my question is about trade schools for carpentry. my step-son wants to go so he can be my my lead man someday and i’m all for it. i’m a residential framer. don’t do anything else and not interested either. i’d like him to go to a school where teaching will be focused on roof cutting and stair building skills more than anything else. i would take him under my wing but we are a production crew and he is as green as green can be. in short, i don’t have the time. can any of you recommend one? it’s going to be cheaper for me to pay his cost and have him sent back to me ready to put on his nail bags and get ready the wild and wooly ride of residential framing.
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Albert
You dont do any teaching at work?
Man thats gotta be a bummer to the crew, how the hell do they get better!
Doug
laying out, wall building,stairs and joists are easy to teach because that's where i'm strongest at. i can cut roofs well but not quickly. since i've always been weak at math i require more time than others to do it. so my point is this, i'm ashamed to admit it but i have to concentrate hard to calculate my roofs especially those cut -up doosies and i don't see where i could be patient enough to teach.
Go to the best custom home builder (Hands on !!!) in your area. Pay him to hire your son as an apprentice. Probably cheaper than school and better too.
it's going to be cheaper for me to pay his cost and have him sent back to me ready to put on his nail bags and get ready the wild and wooly ride of residential framing.
Stop dreaming.
You cant send your kid away to boarding school and think he'll return to run your jobs. Of all people, you should know that best!
If you don't have time to teach him on the jobsite, let him fend for himself, just like you did. Insist that he find a way to get formal education too. There are colleges, community colleges, online training, etc. He could read here in this forum for an hour every day and if the subject sparks his interest, he could learn how to cut a stringer by tuesday of next week.
You can lead a horse to water....
Or, send him to me, I'll give him back in a year or two and he'll run circles around you and anyone on your crew. How much you gonna pay me for that? If you pay me enough, that boy will have the challenge of his life in front of him. He'd be better off to join the Marines.
blue
"...if you just do what you think is best testing those limits... it's pretty easy to find exactly where the line is...."
From the best of TauntonU.
he asked me to go. i guess he's interested
Good, send him over. Make the check out to me.
blue"...if you just do what you think is best testing those limits... it's pretty easy to find exactly where the line is...."
From the best of TauntonU.
Education is a great idea. He'll learn some things there that can more effectively be learned in the calm environment of a classroom that will mesh nicely with what he learns on your site. They cover all the basics, of course, including safety regulations, business classes, some of the science of construction, and so forth. They also learn from people quite skilled in their field, such as learning masonry from long time masons instead of a carpenter on a job site who sets a little block once in a while.
There are many two and four year colleges that have programs in construction. That's where I'd look to start.
How quick is your boy to pick up on things? To me, the real world experience beats a classroom hands down. A classroom is a controlled environment where it is easy to get the basic understanding of how things happen. However, nothing can beat seeing how things actually work together on a jobsite and can vary from job to job. I was very fortunate when I started out to have been hired by a patient guy who was willing to show..no, explain how things worked on a frame. I went from a complete greenhorn to having a good overall understanding of how things worked within a year.
If your boy doesn't have an inquisitive mind and has no real interest in what he's doing, it won't matter what schooling he has. He must understand the importance of working along with you and to ASK QUESTIONS...ie, "why do you need a header here, what's it for...why do you crown your studs the same way...why do you need roofing clips for the plywood..." ? Things of that nature.
If you don't have the time or desire to teach him (and I think you are missing out on a priceless opportunity in not doing so...who better to teach him?) I would find someone you know and talk to them about hiring him as an apprentice.
If you are worried about not being able to teach him something that you aren't proficient at, what better opportunity to hone your own skills. Just in allowing him to see you learn something new or better will teach him that this business is an ever changing career with lots of opportunity to keep "learning".
That all being said...do yourself a favor and do it yourself. You'll be glad you did years from now.
it's ok to think you're as old as you once were...just so long as you don't try to prove it...
http://www.cobrajem.com
Edited 1/13/2007 4:42 pm by Charlie the Singing Carpenter
Charlie, I served a formal apprenticeship which included book learning and tests. It's useful.
One of the things it did was force me to read about some aspects of carpentry that I might have skipped. Some kids are self learners and would learn this stuff on their own. That's okay too. But, going to school, and learning on the job is better than just learning on the job.
That's my take. I don't know many carpenters that have well rounded educations in their chosen field.
blue"...if you just do what you think is best testing those limits... it's pretty easy to find exactly where the line is...."
From the best of TauntonU.
One of the things it did was force me to read about some aspects of carpentry that I might have skipped. Some kids are self learners and would learn this stuff on their own. That's okay too. But, going to school, and learning on the job is better than just learning on the job.
I would completely agree with that blue...when I was first starting out I read everything I could on framing and building...I just had an insatiable appetite for learning. I am not a "classroom learner". I learn by doing. One of my major faults is I think everyone should learn like I do. It's why I asked what kind of learner his kid was.
Either way, one can never get enough learning...IF they have the desire.it's ok to think you're as old as you once were...just so long as you don't try to prove it...
http://www.cobrajem.com