 1/16 scale, it was as wide as my pedal tractor. My dad thought I was a genius. He went and got mom to show her. She didn't know what it was, lol.

[john hall]

If you are talking about what I think you are, those push mowers came out in the early 2000's.....

No, those were on Briggs engines back in the 60's. I think I have one that belonged to an uncle. Never tried to get it running, probably should.

[john hall]

Well, I used to work on and wash my pedal tractor--had to get the grease and grass off the chain. So, I would throw a rope over a tree limb, tie it to the front end and hoist it up in the air--don't think I weighed enough to clear the back end. By the way, tractor was a Deere 20 Its upstairs in the garage, I repainted it when my kid was 3.

[clay1811/44c]

J-mech it was about 1964. I assume you grew up on a farm, thus a 3 pt hitch. Me a city boy trying to start a push mower. I wish you had picture of the family with your 3pt. I can just see the smiles. Good memories for you.

[cubs-n-bxrs]

In 1969 I was 11 yrs old and I bought an old reel mower at a garage sale with my paper route money that did not run real well. I think I paid $5 dollars for it and the old guy I bought it from put it in his pickup and delivered it to my house. I had everything I could get off of it with the limited selection of tools that I had and found it had a blown head gasket. New head gasket and the old Briggs ran like a champ. Mowed a lot of yards with that old beast.

[darkminion_17]

Originally Posted by clay1811/44c

What is your earliest memory of tinkering with something mechanical. Not sure if this would count as tinkering. But I remember going in the garage and playing with the push mower. It had a handle on the top of the engine that you cranked then pushed a button to release the spring tension. I just thought that was so neat.

Yes we had one of those mowers, that's when my dad cut two of his toes off with it, needless to say I ended up being the one to cut the lawn.

[mortten]

Don't remember how old I was, 6 or 7 maybe. My Dad came home from work to find whatever I could take off the lawnmower was taken off. He wasn't happy but we put it back into one piece together.

[J-Mech]

Originally Posted by john hall

No, those were on Briggs engines back in the 60's. I think I have one that belonged to an uncle. Never tried to get it running, probably should.

Originally Posted by clay1811/44c

J-mech it was about 1964. I assume you grew up on a farm, thus a 3 pt hitch. Me a city boy trying to start a push mower. I wish you had picture of the family with your 3pt. I can just see the smiles. Good memories for you.

That's cool. Never saw the "older" version of that.


Yes, I grew up on a farm. Wish I did have a picture, but even in the 80's we didn't just take pics of "everything" like nowadays. It's not like we had a camera strapped to our side (or a phone, lol) like now. I have memories of lots of things I wish I had pictures of. Things I built, things we did..... but I don't. My mom actually took quite a lot of pictures of us as kids. Randomly too. Maybe there is a picture of it somewhere, heck i don't know. Mom has a whole cabinet of unsorted pictures in envelopes.

[Lanceskene]

I had one of those windup lawnmowers when I was a kid in the 60s, and I thought it was old then. lol

Since pop ran a Cockshutt service center I was tinkerin on farm equipment as far back as my memory serves.... first put me to work at probably 8-9 years old, down in the pit doing oil changes. I remember how happy I was when we finally got a lift in the shop, I was 13-14 by then.