Used to rebuild magnetos by hand in the 90s. Now it's all serviceable modules.

Back in '94 at a shop in Tulsa, I'd spend an afternoon on one mag. Points, condensers, springs, the whole deal. Could tell a lot about an engine by how the points looked. Now I pull a module and swap it. Faster, sure, but something got lost. When did everyone stop training guys on the old stuff? Has anyone found a good way to learn that kind of troubleshooting when you never touch it?

3 comments

3 Comments

hall.joel22d ago

That bit about burning through three sets of points and a six pack had me laughing. I read somewhere that magnetos are like old watches, you gotta feel the gap more than measure it. My first mag rebuild, I was so nervous I snapped a spring clean in half and had to drive forty miles to the only parts house that still stocked them.

david_jones3822d ago

Man, I got a buddy who went through this exact thing. He took a job at a small airport fixing old Cessnas and the first time he had to time a mag, he was lost. Spent two days watching YouTube videos and calling old timers. He told me he finally got it right after burning through three sets of points and a six pack of cheap beer. Said the old guys at the hangar just laughed at him until he proved he could do it. He still keeps a spare set of points in his box just for the hell of it.

the_alice22d ago

That's rough, man. I know exactly what you mean about something getting lost when it all became plug-and-play. Keep that spare set of points as a trophy, you earned it.