Got my son started in tractors

[Rumblefish]

Hes a sophomore at a small K-12 school in a very small rural town. Hes taking a class called agriculture mechanics. The school heavily supports vocational classes, which is awesome (they have a full array of snap on tools). He asked me out of the blue one day if he could take one of my cubs to school to work on for a project. The answer was no, but I promptly traded a friend of mine a rc truck for a 16hp mtd rider so he had something to work on. Its needed the valves adjusted and carb cleaned so far but he seems genuinely excited about it. Its making me quite proud to see him put down video games and go work on something. There may be hope for this one!

[G-Nest]

Awesome, I hope I can have a similar story to share in a few years once my kids get bigger. They like riding, hopefully they’ll enjoy the tinkering as they get older.

[J-Mech]

Cool!

[zippy1]

That's great Jeff, better late than never.
I think where I went to scrool, they halted those classes. No interest.

[Rumblefish]

That's great Jeff, better late than never.
I think where I went to scrool, they halted those classes. No interest.

If this school wasnt in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by fields, they probably wouldnt offer it. LOTS of farm kids in this school so they have pretty good support. Its a very agricultural community. The three schools in the county have a partnership and all offer something different. North Adams offers welding, Adams Central ag mech, and South Adams has a nice machining/cnc course. They even have buses to haul you to another school for whichever vocational class you want to take.

Tyler has always been into cars and tractors because of his awesome dad, but hes finally getting to do hands on stuff and figuring things out on his own. The hardest part is sitting back watching him make a mistake but not saying anything so he can learn from it.

[zippy1]

Well good for him, and you.
As for location, this is NE WI, nothing but farms. And that didn't help this sleepy little town.

[olds45512]

That's cool! I'm hoping once my kids get bigger they show some interest in mechanical work, having the know-how is a great way to keep from getting ripped off by repair shops.

[Diesel Doc]

That's some really good news to hear! Rumblefish, you have every right to be proud of your son taking interest in the trades. Mechanical knowledge will serve him well all his life.
I don't have a son to show the ropes to in the shop, but my 7 year old granddaughter loves the shop and is learning quickly, just as her mom did when she was a girl. GD has her own 149 too!

[J-Mech]

I wish I could get my kids interested in mechanical things. One of the boys shows a little interest, but honestly my daughter shows the most. But at this point, she's at the age she just likes to hang out with dad. Hope she never grows out of it....

On a similar note, I just talked to the local FFA advisor and offered to teach a small engine/basic mechanics class to the local FFA/AG kids. He liked the idea.

[dodge trucker]

Well good for him, and you.
As for location, this is NE WI, nothing but farms. And that didn't help this sleepy little town.

Oh you mean Green Bay Packerland…. sorry.... not this year!

[zippy1]

Oh you mean Green Bay Packerland…. sorry.... not this year!

Off topic. But I'm EXTREMELY happy when they lose. Then there is less time talking about the Asspackers on the news. I hate pro ball.

[Diesel Doc]

Jon, if your daughter likes hanging out in the shop with her dad, build on that interest. Get her involved with little things that she can call her own. Believe me her interest will grow. I did this with both my daughters when they were 8 and 5. My youngest is now 27 and still goes to the truck shows with me or will hang out in the shop for bit to see what I'm doing. She is the mom of my granddaughter and the little one will go farther than her mom I think. Having your daughter by your side in the shop will help her learn life skills (mechanical things) that will serve her well all her life in many ways.

[Rumblefish]

I went and picked this mtd thing up the other day. He said he adjusted the valves, disassembled and clean the cab, and put on a new fuel pump. He said it ran great until it "threw a rod" and started pouring oil out. The next day he looked into it more and saw that the old gasket on the valve cover had ripped and he sealed it up with some rtv. Hes learning lol. I pushed it on the trailer because the battery is junk, hopefully I can run it this week sometime. I already have it sold to a good friend of mine and my son decided to make him a custom shift knob in his woodworking class.

[Diesel Doc]

That's great! Go out and find him another cheap project to tinker. He's ready!