James May Reassembler: What should he rebuild next?

[Simon Robinson 4Participant @simonrobinson4]

Really enjoyed James May reassebler on BBC4. What do you think his next reassembly projects could be? My ideas are.

1) An old manual 'One arm bandit' slot machine, such as a Jennings.

2) A coal fired live steam locomotive such as 3" gauge.

3) An old video recorder such as a Grundig 2000 or ferguson Videostar

4) The logic cabinet of a passenger lift or dumb waiter, relays floor selector etc.

Edited By Simon Robinson 4 on 07/10/2017 23:59:18

[Simon Robinson 4Participant @simonrobinson4]

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

How about a mechanical calculator – I bet that would be beyond him!
BobH

[john carruthersParticipant @johncarruthers46255]

Keep it relatively simple and fit in a one hour slot, a BMC A series engine, or a Minor 1000 gearbox.

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

I have enjoyed this series but if you watch closely the parts are laid out in a pattern for him to pick them in the right order and for continuity of filming therefore he could rebuild anything.

Martin P

[Bob StevensonParticipant @bobstevenson13909]

Or, rather than reassemble something already in bits for no obvious reason, could he not get himself a 'restoration' project or just repair something and thus offer a finished item that has been rescued such that the whole excercise can be admired and enjoyed??

 

……….At the moment his progs are basically 'watching that old geezer in his shed be really weird'……it does not have much appeal to the younger, non thinking, non techy, audience slumped on the setee with boredom eating their brains and burgers filling their guts…..not likely to get them realising why a screwdriver has a flat end….

 

The GoogleBox sequence on this was very illuminating as to attitudes in teh viewing public, and May is only watchable as a former 'Top Gear' bad boy doing something cranky.

 

 

Edited By Bob Stevenson on 08/10/2017 08:31:29

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

A 1976 Sinclair Cambridge scientific calculator.

Maybe he'd get the bottom line of LED elements to work.

[CirclipParticipant @circlip]

"Tecky" programmes are always a problem, too long for the goldfish brains and too short for those with greater than three brain cells.

Wonder how long it takes to diss-assemble whatever and remember the correct reassembly sequence?

The converted don't need preachers but the great unwashed mobile tappers won't spend the time being distracted.

Regards Ian.

[JimmehParticipant @jimmeh]

Maybe he could reassemble Richard Hammond after his next big crash?

[Douglas JohnstonParticipant @douglasjohnston98463]

The programme hits all the right buttons for me, the casual pace, the interesting talk, and the lack of production gimmicks.

Doug

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Yeah, I like it too.

I watched a new one last week. 'Escape' puts a mixed group of Engineers into a situation where they have to build something from wreckage to escape. A bit like 'Scrapheap Challenge' with much higher levels of physical discomfort. The first one was set in a desert (45C, with sandstorms) with a wrecked airliner and a mangled Cesna

Even though they managed to escape before the water ran out, I'm afraid the engineers, all highly qualified, didn't cover themselves in glory. Ego. Tantrums. Not listening. Zero Project Management skills. Tunnel Vision. No sense of urgency. Unwillingness to accept the value of other disciplines. In real life they would all have died due to their failure to work as a team.

The technical side was only moderately interesting compared with the human interactions. It was more interesting, for example. to watch the alpha-male being nagged into submission by the ladies. He went from barking orders at them to grovelling apologies in short order.

I strongly suspect that one or two of the 'challenges' were due to film-crew sabotage. If I'd been there, the production team would have been subjected to 'enhanced interrogation' and an auto-da-fe. Now that would have been good telly!

Dave

 

 

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 08/10/2017 14:02:37

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 08/10/2017 14:03:06

[Stephen BensonParticipant @stephenbenson75261]

Enjoyed the series to even my Wife enjoyed them I think a Enfield Clock would be great subject love to see him using a spring winder

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

" Ego. Tantrums. Not listening. Zero Project Management skills." That's the whole point, like Big Brother etc the producers only want that kind of thing, everything else is edited out.

A couple of days ago on the radio the main character of a recently finished series was being interviewed and agreed with the presenter that nobody in real life behaved that emotionally and irrationally – but that behaviour is what supposedly sells the shows. Ever since Enid Byton's kids chased the crooks down a rabbit hole under a tree or whatever the requirement has been dumb-ass behaviour in order to create a storyline.

The key element behind May's programs is the object has to be something huge numbers of people think 'I have/had one of those when younger". So VHS video recorder – yes, Phillips 2000 no.

[Carl Wilson 4Participant @carlwilson4]

Not long since I decided to watch a programme remembered from my youth, “The Great Egg Race” hosted by Prof. Heinz Wolf. You’ll likely remember the format. Teams of (usually) engineers from UK firms or Mod are given a funny task to do or problem to solve. They have to make a contraption to do it, out of bits they are given.

I loved the programme as a kid, but watching it now I realised there is absolutely no way it’d be commissioned now.

It mainly consisted of groups of clever blokes being left to get on with it and a camera pointed at them talking in slightly self conscious low voices about what they intend to do.

It was a different world indeed back then.

[Nick WheelerParticipant @nickwheeler]

Posted by Douglas Johnston on 08/10/2017 13:16:40:

The programme hits all the right buttons for me, the casual pace, the interesting talk, and the lack of production gimmicks.

Those are all the right buttons for me too. Plus, it's an interesting mix of subjects. I would never have considered just how complicated some of the items were.

Doesn't everybody lay out components in order, before assembling stuff?

[Author]

Posts