Lessons from a 30-year Carpenter
For the second essay in English 101, I decided to sit down and interview my father, who is a six foot tall 280lb carpenter who has 30 plus years of experience on large scale union construction sites. I wanted to see what I needed to do to be a better carpenter. Some people believe that carpentry is just swinging a hammer or cutting some wood but it’s a lot more than just that. It is more about how to work smarter, not harder; you need to solve problems, make smart choices in materials and to get that advice. I sat down with my dad who is 30 years in the carpenter’s union in Washington state. He has worked all up and down the I-5 corridor, from framing hospitals to homes he has seen a lot and has done a lot. Here is some advice on how to be a better carpenter.
‘Techniques on tight joints and minimize mistakes when you are doing joinery is a must become if you don’t then you are going to have sloppy joints. Or inaccurate cut when you are cutting so my dad told to me one key tip is to “cut just over the cut line.” What I mean by that is to cut to the outside of the measured line and that is to allow for fine adjustments. For example, let’s say you need to install some floor trim on a wall. This will help with overcutting, which cannot be reversed. You can also sand it down to leave a perfect reveal of the trim or joint. Another hit that he told me is about “toe-nailing” which is a way that you are able to put two boards together. First you take either a nail or a screw and place it about a quarter in from the end or cut side of the board. Then if you are using a nail place at a 45 degree and nail into place. If you are using a screw and a drill, then you need to start the screw in straight and then angle it at a 45 degree. If you are still having trouble with a board that is not lining up right. Then take a screw and screw it in about half way and then take a hammer and pry the screw and the board will move in the way that you need it to, once in place fully secure the board. By doing it like that it will make a tighter joint. This system is used when there are warped or uneven boards like in older homes.
On jobsites there is a lot of things than go wrong, like missing parts on the blueprints or unexpected defects in the ground and lumber. A person will need to do a lot of troubleshooting and problem solving here are a few examples of what my dad had to do over the 30 years. For example, about 25 years age he had to build a homemade steam bender to bend a board around a curved wall. The way he had to build this was that he had to use a 8 inch pipe that was caped at both ends and filled with water and the board. He then put it on a fire and let it steam for six hours so the board became flexible. After he got it out of the steamer he nailed one end and then walked down the wall nailing the board down, so it would be the same curve as the wall. For things that are not on the plans for situations like that you will need to use commonsense to plan on how to deal with the situation at hand. For example let say there is a wall that is not square and is leaning to one side. You will need to use spare lumber to shore the side that is leaning up and to help square it off. It is better to Shime it then it is to force it back into place. It also helps if you have experience with dealing with different situations on jobsites. But if you don’t and you are new to it the keep your mouth shut and your ears and eyes open what I mean by that is to learn as much as you can from the older guys that know what they are talking about. It never hurts to ask a question if you have one. There is never a bad question just bad teacher. In all honesty construction is a lot of larger problems breaking up into small bitesize pieces to make it easier to deal with.
To make life easier in him said my dad always told me to keep tools separate from easy use. For example, keep the tools you will use more often, like your plumb bob, speed square, framing hammer etc., keep them in your tool bags so they can be used with easy, and you will not need to go back to the truck for it and waste more time. Tray and keep them grouped up by jobs like concrete tools go together or all your sheetrock tools keep in a five-gallon bucket.
A few ways that you can save time is that you can pre-cut your lumber if you have the right measurements. Another way that he stated was to try and make a game of who can nail in a full sheet of plywood, keep in mind that a full she of OSB is eight feet long by four feet wide. He said that it helps with keeping your mind sharp and clear. He also said “to never skimp on your bed or your boots because your spend half your life in one or the other”.
Safety is none negotiable on job sites over 30 years my dad has seen a lot of accidents. So he said that you need to wear your p.p.e [ personal protective equipment ] and that consist of a hard hat, gloves, steal toe work boots ,and a hi-vis reflective vest. The reasoning behind this is because when my dad was 30 years old he watch a 18 year old kid get killed because of a freak accident among other accidents he has seen over the years. So he always tells me to wear the gear because I need to make it home.
In conclusion, being a better carpenter is a long road filled with a lot of twists and turns. I am going to need to work at it everyday and try to refine my skills when using tools. I am going to have to work on my material selecting and that I need to pursue my growth in a more positive way. another way is to take notes on the experience of the old timers and how they work with the lumber that they get, and how they measure twice cut once. I also need to look at how to become specialized in a particular part of the carpentry trade. But I think the best advice that he gave me was to be humble and practice on what you want to do, but I also need to have patience so I can turn a stack of lumber int a beautiful and loving home for a family.
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