i still got it

So, some time ago, I was a carpenter's helper. One of my many vocations over the years. I did not start out as a CH, I started out as a cleaner/gopher. I would clean out houses under construction as each trade went through and laid waste to the structure. Most did not clean up for themselves. The electricians would pick up their wire cutoffs; they would collect it up in bins and sell it to scrappers. The carpentry crews generally cleaned up after themselves, except when they got called away at the last second. They were the firefighters of the trades. They would make changes for them so they could do their installations, or last minute trim work, or one of hundreds of different tasks. The heating guys generally kept to themselves and would only leave behind tiny bits of tin everywhere that are a massive pain to cleanup. The plumbers? They were the worst. I think it was just this company really. I have worked with or come across many plumbers who were not total slobs like these guys.

Anyway, back to me.The gopher part of the job was picking up materials for the various trades or getting whatever. I had my own service van and it was often much easier for me to get materials for the guys as I was always driving from site to site anyway cleaning. This way those guys could keep working as opposed to driving all the time to pick up a few sticks of lumber or a box of screws.

Then one day, maybe about three months in to the job, give or take, I was asked if I wanted to do more. Sure! There was an opening in the carpentry group. They needed a new CH. Did I have any experience? Not really. Oh. Hey, I listen, do what I am told, and learn quick. One of the carpenters said he would take me on. He figured he could determine in a day or two if I would be useless or not. If I was useless, I would go back to my cleaner/gopher job. Well, apparently I was not useless. He kept me on and we became pretty good friends. Even though we do not work together any more nor are we in carpentry, we still talk and get together. He is my buddy Pete from Osgoode.

Anyway, back to me again. Crews change over time and I worked with pretty much every carpenter that was there while I was. Eventually, I was running a crew. I was still a CH, but the carpenter I was working with at the time just was not great at figuring out the workload. He was a good carpenter, but I was a great CH and I understood how to organise the jobs we got and such.

We specialised in interior trim work and outside work consisting mainly of decks and stairs. No framing, which was fine by me. So, I worked as a CH for about three-and-a-half years there and then about another six months elsewhere. Normally, when I am laid-off from the same job in a short period, I move on to other things. I still worked with my hands for some time after that, but I have not done any serious carpentry for years.

Wait for it, I am getting to the point of my rambling. So, we are getting a dog sooner or later, looks like towards the end of the year. We need to fence in the yard for this dog. So one side of the property is fenced and another corner with a neighbour, but not most of one side and the back. The front is not fenced either. Part of it was, but the gate was in a bad spot and I moved the posts, but never finished it.

Well, today, I started in on it. I have a bunch of pickets from when the one side of the property was fenced in to keep the boy from getting out to the main road when he was young and always on the move. I had some other bits and such and a bunch of pressure treated lumber (PT). So, I closed in part of the front, got one of the gates up and I will close off another part tomorrow. I am short some PT to do the other half of the gate (it will be a double gate on the one side). I have a couple items to still hopefully dig up to finish things off before the two big runs are done by someone else.

When I finished for the day, I took a look and it was pretty darned good looking. I am not a fence builder, a different set of carpentry skills. I did not work fast, and I had some funny angles to sort, but man-o-man, it sure looks better than the fence that the wife and I had put in years ago by professionals to corral the boy.

It is good to know that some skills just do not fade away. And that they can be transposed in to related, but different, skills. I will apply them when I assist and guide the boy in repairs to the hikers' shack for his Chief Scout Award project. I also look forward to building my little tea hut, once I can get enough scrap material to do it. I know it will be great fun, albeit slow fun. I can almost hear the kettle boiling in the little hut now, maybe I will invite Pete for a cup. blbbl