***Editor’s Note: The “I Became An Engineer” blog runs every friday. To share your story email sarah.goncalves@advantagemedia.com***
This week’s story is brought to us by reader Craig Rich.
My Dad was all set to throw away the old upright canister vacuum when my Mom intervened on my behalf. He thought it was a piece of junk compared to the newly purchased lightweight model that could be pushed around, but the look on my face must have given my Mother second thoughts. She already knew I had an affinity for that contraption, having played with it like a toy for many years as its self-appointed assistant operator. I was elated when at the last moment she told my Dad not to take it to the dump and instead announced I could keep it in the barn.
This old beast of a machine was shaped like a rocket, fully four feet tall with chrome flaring all around and an assortment of attachments that made it a complete playground for my young brain. Talk about heavy metal. This thing was designed for industrial use and was not easy to lug around. There was no bag inside, but instead the top opened up to reveal a nested collection of metal inner filters with ever-smaller holes until the final collection tank, which could be removed from below.
Then came the guts of the machine, where I extracted the actual motor and tried to take it apart. I gave up a few times before I finally got inside using a hack saw and metal files like a criminal sawing through the bars to freedom. I was determined to see what was inside and how it worked.
It took some serious effort, but I finally reached the inner core where I meticulously unwound the copper wire from the spindle. Eventually the old vacuum was reduced to a pile of pieces, and my work was done. My Dad joked that I should try to put it back together again but I had no interest in that sort of activity. I did convert the carcass into a play rocket ship though.
That summer spent in the barn taking apart the old Rocket Vacuum Cleaner transformed me forever into a curious, tinkering technician of the future. I never stopped taking things apart and trying to figure out how they worked. I started my hi-tech career on the phone, supporting modems before they were replaced by the Internet, and over the years I worked my way into the server room where I managed many racks of servers and appliances.
Through it all, I have always remembered my beginnings in the barn with that old vacuum cleaner. When I get stuck on a problem, I just keep hacking away like I did as a kid.
Read other stories, here:
- A Note From The Editor: An Engineer’s Story
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of A Lunch Box
- I Became An Engineer: Because of Christmas Lights
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of The Cool Jackets
- I Became An Engineer: Because My Dad Said Not To
- I Became An Engineer: Despite Being Bad At Math
- I Became An Engineer: Because of Uncle Chet
- I Became An Engineer: Because I Can’t Stop Asking ‘Why?’
- I Became An Engineer: Because of Star Trek (Specifically Montgomery Scott)
- I Became An Engineer: Because I Was A Really Lucky Nerd
- I Became An Engineer: But ‘Nobody Knows’ Why
- I Became An Engineer: Because of Nuclear Submarines
- I Became An Engineer: Because of a Sewing Machine
- I Became An Engineer: Because No One Was Hiring Shoe Salesmen
- I Became An Engineer: Because of Mr. Kenny, the TV/Radio Repair Man
- I Became An Engineer: Because of a Book (And My Mom)
- I Became An Engineer: Because of a Cattle Ranch
- I Became An Engineer: Because of a Wise Father and the Possibility of Death
- I Became An Engineer: Because of An Evil Mastermind
- I Became An Engineer: To Get Off the Tractor
- I Became An Engineer: Because of My Rodeo Coach
- I Became An Engineer: Because the Air Force Equipment Kept Breaking