Okay….I admit it….I have a long drive each day and while I’m driving I think up these dumb threads…my last one that asked for favorite websites floundered….I think you’ll all hate this one too. I’ll ask anyways…
What technigues or lessons that you learned from your mentor have you changed/dropped/ignored when you went on your “journey”?
My mentor used to snap 3-5/8″ lines for partitions even though our plates were only 3.5″. When I started laying out all the lines, I “did it my way” and snapped 3.5″ lines.
He also used to always mark every dimension with an arrow instead of a small line. I don’t mark arrows anymore.
I wont be offended if this thread drops like a lead balloon.
blue
Warning! Be cautious when taking any framing advice from me. Although I have a lifetime of framing experience, all of it is considered bottom of the barrel by Gabe. I am not to be counted amongst the worst of the worst. If you want real framing information…don’t listen to me..just ask Gabe!
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My mentor dropped me off at a job with a bunch of stair parts. I looked at the handrailing for two days before I cut a gooseneck. I focked it up, but I learned how to put it back together...now, I try to teach my help from my mistakes...they don't listen, they have to make their own<G>
My mentor was my dad.
according to him I've ignored everything he taught me.
I think he's wrong. <g>
I resemble that remark!
The favorite web sites foundered because ... Hmmm ... Most of those web sites are not the sort you post on a 'family' forum. Some of those tool sites can get pornographic. A high end TDR unit. Oh baby ...
I have noted that there is an attachment to the first method learned. I saw a raw helper get told by an electrician who he highly respected the original Scotchlock wire nuts, PVC covered steel bulb with a live spring and one of the first really reliable wire nuts, were the best ever.
Thirty years later the helper, now a well established master electrician, still swears that the original Scotchlock is the very best. They are good but there are now ones as good or better. The Scotchlock twos and Buchanan copper plated are better with the 2s taking the lead IMHO.
Something about what we were taught, usually the first lessons when we were 'green', by those we respected hold a special place. For some reason, even though I have learned more efficient methods, I still check a panel the same way I was first taught. I may follow with other tools and methods but the first time is almost always the same way.
A lot of details are similar artifacts. The way I use a tape measure. Certain ways I layout knockout holes in a steel switch-gear cabinet. The sequence I use to connect a live line to a receptacle.
I suspect that most trades are the same way. Construction tends to be a slow to change and conservative industry. As the makeup of this site shows and your own posts tend to indicate. Old ways die hard. People get used to a method and a logic behind those methods. They, we, get comfortable.
That you have changed, I'm sure after considerable contemplation, the methods you use shows your not rigid. You can still adapt. A good thing.
>> I still check a panel the same way I was first taught.Would please describe that way? (We'll call you Obi Wan ...{G})I don't know about yours, but my church isn't a hotel for the holy, it's a hospital for sinners
Sojourners: Christians for Justice and Peace
I'd like to hear that also.
"I will never surrender or retreat. " Col. Wm. B. Travis, The Alamo, Feb. 1835
i should first say that im still green in quite a few areas and im sure i've still got quite a bit of new techinques to learn (so that i can later ignore them). But the one i think about alot is ear protection. My first teacher NEVER used them(never wore gloves either) and it took me quite awhile to convince myself that it was okay to wear them, but now im almost religiouse about it. The funny thing is, i think im only so hardcore about it because i want to show the young helpers that its not wimpy to protect your ears. I hate to say it but im not sure i would wear ear protection if it werent for that.
measure once
scribble several lines
spend some time figuring out wich scribble
cut the wrong line
get mad
Keep wearing it Skye....I have substantial hearing loss and I'm sure it's because I was exposed to too much construction noise. Hearing aids are on my santa's list....
blueWarning! Be cautious when taking any framing advice from me. Although I have a lifetime of framing experience, all of it is considered bottom of the barrel by Gabe. I am not to be counted amongst the worst of the worst. If you want real framing information...don't listen to me..just ask Gabe!
blue
What'd ya say??????I'm about to kill my wife for having me say fifty trillion x's...WHATTTTTT????
saying it twice doesn't help at all.
My mentor are my ears and they say to me......you shoulda worn ear protection azzhole!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For Ramadanxmaschanuka I hope to get something to let me hear...within the canal
Be vain
a....whatchasay? ughhhhhhhhhhhhThe secret of Zen in two words is, "Not always so"!
When we meet, we say, Namaste'..it means..
I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides,
I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace.
I honor the place within you where if you are in that place in you
and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us.
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Ah, where to start...
First my mentor boxed framed, I prefer to stick frame.
He laid out the rafters with a... uh... I think they call it a framing square, I never touch the thing.
He puts the window headers all the way to the top plate, I drop them down to the rough opening and block above them.
He decks his roof and then runs the soffit, I do the reverse.
I pay my help top dollar, he paid me pennies.
First off, I have worked for a couple of contractors. My original mentor taught me all sorts of things, but he was not licensed and alot of his methods were poor. On the other hand he has run a successful business for over 25 years and employs 6 guys full time. Eventually as i grew older I found my interest in my work growing, and through my own research, the student became the teacher in many situations.
Eventually it all came to a head for me and I realized that i want to run my own crew and do my own thing. The next step... go work for a licensed man and get my ticket.
Now this guy has been poundin' nails since christ was a cowboy. We work for a wealthy customer base and our workmanship is second to none. We have all the best tools and are quick to explore new techniques, materials, and ideas.
The downside is that I work along side his Son who is also a lic. carp. we have a good relationship, and i enjoy working with him, but I know that I will never be the top man in a company like this. But his dad pays me top dollar and we are able to work along side each other very well.
As for the mentoring, I'm not sure, the best solutions usually win. I have since taking a kid under my wing, who has what it takes to be successful in this business, hopefully he will be my lead hand someday soon.
I guess for me there are lots of small things since I started out pouinding on things over thirty years ago and things are different now. The first saw we used had no fan directed to blow th echips and sawdust out of the way of the saw blade so You had to keep Puffing to clear things, which brought you face close to the dust and chiops so you needed gogles. I think that saw had agaurd, but you had to manually close it.Using construction adhesive and hardware is another thing that has changed.anonrter thing I do different - one that is very important from my viewpoint - instead of try to get as much work as possible out of men for as little money as possible, I try to fiond men who focus on doing as good a job as possible, and I work to pay them as well as I can pay, and don't cry poor about it all week long.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
My "mentor" was a good framer. but a prick to work for. If you've ever seen the Monster House episodes with "Dr. Wood", you would get e feeling for this guy's additude.
The first thing I lost after a while was losing the nail that pinned the guard up on the worm drive. Safer my azz!
Another was I stopped marking the centers of the studs on layout. It was just to confusing when other ppeople are using your layout. I actually use it sometimes for certain tasks.
A huge thing that changed was a general better attitude.
Give me some more time. I'm sure something else will come up.
ADH Carpentry & Woodwork
Quality, Craftsmanship, Detail
Blue ........I get lots of windshield time also ..........did you ever wonder about the guy that taught your mentor. If you ask sit back with a full cup of coffee and enjoy what we missed.
Yep Nails, I do wonder...
My mentor was some sort of Army leader and he acted like we were still in the Army when we hit the jobsite. It was no nonsense, gung ho, all out for ...7 hours! Hehehe....I was union and we only worked 7 hour days!
blueWarning! Be cautious when taking any framing advice from me. Although I have a lifetime of framing experience, all of it is considered bottom of the barrel by Gabe. I am not to be counted amongst the worst of the worst. If you want real framing information...don't listen to me..just ask Gabe!
That 6 foot folding ruler,nobody could have that thing extended out and back in faster. Haven't used one in 20yrs.
I didn't do it....the buck does NOT stop here.
FramerT...that's funny...I forgot all about those folding rules. My mentor used one too and passed that on to me. The last one I bought was an 8'er.
They have a couple of advantages, but not nearly enough to carry one on a rough.
blueWarning! Be cautious when taking any framing advice from me. Although I have a lifetime of framing experience, all of it is considered bottom of the barrel by Gabe. I am not to be counted amongst the worst of the worst. If you want real framing information...don't listen to me..just ask Gabe!
In my first year of apprenticeship my mentor told me to keep my pencil sharp and when you are cutting a board with a hand saw to leave half the pencil line, split it. I rarely cut by hand but I always keep my pencil sharp.