Builders;
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Below are pictures from a 1958 Evinrude 35 hp owners manual, an engine I engines for a number of years in the 1990s. I always liked the art, and the fact it was written without the input of lawyers nor the assumption that Americans were idiots. Different manual from a different time.
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I like the way the engine has a pillow and is sleeping.
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When was the last time you saw this kind of a technical drawing in a manual? This is from the age of machines, not disposable appliances. The only assumptions were that the owner had common sense, interest in well made things and how they work, and a sense of personal responsibility.
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A simple explanation of how the carb worked, including two mixture controls, written so a 13 year old could follow it. Today in aviation we tell adults they are too stupid to learn how to operate a carb with one mixture control, and tell them they should make themselves subservient to a computer because they are too dumb to learn what every teenager could learn in the 1950s
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I like how happy spark plugs in the 1950s were.
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Wewjr
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Aircraft radio manual from 1918
(1) Do not forget to inspect the set before each flight.
(2) Do not forget to plug in the telephone transmitter and telephone receiver
plugs.
(3) Do not forget to throw the “Receive-Transmit” switch on “Transmit” and
the “Interphone-Radio” switch on “Radio” while talking.
(4) Do not talk rapidly.
(5) Do not have the telephone transmitter away from the mouth while
transmitting.
(6) Do not “cup” the hands over the telephone transmitter.
(7) Do not shout into the telephone transmitter.
(8) Do not forget to leave the “Receive-Transmit” switch on “Receive” when
not using the set.
(9) Do not become impatient if you do not hear incoming signals immediately.
(10) Do not expect satisfactory operation over more than five miles range.
(11) Do not forget to put the ” Interphone-Radio ” switch on “Radio” after
talking over the interphone.
(12) Do not touch any uninsulated parts of the set while the switch is on
“Transmit.”
(13) Do not tinker with the set.
(14) Do not forget to note any cause as to failure of the set to operate.
(15) Do not fail to study the instructions thoroughly.
William,
There are no more shop classes in school (or very few left). From the time my son was little I decided (and determined) that he was not going to be one of the dunderheads stranded on the side of the road that don’t know how to change a tire!! Every repair or maintenance item that needed to be done was and is a learning opportunity. I am proud to say that he is able to show his friends a thing or two.
Keep up the good work, all is not lost.
Earnie
My son was also taught to work on his cars. It was the only way he could afford to keep driving. But it is rewarding to see him take something apart and repair it then it works better than it was.