"sweet sawdust" wrote:

Spent a couple of nights this week helping my small child (6' 2"
senior in high school) build a motorized turn table using a blender
for the power source for an engineering class. As we worked on the
project I kept thinking that if he had brought it to me 8 weeks ago
how much better I could have made it. How I could have changed the
motor type and used a speed control, or how I could have built in
reduction gears to slow it down. No he had drawn up the plans and
all he needed from me was help in building a case and changing the
drive on the blender to work with the shaft of the turn table. I
did get to design a cotter key to keep the turntable from flying off
the motor but that was about it. I new that he would fail because I
didn't have enough input into the final project. Grade came in to
day, 100 out of 100 points. Made me feel very humble and very proud
of him, he is growing up too fast.
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SFWIW, have a son who when he was 15, removed and totally rebuilt a 6
cyl Ford engine based on what he had learned in a high school auto
shop class.

He did everything himself, I just happened to be there when he did the
job.

He did this after school, in the winter time, in an unheated garage
that was part of the house.

Took him several weeks and some money (his), but finally the engine
was re-installed in that crappy Mavrick.

The moment of truth. Turned the key, engine cranked over until primed,
then roared to life.

Got a couple more years out of that beast.

He has gone on to become a full blown research rocket scientist for
the military doing things he would have to kill me if he told me what
he did.

I still remember playing golf in the afternoon after he was born, it
was a beautiful warm October afternoon in northern Ohio.

Turns 47 this fall.

Yes time flies.

Lew