The Art of Fixing Things, Principles of Machines, and How to Repair Them: 150 Tips and Tricks to Make Things Last Longer, and save You Money

I personally like the way the book is written, and the information within. Lawrence sounds to be a shoot-from-the-hip good ol' boy, but the information is clear and concise with a dash of humor. Sure, there are going to be things in here that every handyman knows, I feel like the average millenial gen. consumer could benefit way more than someone who grew up fixing things. There is some China-bashing, but not in the sense that he ever questions the character of a person from China, just the truth that as a country on average the trend is to put out massive amounts of lower-quality products that will break under normal wear and tear with the expectation being that the consumer will just go ahead and buy another one. He doesn't call them names, he just doesn't pick up what they're laying down. I grew up around tools but never really took the time to learn about them and I've read a ton of things so far that I didn't know. If you're a pro then by all means save your money but like I say I think the average person my age (25-30) would fail a test written using this book as a reference. The fact that the pictures are in black and white doesn't bother me, hell most of the pictures are of metal objects, they're a shiny silver color, use your imagination, it's a twelve dollar book. You can scoff at tips such as "Household electrical current can kill you", but 30,000 people a year find out the hard way. Somebody needs to say it. So I'm enjoying expanding my knowledge with this book. Would I put it on my coffee table? No, but why would I have people over for coffee and then leave them long enough to have them read a book?

Well, you get him this book! And when you do, he will be completely ensconced in it for weeks saying, "hey, look at this! Have you ever seen one of these??"Lol. Our dad fixes everything and always has. He grew up on a farm, and we have a very small farm so he has machines galore that he is constantly tinkering with. He absolutely loves this book and the illustrations are amazing. It was definitely a great pick for a Christmas present last year!

This book is brilliant. This book truly is about the "art" of fixing things. While it probably doesn't offer the technical details most who gave it negative reviews were looking for, it does provide a wealth of hard won practical knowledge the author has gained over a lifetime of fixing things.I've worked as a product design engineer, industrial engineer, manufacturing engineer, maintenance engineer, engineering manager, maintenance manager, plant manager, and general manager in companies of all sizes. I've hired a lot of engineers straight out of college and maintenance mechanics fresh from trade schools, and this is now one of the books that I give to them or recommend that they read. It covers a lot of the little things - and big things - that are usually only learned on the job and can save a lot of time and embarrassment for those who read this book. Will it teach you everything you need to know to fix something? No, it won't, and I don't know of one book that will. But it will regularly help you get the job done better and faster. And if you work in industry and have a problem with the author's down to earth, conversational style, you're going to have a hard time relating to a lot of good, knowledgable people on the shop floor.If you're into the DIY or Maker movements, I highly recommend this book. You may never have access to someone with the author's level of practical knowledge of how to just get things done.

To preface, I’m an engineer with some training in fabrication and I’ve done a bit of electrical work on the side. I got this book because I’m always looking for tips and tricks, especially in aspects of toolwork that I don’t do enough. A few years ago, I did a partial business renovation with a professional carpenter, and the knowledge i picked up working alongside him was invaluable in subsequent projects.I had been hoping that this book would offer more learning like that experience. And yes, there are some good tips. There’s also quite a bit of repetition. Then there are some points that I would actively contest — a knife steel is meant for honing, not sharpening, and you should know the difference. WD-40 should not be the lubricant of choice for things that you want to work for long periods of time, and it’s not the right thing to use in every situation.Lastly, while I understand some frustration with Chinese manufacturing, the regular and repeated screeds against Chinese products grew irritation. Not all American made gear is good, not all Chinese stuff is bad.

This book seems made for a very specific group of people. If you are one of them (as I am) you will love the book. If you aren't, you will hate it.The people who will find this book most helpful are people who have plunged into DIY mostly with the help of manuals and books but rarely with the help of an experienced person to show them exactly how it's done. If you learn from a book (or website) rather than from somebody showing you in person, instructions will be left out. Often they will be instructions that seem so obvious to the author that they didn't seem to need inclusion. The DIYer working from these semi-complete instructions will stumble around, google around and maybe give up in frustration or screw up in cluelessness.If you have ever been stumped in the middle of a DIY project because you weren't quite sure how to use the tool that was needed, this is the book for you. If that last sentence makes you think, "why did you buy the tool if you don't know how to use it?", you will find this book useless.

Before I start, let me make it clear that my DIY skills extend as far as successfully constructing an IKEA table. (So pretty advanced, then...!)I have a number of issues with this book. Primarily the misleading title. According to the author, the 'art' of fixing things involves making sure they are well-greased. Genius. The book is divided into a load of 'tips', that are mainly to do with removing gaskets and opening bearings and other mechanical sounding things ... But there are no clues as to WHEN you should do any of these things, which essentially makes it useless. The rest seem to be largely common sense ... "Buy good quality tools, they will last longer" ... "Keep the service record on your car up to date" ... Wow.There are also some pretty dubious 'tips'. Is buying a washing machine - how ever well built it might have originally been - from the mid-80s really more efficient than buying a new one?! I really don't think so.Regarding the 'principles of machines' - I have no idea why this sub-title is there.And lastly; the (American) author is borderline racist. The book is littered with scathing comments about the quality of everything made in China ... I wonder what his attitude would be to a Chinese cookery book that condemned all American cooking as tasteless and unhealthy?It gets one star because I greased the runners on my IKEA table, so it now extends more smoothly.

The aim of the book is primarily to pass on those little bits of knowledge that make everything go smoother, the kind you pick up after working with your hands for a long time. It includes the best ways to use tools, what makes some tools work better (and so what to look for when buying new ones), and general tips to make repairing things go smoother.It will teach you how to use tools, and what various parts of things are for. It will teach you "layman's safety", i.e. how to fix things without chopping your fingers off. It won't guide you through full Health and Safety at Work procedures, but that's not something you're likely to be too bothered about if you're at home.Despite saying that it's about principles of machines, it doesn't include that much on them. It's got little bits, but they're maily general tips about what sorts of things to look for, and what sort of methods you might employ to repair them. It's not a repair manual, but it's trying to impart the mechanical wisdom that the author has about how to approach repairs.

Common Sense way of fixing things

Some clever tricks but some run of the mill or not so useful also. Overall good for anyone who does DIY or general tinkering!

Dachte es wäre mal eine andere Geschenkidee, aber wie sich herausstellte, ist das Buch eher eines dieser, die nach einmaligem durchblättern, verstaubt auf dem Dachboden landen...Inhaltlich werden meist "selbstverständliche" Dinge angesprochen, wozu man kein extra Buch benötigt. Außerdem ist es extrem KFZ-lastig. Hinzukommt, dass die Tips veraltet sind, also teilweise bei der heutigen Technik nicht verwendbar sind.Rein optisch ist es nicht gut. Cover und Aufmachung sind nicht einladend und auch im Innenteil ist alles schwarz/weiß und gestalterisch nicht wirklich eine professionelle Produktion.Naja, für die Idee so ein Buch zu machen gibt es 1 Stern und für diejenigen, die ihrem Vater auch mal etwas anderes, mit ein bisschen Witz schenken WOLLTEN, gibt es den zweiten Stern ;)