I was recently watching a video by a YouTuber by the name of Watch Wes Work. He has a rural workshop in Fulton, Illinois, US, and records himself repairing customer’s vehicles or machines. One episode reminded me of something that has been bothering me, for years. He talks about the drop in quality of parts that are ordered for his jobs, and it made me realise why my trust in Vyvyan’s clutch master cylinder, was so low. I never felt that it would work, properly, or have a factory defect.
I am a keen fabricator, and love to solve problems with my own parts. This video opened my eyes to why this is the case. It creates a question:
What is the solution to lower quality and higher prices?
Are we in an era when engineers and hobbyists need to revert to an older time, using new technologies? Wes has CNC machines and whole array of tools at his disposal, and this may be the only fix, we have. Fabrication can be hard, but in the last, workers would produce what they needed, even producing the tools for their specific needs. With the complications given by newer vehicles, it is hard to address this, needing to be a technician of multiple manufacturers would become paramount. However, older vehicles, many of which might still be in use for decades to come, could be the future. With 3D printing at our disposal, we have better chance to draw out parts to a high precision. Should our new cohort be able to consider building skills in design as part of their skill set? It does worry me, but let ‘s hope we can come together to create a solution rather than just wait for it to get worse!
