Small Engine Repair Hats

Ask anyone who fixes small engines what the culprit is and the answer comes back the same: it's the carb. One forum regular put it this way, "This is a made up statistic but I feel like a new carb fixes 90% of small engine problems," and the whole trade nodded. These hats are for that person, the one who finds an EGO weed eater by the side of the road, who admits "I'm not above a roadside scoop and score," and who has flipped around ten mowers in a couple of years. The craft is real and the side hustle is real. In Milwaukee a retired engineer runs Greg's Small Engines and gives away about 50 repaired mowers and 50 snowblowers a season, and in Detroit a flat $45 repair, usually done within the hour, keeps a parking-lot mower shop going. Mechanics also blame ethanol fuel for gummed carbs and chewed-up rubber parts, which is why the pull cord, the primer bulb and the can of carb cleaner are this trade's whole vocabulary. SMALL ENGINE REPAIR is the search term, so it gets its own badge here, with bits for the pull cord, the curb find, the garage that stays open after retirement and the carb cleaner that doubles as cologne. This is a separate craft from Funny Mechanic, which is cars, and from Lawn Dad and Snowblower Dad, which are about using the machine. Every design is custom embroidered on a dad hat.