3/7/01

The whole of "The Lawn Mower Repair Man's" pages are about assisting the DIY'er. So, you may find it a bit strange when I suggest, perhaps you shouldn't. Well it's true, and I have reasons you ought to consider.

Now before you go to thinking I've broke on through to the other side, or scrambled my noodles watching the string trimmer go round and round, I'm not saying you shouldn't do your own repairs. What I'm suggesting is that for those who are new to the concept of fixing your own equipment, you should really think about it before laying a wrench to anything.

On nearly a daily basis, equipment is brought to the shop for repairs, that has had the debilitating touch of its DIY'er owner. Some folks, no matter how good their intentions, simply should have all the tools locked out of their reach. These people could bring a Sherman tank to its proverbial knees with a screw driver and pair of channel locks.

What they eventually bring to the shop is the cliché, "bucket of bolts". Then I or whoever works at that shop has to determine not only what was originally wrong, but reassemble what was torn apart, what was broken tearing it apart, what was fouled up with un-knowing tampering and tinkering and normally ending up with an estimate for repairs that would have a Polar bear jumping out of its own fur coat. No one is happy, not the customer and certainly not the shop tech who has to take far too much time inspecting the unit when the work load is already backed up.

Bottom line, I'm being selfish. I'm just trying to make life a little easier when I'm in the shop. Most non tampered with repairs require only a straight ahead diagnosis preceeding the repair. The "bucket of bolts" repair may take 2 or 3 times as long to diagnose before doing any real repairs. Ultimately, you need to make the decision whether you are capable of making a repair or not. For those who can, or can with a little guidence from pages like these and the good folks who help on the answer board, that's great and I'm all for it. But if you have doubts, think about it carefully before diving in, you might find an empty pool. And rest assured, there will be no mercy, if it takes twice as long to repair as it should have because you tried to fix it first, you will be charged for that time.

Happy Mowing---
LMRM; Bob