Planned Obsolescence

In 3 Generations we have changed.

I never knew my Fathers Dad, he died before I was born, but I knew my Mother’s Dad. I remember my Granddad saying “why buy it if you could make it”. He was able to make almost anything he needed, and I thought he could make anything.

One of the things I got after he died was a set of 10 books in a wood crate: Modern Engineering Practices.   I think he had mail ordered them from Sears. The books were his way of finding out how to do something. I have used them a few times and they are actually very informative.

My Granddads How To Book Set.

My Dad’s saying was “Why make it if you could buy it cheaper than you can make it.” To me that made sense, but we lived in town and had access to stores close by. My Dad was good at making things, but he could also afford to buy the things he wanted.

By Brother’s Moto was “Just buy it.” He did not want to make anything and he was not very good at making things anyway. He and I grew up when “Planned Obsolescence” was becoming a key point in manufacturing. Making stuff that will only last a short time and that it is not economically reparable is now the norm.

I am a mixture between my Granddad and my Dad. I like making things from junk I have around. I do buy things I know I cannot make, but I like building things and repairing things. My wife sometimes gives me a hard time about some of the stuff I do…”it’s a Dan Thing” or “that’s an outside of the box way of doing it.”

I figured if I could not afford something and could not build it, I did not really need it. I have been good at thinking out side of the box to do something, and I enjoy doing it. It bothers me to see people who now have a “Buy it: Use it: Throw it away” frame of mind.

I guess I need to keep an open mind. I guess I should I could go with: “fix and make what you can and junk the rest.”