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TIL a 30-year elevator guy in Phoenix proved me wrong about leveling
Last week I was doing a mod on a 1995 Otis in a downtown Phoenix office tower. This old timer with 30 years experience watched me tweak the leveling for 10 minutes then told me I was overthinking it. He showed me his method, just setting the slowdown cams by hand instead of using a laser level like I always do. I was skeptical but tried it and the car landed within 1/4 inch every time. Has anyone else found that the old school methods still beat the fancy tools on certain jobs?
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oscarthompson23d ago
Blew my mind the first time I saw an old timer set cams by hand and nail it. I spent like two years thinking I was a hotshot with my digital leveling tools, then this 60 year old guy on a freight elevator in Dallas showed me how to do it with a feeler gauge and some tape. Made my 400 dollar laser look like a paperweight.
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diana_park23d ago
It made my 400 dollar laser look like a paperweight" - I felt that. My dad was an old school mechanic who could set valve lash with only a piece of feeler gauge and a butter knife. I had a Snap-On tool cart full of stuff, and he'd walk over, eyeball a gap, and it would be dead nuts. Once he timed a distributor by listening to the engine idle and tapping the vacuum advance with a screwdriver. I didn't know whether to be impressed or just annoyed that my timing light was collecting dust.
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