Mike Crutcher has spent a lifetime fixing things.
A mechanic, handyman, sculptor, and longtime hardware store counselor in California's Anderson Valley, Mike has become the person generations of neighbors call when a pump fails, an engine won't start, or a machine everyone else has given up on deserves one more chance.
In this episode, Mike shares how a childhood fascination with taking apart toys led to a lifelong career solving mechanical problems, why the best repair often starts by checking the simplest thing first, and what decades of living and working in a rural community have taught him about ingenuity, self-reliance, and the satisfaction of making something work again.
We talk about off-grid living, solar power, old machines, the disappearing art of shop class, why YouTube has become the modern repair manual, and what creativity has in common with fixing a broken engine
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