Antique tractor collecting and restoration has never been more popular—and all the newcomers need to be warned, according to old tractor guru Roger Welsch. Otherwise, they’ll end up alone with three mortgages and two ex-wives—but they will have a barn with a sparkling restored tractor. Here, in a tone comfortably lodged between wise and wisecracking, the man Charles Kuralt called "America’s premier storyteller" recounts falling in love with bringing old tractors back to life—and, along the way, manages to impart some sound advice, including the basics: What is old? What is a tractor? And what is it with old tractors, anyway? He also covers the finer points of restoration and repair, from the tools of the trade to tractor parts to the restorer’s use of common household objects in a pinch.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
In a just and proper world, From Tinkering to Torquing would be a classic for adults and youth alike. How can reading about murder, madness, and mayhem compare to the unadulterated joy of learning about motors, manifolds, and mankind's endless battle with rust? Welsch, author of Old Tractors and the Men Who Love Them (1995) and Love, Sex, and Tractors (2000), returns to his favorite subject. These anecdotal reflections venture far from the realm of a practical maintenance manual, but even so, Welsch does an admirable job of providing beginners through gearheads with detailed information about the key components of tractors and their tools. Beginning with the motor (there are no engines in tractors) and working through the major mechanical and electrical systems, Welsch describes in a neighborly fashion the pieces of a tractor and how they fit and work together. Along the way, the story is sprinkled with Welsch's trademark witticisms, as he delves into such patently nonmechanical domains as marital harmony, public speaking, high finance, and Zen. A must for rural libraries and surprisingly entertaining for readers everywhere. Mark Coe
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
Farm Collector, December 2005 (circ.: 38,000)
“Welsch lays out the nuts and bolts of tractor restoration in this new release with a humility rarely seen in ‘how to’ manuals.”
Booklist, Dec. 15, 2005 (circ.: 25,000)
“A must for rural libraries and surprisingly entertaining for readers everywhere.”
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ole Rog does it again!,
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This review is from: From Tinkering to Torquing: A Beginner's Guide to Tractors and Tools (Hardcover)
Pretty basic stuff for a veteran tractor enthusiast, but the humor is worth checking out. Rog does a great job, especially on the workshop and tools section, which even the most experienced tractor fan will identify with!
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Should have researched better,
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This review is from: From Tinkering to Torquing: A Beginner's Guide to Tractors and Tools (Hardcover)
Don't get me wrong - I am a HUGE Roger Welsch fan and have several of his books - this is why I rushed out to aquire this latest release. My wife got it for me for Christmas and unless you are completely clueless about antique tractors, or internal combustion theory in general, you will have a very hard time chewing through this one. It is so basic you could use it to describe the inner workings of an antique tractor to a 3 year old city boy. I am sure it has some of old Rog's witty banter in it - but I couldn't get past the first chapter. Buy it for your significant other in hopes they will read and at least understand what you are talking about at the next antique tractor show.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another great Roger Welsch offering,
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This review is from: From Tinkering to Torquing: A Beginner's Guide to Tractors and Tools (Hardcover)
Facts fight their way to the reader through opinion, hyperbole, border-line sarcasm, slapstick, somewhat jingoistic anecdotal narrative. In short--another good read from one of Nebraska's best.
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