All parts should go together without forcing. You must remember that the parts you are reassembling were disassembled by you. Therefore, if you can’t get them together again, there must be a reason. By all means, do not use a hammer. — IBM maintenance manual, 1925
Taking things apart is easy. Putting them back again, not so much.
So
far, Rael had had lots of practice with the former. He’d found he’d
attempted reassembly in the wrong order. Five times. Each iteration was a
new and interesting method of getting everything out of order.
“Trouble?” said Dode. She’d been watching him as idle entertainment for ten minutes.
“I
took stock,” said Rael. “I noted and logged carefully each and every
piece and where it was meant to go…” He vented his frustration with a
wail of, “Why won’t they flakking go back together?”
“Try building around the main spring. Wind it up, but don’t let it unwind.”
Rael tried it, and boggled at how well it worked.
“The
trick is not in knowing that it can be assembled,” said Dode. “The
trick is knowing how the pieces won’t get in each other’s way.”
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