I learned basic carpentry from my father when I was a teenager. Was
building models before I could saw a straight line. After high
school I went to work at the railroad, brakeman then carman. Now 30
yrs. later I'm a QA inspector with a contract railcar shop, still
some hands-on but more paper work than I like.
Jeff Coleman
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
--- In STMFC@..., "Pete Brown \(YahooGroups\)"
<YahooLists@i...> wrote:

Walt



I'm not sure where I fit in on your theory :-)



I'm a 33 year old software architect and project manager for a

software

development consulting company. I started with the first computers

the

school had in 7th grade, got my computer science degree in the 90s,

and have

worked professional in the field since 92. This is about as much of

a

sit-down job as you could possibly get.



The only time I had Shop was for 1 semester in Jr High. I wasn't

very good

at it, but we weren't really taught any skills either. The only

power tool

we were allowed to use was a palm sander. They were changing the

curriculum

to remove most of shop, and renovating the school, so that was the

last time

I saw any woodworking tools in school. The following year, we had

mechanical

drawing. I did very well at that - far better than the rest of the

class

actually, but was never able to try my hands at making anything

from the

drawings.



My family lived in an apartment (several, over the years) until I

was in

college. Therefore we never had many tools around, nor any

woodworking

equipment. If you aren't exposed to it, you don't learn it. I did

build

model airplanes (but never really painted them, except a couple

times with a

brush) until I was in high school.



In 2001 I bought my first house. Having a place of my own with some

land and

some room to stretch out got me interested in woodworking, model
railroading, cnc machining and other things. I don't consider

myself to be a

good woodworker, but I have built a few things that surprised the

heck out

of my family :-) I am completely self and book-taught in all my

hobbies.

My father in law, who is a retired carpenter, puts me to shame

whenever he

comes over to help work on the things in the house. It takes

everything I

have to keep up with a guy who has done this his whole life.

Luckily, he

appreciates that I make the effort :-)



Some of my woodworking projects:

http://www.irritatedvowel.com/HomeImprovement/Mantel.aspx

http://www.irritatedvowel.com/HomeImprovement/EntertainmentCenter.aspx

http://www.irritatedvowel.com/Railroad/Layout/Benchwork/Yard.aspx

http://www.irritatedvowel.com/HomeImprovement/WindowBirdBox.aspx

http://www.irritatedvowel.com/HomeImprovement/FrankenSaw.aspx



Some of my railroad and machining projects

http://www.irritatedvowel.com/Railroad/Roster/DL/GP7/20/

http://www.irritatedvowel.com/Railroad/Workshop/CNCAndCasting.aspx



Others

http://www.irritatedvowel.com/HomeImprovement/StoneWall.aspx

http://www.irritatedvowel.com/HomeImprovement/StructuredWiring.aspx

http://www.irritatedvowel.com/HomeImprovement/ShowerHandles.aspx



For some reason, I thought this was the traintools list. I see now

this is

STMFC. I'm going to post this anyway since I took the time to write

it up,

but I'm sure it will be risking testing Mike's patience. For that

reason, I

request any replies go offline.



Pete



_____________________________________________________
Pete Brown - Gambrills, MD (Near Annapolis)
Visit my personal site : http://www.irritatedVowel.com
(wallpaper, western maryland ry, .net, photography, model rr)



_____

From: mcindoefalls [mailto:mcindoefalls@y...]
Sent: Saturday, April 09, 2005 5:21 PM
To: STMFC@...
Subject: [STMFC] Re: inept




I don't know where this thread started, but...

The lack of mechanical acumen among the general population today is
staggering. I once
worked in a photo studio, where we were building a set. I handed a
screwdriver to a 20-
year old (man) and told him to do whatever. You should have seen

the look of

incredulity! I
think he had never held a tool in his hand before.

A group of rowing friends and I teamed up and built a dock to row

from. One

guy means
well, but just doesn't get it (he took a cast-off stub of 2x4 once,

decided

that it must have
been the size I had been cutting on the chopsaw, and proudly

brought me

about 20 pieces
that were several inches too short). Another guy is just plain

dangerous

with power tools; I
try to keep him busy going for coffee. These two can't even

assemble a piece

of Ikea
furniture. Fortunately they both have more money than brains, so

they don't

need to.

So it's not surprising that people tighten truck screws too tightly

and

strip the holes. It's
not surprising that so many model railroaders think anything more

complex

than an
Athearn kit has "too many parts"

On the other hand, I worked in a hobby shop once. A woman wanted to

buy a

train kit for
her husband for Christmas. He was not a modeler. I told her he'd

get bored

with an
Athearn kit, and suggested the Gould crane. She bit. I made a $20

sale. He

built it. And he
kept coming back. So, there is hope.

But on the whole, people who have the hand-eye coordination and the

mental

wherewithal
to figure out how things work and go together are a minority in this
country. The sons of
the guys in my rowing group show ZERO interest in doing the guy-

type stuff

we do, like
building a dock. When I was a kid, I always hung with my father and

uncle

and cousins
while they built barns and silos and milking parlors. I'm not

confident in

the future!

Just out of curiosity, how many in this group work in a trade,

i.e., are in

construction, or
are machinists or mechanics, and how many are, um, paper-pushing
"professionals" (as I
am, although I have worked in construction)? Is there a correlation

between

the work we
do and the hobbies we pursue, or does our interest in making things

develop

earlier? I
guess that would also influence our career choices.

Sorry, I rambled a bit here!

Walt Lankenau