Phonetek
03-04-2018, 01:41 PM
Last night I was working with the mechanic. I was rebuilding a pit on one of the lanes. When looking at the diagrams in the manufacturers books I noticed that some parts were in red ink on them. I inquired as to why they were like that. Apparently they are the most frequent parts that fail and the most replaced. I found it fascinating. I asked, "Then isn't that an indication they have to either make them out of better materials or come up with a better design?" The mechanic laughed and said "Why? That's how they make money"
Duh, good point. He even showed me different distributor arm belts. They have 5 different ones you can order. One of them in particular was rather shinny vinyl looking and very flat with really shallow grooves. I said, "Wouldn't the pins just slide around on that and fall off or cause a pin jam because it has no real surface to grab the pins and it's looks very slick?" He said "Yep" I said "Why do they even sell it then since it obviously would cause nothing but problems?" His reply "Because they are cheaper some people are stupid enough to buy them because they think they will be saving money. Even though in the end they will be buying the proper and more expensive ones eventually and end up costing them more when all is said and done."
Ya gotta love how things work. Things like this aren't limited to just pinsetters or bowling though, it's everywhere. You just have to be informed and smart enough to realize it. I remember when I was in auto shop in high school. I was working on my mom's Lincoln for months trying to fix it. My auto shop teacher knew someone at Ford and obtained a book entitled "Things to diagnose the day after the warranty expires" I guess it's the good old American way.
Duh, good point. He even showed me different distributor arm belts. They have 5 different ones you can order. One of them in particular was rather shinny vinyl looking and very flat with really shallow grooves. I said, "Wouldn't the pins just slide around on that and fall off or cause a pin jam because it has no real surface to grab the pins and it's looks very slick?" He said "Yep" I said "Why do they even sell it then since it obviously would cause nothing but problems?" His reply "Because they are cheaper some people are stupid enough to buy them because they think they will be saving money. Even though in the end they will be buying the proper and more expensive ones eventually and end up costing them more when all is said and done."
Ya gotta love how things work. Things like this aren't limited to just pinsetters or bowling though, it's everywhere. You just have to be informed and smart enough to realize it. I remember when I was in auto shop in high school. I was working on my mom's Lincoln for months trying to fix it. My auto shop teacher knew someone at Ford and obtained a book entitled "Things to diagnose the day after the warranty expires" I guess it's the good old American way.