Reading Assignment: Shop Class as Soulcraft – p115-125
In-Class Discussion
Shop Class as Soulcraft – Chapter 5: p103-109
Storyline:
- Narrator begins with the story of his life, and how he realized he did not want to be a professor and instead wanted to be an electrician
- Discussed tearing down a Honda CB360 and rebuilding it as a cafe racer (modifying a bike so that it can run very fast and would race these bikes from bar to bar)
Tools and Parts:
- Compressor: takes atmospheric pressure and raises it about 100 lbs/in^2
- Pneumatic Tools: hand tools that run on air motors/turbines
- Die Grinder: high speed air motors with a shaped stone to grind
- Impact wrench: high speed air motor that allows user not to over-torque device
- Cutoff wheel: air motor – high speed spinning discs that can grind away a thin slow without damage
- Cleaners: different solvents used for different purposes–electrical cleaner, carburetor cleaner, engine degreaser
- Cutting oil: dry lubrication
- Moly (molybdenum) grease: can work well under high temperatures
- Lithium grease: cannot handle high temperatures
- Antiseize compound: lubrication in aluminum
- Use oxygen and acetylene tank together to act as a torch
- Impedance: relates to electrical parts – represents effects of inductive and resistant loads
More Storyline:
- Narrator’s starter motor would not start so he took it to Fred who is an accomplished mechanic
- “Liberal” Arts vs. “Servile” Arts goes hand in hand with the Classical vs. Romantic theme
Shop Class as Soulcraft – Chapter 5: p109-115
- Narrator has his own business fixing motorcycles, and has other people working in the vicinity
- Some mechanics won’t take on certain projects because of potential complications that are not worth the time and effort.
- Narrator has a log book that records the time charged for customers and the actual time spent working. Comes to the dilemma of whether or not to charge customers for his mistake.
- Experiment: Had been told not to spin the bearing as compressed air was being applied but did it anyway and then bearing came apart/exploded
- Related back to Pirsig: moral issue of “idiot” workers that do a job but do not care about it
In-Class Demonstration
Motor Dynamometer
- Early 19th century invention designed to measure the power of a steam engine/horse power
- Measures torque, turning ability, and power that can be produced
- An electric 12 volt motor that will put force load or torque load on a spinning object; can be slowed down by pulling on the rope
- Can convert torque curve to power curve by multiplying by the angular velocity
Lab Updates:
- Top End: Sandblasted head
- Bottom End: Attached oil pump to block and measured the diameter of each piston and how big the stroke was; calculated, in an ideal environment, how much oil should be going through per cycle
- Electrical: Worked on webpage, uploaded data and explanation for spark advance
- Frames, Forks and Wheels: Bondo gas tank, primed fenders, primed the forks, finishing webpage
M.S.