Listers,
I have worked off and on for many, many years at a bike shop here in New York City. Lets call it Larry & Jeff's (Norm and Alan, I think you know what I mean).
Larry, one of the proprietors, is a Jamaican man who grew up riding fixed gears in the British tradition. I was often amazed to see him straighten bikes to perfection with no tools and no jigs. In the case of a front end collision, he would take the crumpled frame, sit on the floor, brace his feet against the bottom bracket and pull the bike straight. We would then check the bike with the string method and with Park frame straightening jigs. Usually, only a minor tweak would be required. We would hand the now straight bike back to the delighted messenger and Larry would ask for twenty bucks or something criminally low.
Often, in my youth I would question Larry as to his tactics, as I was more comfortable using the jigs. One day, after I probably annoyed him (it's not hard to do) he turned to me and said 'This is how we did it in Jamaica, we didn't have the advantages you have".
OK, it was saltier than that, but you get the idea.
I've learned much from him and I hope to keep learning.
Regards,
Harry Schwartzman
Long Island City, NY