A Concord Carpenter Comments

http://aconcordcarpentercomments.blogspot.com/2009/07/return-to-skilled-trade-education.html

I was directed to this blog by a friend at MikeRoweWorks, Whiterose, and I'm glad I was. I'll let him tell his story;

Cop and Carpenter ~ started both at same time and liked them both enough to continue them as parallel occupations. I write about what I know... I'm a cop and carpenter, a husband, a father and a blogger. My blogging combines the other four, ranging from the teenage trend known as "sexting” to notoriously loose handrails.

Robert E. Robillard

His site combines interests in the trades and their promotion, his dual careers, and by the looks of it, family values. I only see one problem; anyone with a trailer this organized.... just jealous!

Interesting Thread on RC Forum

The pictures below were posted on RC Forum under "General discussion, Main Forum".

I asked for lessons learned from older construction, and the "Loneframer", a widely respected master framer from the NYC area, submitted them and contributed to a discussion on some rather unique framing methods. The framing method was almost like an early version of a roof truss. Here's some of the discussion.

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"One thing that surprised me recently was some trusses that were in a 103 year old building that I'm doing some work in".

Q. Any idea why bracing only in one direction, and how recently (threaded rod) might have been added. I often catch myself being surprised by engineering at that time, which is ridiculous, when engineering principles are centuries and millennia old.

A. "Unless the building was damaged by fire, it's original as far as I can tell. The entire job is fastened together with cut nails and there is no evidence that would lead me to believe the trusses are not original. The rods are actually square headed bolts that appear to be about 1" in diameter".

Q. Those pics open a lot of questions. How much snow load, any? Fairly low pitch, no sign of rotting for that age. Will structure stay exposed? Wonder if uniformity today excludes some of the unique solutions you see there. Are the cross pieces morticed into the top chords of the trusses?

Be interesting to have an engineer comment on the direction of bracing.. now there's a thought I never expected to have. Wonder if an architectural historian would be able to trace the design back to a technical school in NY.

A. "These trusses freespan 40' and when sighted from end to end, they have a slight crown up on the bottom chord. The top chord is jointed into the bottom chord at the plateline. The fit of all the joints is remarkable.

As for snow load, In the 70s we had over two feet of snow in one storm. I realize that may not be much by some standards, but for here it is a huge amount of snow".

Here's the links to the pictures;

http://www.remodelcrazy.com/forum/showthread.php?t=322

The Way of the Blacksmith

I'd like to share a post I entered on mrWorks recently in which I reminiced on my childhood and a

study that relates to a link posted on that forum, http://www.dfoggknives.com/wayof.htm take a look at what this chap has written.

I'm not normally a links guy, but for me personally you've struck gold on this one. First with a childhood memory, second with an important text book I bought in a bookstore for $5.00 with a broken spline (value over $125) on a Russian neurophysiologist, and lastly, on its discussion of craft. Do you mind if I pick a few segments when I have time and comment on them? It's very meaty and demands several rereadings?

When I was 6 my dad had just come to a small town, to a tiny church with cramped living quarters behind. I could play on the wide steps at the front of the church, and watch as teams of workhorses with hay wagon's were brought to a halt in front of the church, lined up to have the massive (to a 6 year old!) belgians and clydes unharnessed and led unside the blacksmith shop right next door! I can't imagine how dangerous it was for a child to be so close to those horses, would never happen today. I was less than 10 feet away.

Peering into the dark recesses of the blacksmith shop, I could hear the farmers and the blacksmith getting the horses under control so their hooves could be prepared, new shoes take from a wide selection on the wall, then heated and shaped in the coal forge and on the anvil..

It was 50 years before that book came into my hands due to a major consolidation of book chains in Ontario, which precipitated a massive clearance of hundreds of thousands of books. The book was a major treatment by two fellow countrymen to Nicolai Alexandrovich Bernstein, a brilliant scientist who grew up watching his highly intelligent mother dextrously performing needlework, then went on to a premium Soviet education, and was assigned to watch a blacksmith work and teach him how to work more efficiently, but fortunately for us but not him, Nicolai, a small man with striking features and almost tsar like bearing, was not about to teach anyone anything.

http://www.amazon.com/Dexterity-Development-Resources-Ecological-Psychology/dp/0805816461

As Nicolai watched the hammer being swung by the smithy, swarthy arm raising high over his head and striking the hot metal repeatedly, other hand moving the beaten metal ever so slightly, something happened that caused changed his life forever.

What Nicolai observed was that the hammer never struck the iron in the same place twice; the implications of that led Nicolai to extensive study on skilled work that led to publication on dexterity, quoting western research at a time when the Russians were fiercely proud of the fame of their star boy, comrade Pavlov, of salivating dog fame. The short story is that Nicolai's offices were smashed, he descended into obscurity more or less, and his written work would have disappeared had not the two authors interrupted a descendent cleaning out his apartment while she was readying to trash piles which included his manuscript, which became the core of the book.

Only the very latest books on motor theory are beginning to correct the foolery of comrade Pavlov, whose stupidity regarding motivation and learning pervade all literature today. Books on motion study are exactly like what Bernstein was hired to do; tell a skilled person how to grasp a hammer. There is simply too much invested in Pavlovianist theories to change.

I wouldn't go on so long, but the implications for skilled work and respect are enormoous. how can one respect what one equates to salivating dogs. Bernstein was a brilliant man, but his respect for skilled work was profound. I recommend reading with the utmost care "the mower scene" from Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, which was quoted and commented on by Bernstein. it will give you a taste of his thinking. Thank you again for that contribution. It bought back a lot of thinking, that I didn't expect to ever bring to light.

This is the link http://www.dfoggknives.com/wayof.htm

Lindeman on Emerson

There's a bit of a story behind the quote in the header; it's from Eduard Lindeman, considered to be the father of adult education in the U.S. His writing still has a place in any good library collection on the subject. He was also a great admirer of writings and quotations of Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose essays and addresses to graduating students are rightly considered classics. As a self-educated person, I've stuck to a comment of Emerson's from one of those addresses to students, expressing the thought that education should teach a person how to teach themselves. But, if you can teach yourself, then why do you.. more later.

What's true of Lindeman is true of any contributor of the past; always look for both the timely (current) and timeless (legacy) in any field. .This holds true from neurology to sociology

New or Used?

Here's a question; I have a single volume of an ICS course from a century ago when study texts were well bound volumes; well worn, smudged and marked up with pencil. Also, I have three volumes (explain how to make a steam locomotive!) in pristine condition, look lovely on any bookshelf. Which are more valuable?

Used Books: Craft in Fiction

I've seen a rare few excellent examples of craft principles portrayed accurately in fiction. One was recommended by a colleague, "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett, a life-long enthusiast in Medieval cathedral building. There's also a short section in "Anna Karenina" by Tolstoy on the mower, full of observations on community and also automaticity inthe graceful, rythmic sweep of the mowers' scythes. British novelist Nevil Shute wrote a facinating work, "Trustee in the Toolroom" about a hobbyist who gained world renown for his craft knowledge. Finally, the final chapters of "The Prodigy" by Herman Hesse details what life was like for a metal working apprentices at a time when parts were fashioned with a file, not a CNC lathe.

It's my desire to do a post on each book, but these books are all old: has anyone seen a more recent example of fiction that highlights a realistic portrayal of skilled work in fiction? Let me know.

Why does it matter? Just for the same reason the "egghead" issues portrayed here matter; because almost everything done in sociology and philosphy of work is either focused on labour issues or portaying workers as victims in a variety of forms. That is no more desireable than recent hero-ization of tradesmen. Simple respect, and deeper understanding of their wisdom and contribution.

The above books are on Amazon or Chapters.ca

http://www.amazon.ca/Pillars-Earth-Ken-Follett/dp/0451166892/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249177083&sr=1-1

mrW Tradesman, Reworked Site

http://www.mikeroweworks.com/

Keep a watch on the Toolroom section of the newly revamped site, it's featuring mrW Tradesmen, (including me) who will answer questions related to trades work, rather than "How To" as the Remodel Crazy" site does. Also, fans of the "Dirty jobs" show, persons interested in how to effectively promote skilled trades and trades people can meet and share experienced- or just hang out at the "Water Cooler".

For my part, I won't be telling anyone how to do electrical work on either site. It is far too dangerous to be done casually by homeowners. It ain't a hobby. I can help prospective apprentices learn about what the trades are about.

Check it out!

Remodel Crazy Forum

I urge you to check out the latest forum on the web, Remodel Crazy Forum, created by a couple renovation contractors to bring skilled contractors together with homeowners seeking advice on their home projects. As may be guessed from the title, the site is not overly serious, but wants to remain accessible to someone with a "dumb question" or unsure if they are being treated fairly by the contractor they've hired, or even whether to shop for price, or how to find good service.

http://www.remodelcrazy.com/

Site Goals for New Visitors

If you are dropping by for the first time, things are a little different here from the average work-related site. Rather than the usual group hug and talk, the goal here to unravel the issues that surround skilled work; such as, how an idea comes together in a craft worker's mind to become a comprehensive plan that can be acted on, so as to produce a finished product both functional or useful, and pleasing in execution and esthetics. Or simply, a product that does the job, and looks good to the maker and user.

We'll also look at various aspects of the relationship between the worker and his tools, material and methods; as we are currently examining why a craft worker might hold onto methods while others have moved on to more "efficient" ways of achieving similar results.

Therefore we'll spend more time analyzing ideas than supplying work-rekated information, in order to get craft people and interested parties thinking about why skilled work happens the way it does.

If you're brave enough to take a look at my publications, you'll see they're a lot like a tough steak; require a little chewing. They deal with how community colleges (in Ontario) are handling (or ignoring in some cases) trade and craft issues. My passion at the bottom of it, is arguing for recognition of native intelligence in craft work, involving every bit as much as intellectual work such as university studies.

Bernice Vasey, Artist and Craftworker

I'm happy to be able to feature the work of a very talented and creative person. I've known Bernice for a long time, watched her work and talked about issues of woodworking. Her workmanship and creativity are astounding. Her only fault is extreme modesty, and the more you admire her work, the more she'll explain how some aspect didn't turn out as she'd planned, but pay absolutely no attention to her; her work is superlative.

http://www.ddsag.com/shows08_mikessalv3.html

You can contact Bernice at bvasey@georgianc.on.ca