Thread: the tradesman's approach

Originally Posted by la Huerta

could you be so kind as to share some of your ways of setting up your workspace for the day wherever it maybe...it would be much appriecated...





la H

Shorts with your bum crack showing are essential.

There must be a wear patch on the crutch of the shorts where you keep scratching your nuts all day.

A yoot is THE most important tool.

Nail gun so you can shoot at birds all day.

You wont need a level as most things a chippie do seem to be out of level/plumb.

Radio, preferably tuned to a station other than the one the others on site are listening to.


Running for cover........

Al

I don't have vast experience (Im still a young un), but I worked onsite in my homeland (England). Was bloody cold, wet in the winter, long days (and wet) in the summer... And all the other trades seem to get in each others way I'd rather be in my little workshop personally. But theres money to be made on site if you work for yourself, thats for sure.
If you're working on new houses (which I was), that house is your workshop (and all the other trades in there) until you're done.
Cheers. Gary

As a tradie who gets around building sites a fair bit, i would like to say that you have summed it up prewtty well, Al but then its not just the onsite carpenters, those brickies have a lot to answer for as well

Most of the tradies I meet on-site seem to come with just utes and shorts. The bastards're always borrowing my bloody tools! (Hint: never let a bricky near your good chisels. Nor a painter, plumber, tiler or sparky!) I guess it saves 'em the effort of packing up at beer-time... they just leave 'em where they drop for me to collect at my leisure.

The one absolutely indispensable tool is a damned good lock for your toolbox! Oh... and I couldn't get by without my Triton.

Repetition is what makes tradesmen work quickly, not necessarily the space to work. For a number of years I worked from a single garage when I was young single and under the rule of my parents and few a few after that as well.

Everything I had was on wheels and when necessary it went out onto the driveway or backyard. Working in the sun can be pain as is packing up.

I cant really see why you are comparing on-site carpenters, which are either doing frames or internal fixing, to your own situation. This type of work is completely different to fine woodwork that I guess you are doing.

One sure way to have most of these on-site carpenters slow down is to give them something different to do.

I'm with Boban on this one, 20 years of working with wood five days a week will tend to make you a fairly quick wood butcher.
Another point is that amateurs like me and possibly you tend to like perfection, most carpenters cant afford to get it absolutely perfect.
The term I heard a wiley old carpenter say rings true when you are making money from what you do; "Efficient Quality"
They do it for a living, we do it 'cause we love it.
Scotty

Originally Posted by boban

One sure way to have most of these on-site carpenters slow down is to give them something different to do.

LOL, A truer word was never spoke...

95% of my work these days is fixing, around xmas I did two frames back to back for a builder who's a good mate. Haven't done a frame for quite a few years but thought yeah why not, make a nice change anyway.

Being middle of summer on the first one I got burnt to a cinder, I'd forgotten how cruel it gets outside. So I was 9 parts done in after frame one.
Frame two was a prefab, bewdy I thought, piece of cake. Get this one done then back to inside work where I belong. Last two frames in the stack were huge buggers full of windows and their heads, weighed a damn ton. Get the first in place, back is aching something fierce but only one frame to go. Crunch, there goes the back. Had the next week or so off.

My days of trying something different are over I think...

back to the question, what sort of work are you doing la Huerta

Used to do a lot of boat fitouts, which is mostly "different" stuff, not an awful lot of repetition (unless it was a really big boat). I used to throw a sheet of ply on a couple of 90 x 45s laid across some saw horses. I'd have a couple of power boards hanging around (off the deckhead if possible) plug in the SCMS and stick it on the bench and then have a series of holes along one edge to park all the drills and cordlesses in which were all plugged in. All the tools would go into the toolbox which was screwed onto a trolley. Used to take me about 20 mins to set up and about the same to pack up.

BTW,
don't believe a word of what Al says (about anything but foil hats or goats ) When I was working on site with my cousin we were the neatly dressed blokes driving utes with everything on board (including microwaves, jaffle irons and gensets), who everyone else was always coming to to borrow stuff. The brickies, tilers and plasterers are those messy bastards that leave mud all over everything and sparkys and plumbers are always running services through finished timber etc because they're too lazy to conceal it properly.

Mick (who always takes pride in his work)

Another point is that amateurs like me and possibly you tend to like perfection, most carpenters cant afford to get it absolutely perfect.
The term I heard a wiley old carpenter say rings true when you are making money from what you do; "Efficient Quality"
They do it for a living, we do it 'cause we love it.scottyk

Very true, I'm not a chippy, I work in finishing but I'm sure the same applies to most trades. The best job I ever heard about, from a reliable colleague in the trade was a grand piano done in black french polish entirely by hand by a dentist.The best finishing job he'd ever seen.

Also, on the subject of setting up, I do quite a bit of work "on the road" . The best thing is to know your tools well so you don't take or get out (in your case) stuff that you don't that and will just add time to packing up. You also have the advantage of knowing what you are going to be working on before you start, so you don't need to get out a whole load of tools "just in case". Think about what you make mostly, make your self a little rolling toolstand (with locking wheels) that will hold most of the tools required, some sort of portable bench, and you're away.

site work sucks for making money unless you are on hourly rate or charging twice the market rate, i have become a bit bitter lately from losing a lot of money because of poorly run projects by principle contractors and poor work by employees who were taking home twice as much as me.

Onsite you get cold, wet, hot, burnt, you have to move your stuff 10 times a day cause you are in some guys way. Your stuff gets bowered, stolen or stuffed.

Your materials get painted, covered in rubbish, have rude pics drawn on it, your fancy ute (like mine was) gets covered in dust and dinted by delivery trucks.

No way give me my factory any day, go in lock the door, no one to bug you. work all day and night if required. controlled envt all tools when you need them and scale of production theory's kick in.

i know that not every Carpenter can build in a factory then send to site. but i have found a nice market and are very very happy to be there even know it takes me an hour each way in syd traffic.

every thread i start lately seems to back fire on me...i must be thinking to much ...


i like your input on this Gaza, if one wants to get mass production going then factory setup in the way to go...

Originally Posted by journeyman Mick

When I was working on site with my cousin we were the neatly dressed blokes

I can just see you now Mick.

Excuse me madam, where would you like this pergola prey tell?




Al

I saw a chap like that in Kuranda when I was up there Al, the two of you would get along well as you both have a similar dress code.

wonder how much mud you could mix in a hat like that