Parking garage tool room

Living as a resident in another country limits my hobbyist shop activities. Thankfully, I do quite a bit of business with this apartment complex and they have extended some courtesy to let my mechanical freaky side have some space to play. Essentially, they gave me a floor in the garage with a closet for tools. I also have a good work bench and POL cabinet, vise and grinder. I keep it clean and respect the courtesy. Lots of specialty tools, pullers, and the like, too may to list inventory. Mostly good branded tools. One young friend from Southern India always wrenches with me. He never did this before and he is extremely mechanically inclined. He watches, listens, questions and then masters almost every task. I will likely leave him with the tools when I eventually go home. I have duplicates and triplicates of every tool at home and no heirs interested in greasy hands.

No one would steal my stuff. The law deals harshly with criminals. American courts turn a blind eye on theft.

POL is a military acronym for petroleum oil and lubricants. I have a good inventory of nuts, bolts, fasteners, connectors, grommets, cotter pins, bulbs, etc. I don't like to have to hunt for a clamp or grease fitting or the like.

My buddy is a 31 year old accountant. He was never exposed to mechanical or electrical repair and he took to it like a Labrador to water. Rare to see in these cultures here.

Mechanical work is considered lower skilled and very low pay. Hence it is difficult to find shops with smart or skilled technicians.

I haven't been using shops in the states (I've been out of country for almost 25 years), perhaps young men aren't gravitating to vehicle/equipment mechanical occupations like they did 30-50 years ago.

It takes a good amount of intelligence to twist a wrench correctly. You must have good math, science, electrical, and geometry skills along with a brain that can decipher patterns and steps.

A lot of guys who have the interest don't have the actual RAM and processing chip between their ears to evolve beyond the lube rack.

I started learning wrenching at 17 because I liked girls. Girls like boys with cars and I couldn't afford a car that was both cool and operational. Bought a 1956 Sedan de Ville, a MOTORs manual and my first Snap-On socket set. This rig had a frozen engine, zero brakes and scary wiring. God had mercy on a young idiot with a hard on and a ratchet and I actually tore it down and reassembled it and it ran. There was absolutely no logical reason I got that damn thing running. Divine intervention is all I can assume.

BTW, the very first thing I did the car before getting it running was install an under the dash slide mounted Craig 8-track. I was a man with priorities.

Tomcat said:

Is it true that if you're caught stealing were your at, they chop off a hand?

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No, but you will be jailed, forced to make restitution and if you are a foreigner you will be deported forever. Even writing a bad check intentionally will have that result. They crush the smaller crimes and for the most part the bigger ones are rare. They happen, but justice is swift and lasting.

BTW, jail is not a quick thing. It can take a month or two before you even see a judge and you can rot in there while awaiting sentencing. If you have financial means, you can hire an attorney who can facilitate a speedy trial so you can be found guilty quickly and get deported.

I am a big fan of their judicial system. Their immigration system is superb as well. We could learn from them, but we won't.