IN THE TOOL ROOM

I thought this month I would write a few more recollections of my early years as an apprentice at a Ford tractor dealer in West Yorkshire. The first couple of years were mostly spent becoming an expert at making a large pot of strong tea three times a day and sweeping up and running to the local corner shop for packets of fags.

Real jobs

Eventually, I was eased in to help with real jobs and getting to use my shiny new spanners. I wrote last time that I had started to carry out pre-delivery inspections (PDIs) on newly sold tractors and machinery. I suppose the foreman worked on the principle that I would do less harm checking things on new stuff than taking old stuff apart and putting it back together again.

The next step in my education was to be allocated to an older mechanic and work alongside him to learn the trade. Running alongside the practical work, I was also attending day release at Harrogate technical college one day a week.

Mumbo jumbo

Looking back now over 50 years, most repair jobs on working tractors were the same then as now if