MRO Today - Junkyard Junkies

'Junkyard' junkies

Mechanics, electricians, welders, engineers, admit it. Theres a bit of mad scientist in each of you. Youre like doctors trying to save a patient. You say:

"It looks bad now, but dont worry. I can rig something up."

Or, "Why are you throwing this toaster out? I can fix it. Youll be able to cook a turkey in it when Im done."

How do I know? My dad is a mad scientist. Always has been. Give him copper wire, graphite and scrap, and hell fix anything.

I can appreciate that kind of warped ingenuity. It doesnt mean I understand it. Dr. Frankensteins neighbors probably knew nothing about reanimating the dead, but Im sure they agreed he made one hell of a monster.

Mad scientists, and the women and men who love them. If it sounds like a TV show, youre right. But you wont find it on "Oprah" or "Jerry Springer."

"Junkyard Wars," a weekly, hour-long program on cable network TLC, salutes the mechanically inclined, and, in many respects, the manufacturing world.

Two teams of three contestants receive the task of designing and building a specified mechanical contraption a hydroplane, mini-submarine, wheelless automobile, rocket, etc. Team members comb a junkyard for parts to make their machine. Each team has 12 hours to complete the project before pitting it against the opponents creation in a skills competition.

Can I hear a collective Tim Allen "tool guy" grunt from the audience?

MRO Pros are indeed becoming "Junkyard Wars" junkies. Its a discussion topic on coffee breaks and Web site chat rooms. Factory guys and gals dissect project designs, battle plans and assembly techniques. And, they try to build a team that might qualify for a future show. A TLC Web bulletin board posts the resumes of more than 50 people looking to build or join a team. About half of them are factory workers.

"Its the mechanical tinkering thing that hooks you," says Ray Berlin, a machinist for Universal Precision Products in Akron, Ohio. "I get a kick out of making something out of nothing."

Last year, the 58-year-old factory veteran and two buddies competed on the show and built an air cannon capable of shooting pumpkins at a structure 60 yards away. The contraption combined pipes, pulleys, valves and two bicycles (minus the tires). It worked, but the trio lost in an accuracy competition.

Though beaten, fans sent Berlin and friends hundreds of e-mails. The consensus: They made one hell of a pumpkin-flinging monster.

Want more information?
Click here for a full Q&A with Junkyard warrior Ray Berlin.
Click here for an article on Loctite's involvement with the 'BattleBots' cable television show.
Click here to read a desperate man's plea to start a Junkyard Wars team.

This article appeared in the April/May 2001 issue of MRO Today magazine. Copyright, 2001.