"From the mouths of babes!"

[rwoods]

At my local saw shop today, my favorite sales lady told me that this week she had a young man return to purchase some bar oil (he and his dad had purchased a new saw a few days before). He inquired whether he could buy the oil by the quart. When told they only sold it by the gallon, he asked if they sold funnels. She said "No, but if you're careful you shouldn't have any trouble filling the reservoir with oil." He exclaimed, "It has a reservoir?" He went on to explain that they had been pouring oil from the jug down the lenght of the bar. When she repeated this story to a young assistant and told him that kids just don't understand practical things these days. He replied "No, the problem is kids today don't have grandpas in overalls teaching them how to do anything." Very sad, but very true for a lot of our youth. I'll get off my soap box now and get ready to give my new S-I-L another chainsaw lesson and a second turn on the tractor. Ron

 

[hanniedog]

Ya might think they'd wonder what that other cap marked oil is for. I believe the owners manual does cover this small tid bit of info.

 

[mdavlee]

Well that sounds bad. I wonder if they put the oil mix in the oil tank and gas in the mix tank?

 

[Brian13]

Wonder if the people we get a laugh at for doing something that is a duh for most of us, get a laugh when we bring in our computers in. Only the story goes, no wonder your computer dosnt work......You forgot to switch the flux capacitor into hyperdrive:msp_tongue:.

 

[nallac]

. Only the story goes, no wonder your computer dosnt work......You forgot to switch the flux capacitor into hyperdrive:msp_tongue:.

I don't have that problem, the hard parts putting the banana skins etc in the CD Rom drive to keep Flux capacitor powered up.

 

[Patrick62]

that would not have happened up here

My local Stihl dealer would have spent time showing everything from filling the tanks, to starting it up, how to hold it, how to sharpen it, and made sure that they knew what fuel/oil mix, The whole enchilada :msp_ohmy::msp_ohmy:

I don't think that Roy could have slept well knowing that someone was facing the world with a saw and no clue...

 

[Stellarex]

Hopefully they arent putting the B&C oil in the gas tank as well!

 

[dieselsmoke]

Sad but true, I have a few nephews that cant even start a chainsaw let alone understand that the spinnie parts need oil! My son is a work in progress. He loves to spend hours on his pc. When I drag out a couple of saws for a wood haul, he runs the other way. I try to explain that he gets to enjoy a working piece of history, and that not everybody gets such an opportunity. It has worked only a few times.

 

[rwoods]

Sad but true, I have a few nephews that cant even start a chainsaw let alone understand that the spinnie parts need oil! My son is a work in progress. He loves to spend hours on his pc. When I drag out a couple of saws for a wood haul, he runs the other way. I try to explain that he gets to enjoy a working piece of history, and that not everybody gets such an opportunity. It has worked only a few times.

I think that is why the lad said "grandpas". I missed a lot of opportunities with my father, seemed too much like work at the time. Grandpas and grandsons usually have a different relationship. I just hope I won't be too old when my time to be a grandpa comes; I was too young to spend much time with my Granddaddy when he was in his prime. Ron

 

[tdi-rick]

My local Stihl dealer would have spent time showing everything from filling the tanks, to starting it up, how to hold it, how to sharpen it, and made sure that they knew what fuel/oil mix, The whole enchilada :msp_ohmy::msp_ohmy:

I don't think that Roy could have slept well knowing that someone was facing the world with a saw and no clue...

The problem is that you can do this with a lot of people and they don't take any of it in ! or the bits they do, get scrambled badly.

 

[rwoods]

My local Stihl dealer would have spent time showing everything from filling the tanks, to starting it up, how to hold it, how to sharpen it, and made sure that they knew what fuel/oil mix, The whole enchilada :msp_ohmy::msp_ohmy:

I don't think that Roy could have slept well knowing that someone was facing the world with a saw and no clue...

The problem is that you can do this with a lot of people and they don't take any of it in ! or the bits they do, get scrambled badly.

I'm sure this dealer told/showed the father everything he was willing to let the dealer. tdi-rick is likely on the money here. Ron

 

[trappermike]

Those people were maybe lucky to still have their hands! Imagine if they were trying to pour oil on the chain with it running,it wouldn't surprise me...

 

[rwoods]

Getting off track from my point that we need to teach the next generations, but am I the only one who is bothered by the concept of the "occasional user". I'm sure appealing to the mass market has probably assured us affordable saws, but should we really be marketing chainsaws this way. Ron

 

[eyolf]

Interesting, thoughtful and though-provoking point, RWoods.

My dad was a little hard to get along with sometimes..he didn't "chew his cabbage twice", so you had better listen good the first time around. And you had better listen good anyway, because sometimes we just couldn't afford to screw anything up. He better not catch you goldbricking, or you'll get extra work piled on. Summer I was 12 I went to work for another farmer because it was easier...and I got paid!

I didn't know then that the old boy wasn't just interested in getting work out of me, but there was also an interest in giving me some tools to get along in life.

One part of the problem, I think, is that we have taken too many things for granted and let our kids get by too easy. Leave your bike on the road and it got driven over or stolen? We'll buy another one, and we won't even make you wait a month to think about how dumb that was. Are the kids not bothered by hard work...can they lay down next to it and sleep?

No tools.

I have been hard on my daughters, too; sometimes my wife thinks too hard. But they get opportunities that aren't advanced to other kids because they've earned the trust and shown that they can deliver. Just tonight one of them called; her girlfriend left the lights on and the car wouldn't start; she would be late. I just found out that she showed her girlfriend and her girlfriend's brother how to jump a car with a dead battery! Both of them were lost.

She has at least some tools.

 

[dieselsmoke]

I agree. It's up to our gereration to pass it along. If they choose not to listen, then they loose. I've been hard on the boy, at times ( my only) but now at Nineteen yrs he seem to get it, most of the time.

 

[banshee67]

I agree. It's up to our gereration to pass it along. If they choose not to listen, then they loose.

you mean we lose?
love the generalizing taking place in this thread, amongst many others on here about "this younger generation", anyone dumb enough to generalize a group of millions based on one idiot who bought a chainsaw, might want to look in the mirror
theres far too many threads on here exactly like this one

 

[Karl Robbers]

you mean we lose?
love the generalizing taking place in this thread, amongst many others on here about "this younger generation", anyone dumb enough to generalize a group of millions based on one idiot who bought a chainsaw, might want to look in the mirror
theres far too many threads on here exactly like this one

I agree that generalisations are dangerous. Unfortunately this particular generalisation is very accurate in my experience, (I am a boilermaker welder by trade and have noticed a rapid decline in the standard of apprentices) and is it just me or do we see a lot more straight gassed saws these days?
I have a Son of 11 years age. I was really worried about him until the last year or so, the relationship that I had with my own father was so very different to my son's generation. Woodcutting with dad or fixing the tractor just wasn't exciting in an instant gratification, electronic world, (how many parents use elecrtonics as a babysitting device to avoid spending time with their children).
Thankfully my son has seen that skills are good and that the money that you make/ save from these skills can afford you things that others don't have. Adults and children these days seem to have little logic or staying power and may read an instruction manual but it may as well be written in swahili as the foundations of the mechanical world are beyond them.
I for one love to pass along the knowledge that I have gained and learn myself, does seem though that nobody is listening sometimes.

 

[HILLBILLYREDNEC]

I wish more young people would learn the basics of how to use tools. I was a luck kid growing up wit a Dad and Grandfather who were jack of all kinds. For me play and work were one in the same. Got the chance to use heavy equipment at a young age which taught me self confidence and how to pay close attention to samll details.. People now days have lost the do it your self skills of the older generations.

 

[husq2100]

My neighbours boys just dont care.....He is a Mech. Plumber and plumber by trade, builds A/C for high rise. A pretty good fabricator and Tig(helliarc) welder, has built his own custom harley's and old bikes. He is a real nice guy and does most things himself. He just doenst know what to do about his boys...Push bikes for example, if they break, the boys just leave them lying in the yard and dont even say anything...they just go without. Seems like they just cant be bothered if its not placed on there laps.....This IS the majority for under 20's from the dealings Ive had....

 

[Karl Robbers]

My neighbours boys just dont care.....He is a Mech. Plumber and plumber by trade, builds A/C for high rise. A pretty good fabricator and Tig(helliarc) welder, has built his own custom harley's and old bikes. He is a real nice guy and does most things himself. He just doenst know what to do about his boys...Push bikes for example, if they break, the boys just leave them lying in the yard and dont even say anything...they just go without. Seems like they just cant be bothered if its not placed on there laps.....This IS the majority for under 20's from the dealings Ive had....

:agree2: