Hey Gang…..just got an email from a Dad of one of my softball players. Gonna copy and paste it here, and forward him all of the great advice this site offers.
Here it is:
I’m part of a group of seven adult chaperones who are taking 28 kids on a mission trip to West Virginia the first week of July this year. The kids range in age from 13 to 18. The adults are, for the most part, desk jockeys like me.
We will be working with some contractors down there. Some of us will be doing repairs to existing structures. Some of us will be working on new construction.
What we are trying to organize is a sort of intro to tools and building skills class to minimize the damage we may all do to ourselves in this well-intentioned effort. I tried working with Home Depot and their supposedly-existing schedule of classes on DIY home repair, but I just couldn’t get anything going with them. Even when I promised we would buy all sorts of stuff we need for the trip from them.
I was wondering if you could point me out to any sort of trades council or local guys who could volunteer some time out to give us some basic pointers. Any help or direction you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
Pp, Qq
Replies
I was involved with chuch youth mission trips, high school kids, and we always had a half day saturday mandatory session where we coved basic construction stuff and tool safety. It included the proper use of a circular saw, and each kid had to cut a 1x8. Also basic paint roller technique, ladder safety, etc. We were always able to call on contractors from the church to do the demos, and they were usually dads who either had kids going on the trip, or theuir kids had gone in the past, or their kids were a few years too young but would be there one day.
"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Edited 3/10/2008 10:33 am ET by FastEddie
I have no idea of this will work or not, but if you have a local chapter of Building and Construction Trades Council (the building trades union organization) you might ask them.
And if you have a Vo-Tec school you might ask them.
are you by any chance talking about ASP? (appalacia service project)
hmmmm, your post perplexs me
No idea andy....I received the email froma neighbor, and thought "what better place than Breaktime?"
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
Pp, Qq
Oh, just asking because that's what I'm doing this summer, except i'm going to kentucky.
hmmmm, your post perplexs me
Good onya kid!
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
Pp, Qq
JDRHI
This advice is not about safety, but about leadership.
The most experienced guy show lead and give direction. The problem comes about when the guy with the most hands on skills gets involved using his skills, his mind isn't on the whole group. This leads to alot of standing around.
One person ( not always the one with the most skills) should take the lead in directing and giving answers, and limit the hands on work.
My experience is with church work days when the only guy who had the plan (the big picture) was too involved in doing the hands on stuff, that the rest of us stood around twiddling our thumbs from lack of direction.
Have a plan worked out within the leadership and designate who is the go to guy for answers.
Rich
My experience is with church work days when the only guy who had the plan (the big picture) was too involved in doing the hands on stuff, that the rest of us stood around twiddling our thumbs from lack of direction.<<< Can you imagine explaing for an hour to someone how to do a task to have them leave as soon as your done or go on and on how there grandfather never threw down a nail or could cut a straight line without a square, After 8 hours of this one might just do your work by yourself
BUMP
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
Pp, Qq
Here's the best advice I can think of at the moment:
Don't take your toolbelt off and lay it on a wooden surface if there's a guy with a nailgun around. http://grantlogan.net/
But you all knew that. I detailed it extensively in my blog.
staplers are way better way to go....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Excellent post JD. .
Hey Taunton, the results of this thread - could go to hundreds? - would make an excellent book, anything I contribute you can have gratis.
Probably gonna print out a few of the responses, bet some of the guys here have excellent treatisies.
Just yesterday was showing 12 YO grand daughther how to hacksaw off a bolt from a hamaster teeter totter we were building- --- so much basic stuff for kids to learn.
I'm going to be on an cruise this week (Uncle Sam type boat) and and if I have some time later this week will type down some details that have occured to me over the years.
I give seminars to EE's on what to watch out for during design, would be fun to do a similar seminar for Kids and tools, see what somebody already has done in that vein - what comes to mind are some of Pop's old Navy books on carpentry, plumbing, motor repair, etc. although most kids would never need to know how to ct 2x4s to wedge a bunch of mattresses into a torpedohole in the side of the ship...
Where would I start -- the best baby toy is the 'cobblers bench', where the kid hammers loose fit pegs thru holes in a wood shelf with a small light wooden mallet, then............To be continued.
EDIT BTW. Not a safety freak here, but personally have enough sticthes, hearing loss, and eye injuries that the GK's ALWAYS wear hearing protection when power tools are running (they really liked to watch chips fly out of the 18" planer about 4yo), SAFETY GLASSES when any possibilities of flying object - like grinding, smashing rocks, or busting the windows out of junk cars. Dont really worry about small cuts like from small jigsaw or pocket knives, they already know those hurt <G>
Hey Taunton, the results of this thread - could go to hundreds? - would make an excellent book, anything I contribute you can have gratis.
Edited 3/10/2008 7:10 pm ET by junkhound
i don't know where you are from but in our area (ri) you can go to your local voc-tech.construction class and see if the students and maybe one teacher would want to do some community service hours (they are needed to grad.) and do a saturday teaching session to arm your group with a few pointers about tool safety and also teach an adult about being a good leader.. i do know if it was done around here we would have plenty of vol. good luck "CJ"
Worked in the past with HFH and other volunteer groups.
here are a few ideas/comments.
Class room time with simple books/white board/slides with lots of drawings that identify tools and building parts to start with. (Pros tend to forget we speak a specialized and foreign language, we can't even converse with each other half the time due to regional differences )
Be real Nice if FHB gave permission for reprints of some of their basic articles for use by non-profits!! Actually It would be really wonderful if they would put together a very basic set of their articles into one CD that could be given to non-profits. Non-profits could then print out what they need. Hit on Justin about that one would ya?
Small scale models showing the components with labels attached, helps with the visual placement of parts and identification.
Shop practice with tapes, saws, squares, how to use levels, drains must run down hill and "Y's" must be placed so the water streams merge into one. etc. simple confidence building stuff.
More than 2/3rds. of the people on crews I worked on had to have the sizing of framing lumber explained to them , better to do it all at once in a class then one by one in the field.
SAFETY,SAFETY, and again SAFETY. (NO you do not cut the board between the sawhorse, make the cut so the drop falls free without pinching).
Simple stuff, don't walk under ladders, no tools left on top of ladders, bend or pull nails NOW not later, Demonstrate the easy and safe ways to move materials, walls don't just keep standing upright after they are stood , they need to be braced and nailed.
Find a source for some books or print outs or make some that are required reading , handouts for take home study if possible. Again basic and simple , but boy it sure helps.
Get in touch with the union carpenters apprenticeship school in Westchester or NYC.
If you were here on LI, it's something my local would be happy to do.
If you need more info, I can ask my programs' director for a name and number to call...buic
I would think the Habitat for Humanity has to deal with this issue daily. O.K. maybe most of their help has a little bit more maturity but not necessarily more tool experience. Maybe you could call a Habitat director to see how they're supposed to deal with this issue.
Notice I said "supposed to deal". Their practices could be all over the map in different areas of the country, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were supposed to do it the same way all over.
Call your local Habitat for Humanity and see if one of their construction supervisors can pull something together for you.