Youtube Repairman

A few years ago, a late night show featured a bit that centered on a man stuck in various predicaments with only random odds and ends.  The man’s goal: escape the situation using YouTube instructions to fix and/or build the necessary equipment. I particularly remember his task of having to build some sort of radio. From then on, I gained access into a new tool for my tinkering pursuits.

I have never really liked paying someone to do something I believe I could figure out for myself. This could be due to my rural upbringing. (I also don’t like doing gobs of tasks until I absolutely have to either.) In addition, I have always been able to gather how something is done by watching someone else do it.  Or, simply by tinkering around with an object.

Then came the advent of YouTube. Apart from being primarily a time killer, one can find gobs of handy information and instruction.

One time, shopping for a deal, my wife found a dishwasher at a factory outlet store. This dishwasher had all the bells and whistles. I installed it, and that was that… or so I thought. A few months later, the thing broke down. I tinkered and found a burnt set of wires. I was pretty sure I knew what the problem was. Using YouTube, I figured out how to remove the part. Once removed, I was able to type the model number into google, and ordered the part. A few weeks later, I got the part, followed more YouTube instructions, and reassembled the dishwasher. When the moment of truth came, I started it up. It worked. I sighed and felt a great sense of accomplishment, like the Tom Hanks character felt in Cast Away when he started a fire. Primitive. Masculine.

YouTube has help me discover the ins and outs of a great variety of repairs and DIY. It’s helped me learn how: To change rear bike derailleur. Texture a wall without a hopper. Take out and replace a toilet. Add advertising widgets to my blog. Replace a circuit break (this scared me to even try, but it was surprisingly easy). Numerous vehicle repairs. Etc.

Yet, it hasn’t solved every problem. With our old van, (the thing had a mass of issues) there was a grinding going on in the rear. I was pretty sure it was a bearing issue, for I had recently changed that out on my truck (using YouTube). So, I watched the video on how to replace them for our model of van. After watching, I realized I did not have the tools or the resources to accomplish the task. Yet, this was a good revelation, for it would have been a messy, painful waste of time had I tried to tinker with it without knowing what i was getting into. (I have had a few other such experiences.) So, we simply decide not to fix it (or the gobs of other problems), and got another van.

It seems more and more we are becoming a compartmentalized society. And, that may not be a bad thing. Sure, when we specialize in various fields we can further push the limits of innovation, because specialists aren’t bogged down by unrelated tasks. But, I often wonder if in turn we have lost something. Perhaps, I think as much because I’m a stubborn soul who doesn’t want to specialize in one field. I like it all. So, I’d like to encourage this. The next time a task comes your way that you would normally hire someone out, watch a YouTube video about how to accomplish the task. It may surprise you, what you might be able to accomplish. Or, at least it might give you an idea as to what it will take for the one you hire to accomplish the task. One caveat, like with anything on the internet, you can’t always believe what you see.