my explanation of rafter squares...
Are you fixing to put a new roof on the Tardis?
I enjoyed your video, after watching it I looked up this one by a guy who makes nice videos about carpentry.
I like this old movie because of the details. I've watched it several times and I am slowly getting it.
A jack rafter meets the hip, it has a miter and bevel cut. The modern training films indicate the miter is based on roof pitch and the bevel is 45 degrees. But the old movie appears to lay out the bevel using the roof pitch. Maybe I'm misunderstanding it, need to watch it 5 or 6 more times.
Old, but watching Larry work is always a treat:
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that video is mesmerizing.
That would be like watching a pre-1980 Survey crew parachute into a construction site with their transit, tape and plumb bobs and proceed to out stake the modern crew with all the modern tools, all calcs in the head or on the plan.
I love work. I could watch it all day.
Those guys work hard and know all the things to watch out for.
I once helped a housemate build a room over his garage. I learned a lot, but don't consider myself qualified to be a real assistant. I would have to have detailed instructions for each step. "No. Allow a half inch there!" "You marked the angle the opposite way!" "Come on, can't you lift that?:
Fascinating video.?ÿ I now have to go back and watch the first 2.
Thanks
Ken
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sinking 16d nails accurately in one or two hammer blows is amazing. That guy is a bit cavalier with that old Skillsaw wormdrive. No or very little PPE.
That guy is a bit cavalier with that old Skillsaw wormdrive. No or very little PPE.
I knew a carpenter who could only count to 9 1/2 on his fingers.
a comment on one of the videos the guy said the arrival of small job site table saws in the 1980s was the beginning of 4 fingered carpenters.
At about 1:55 "the Surveyors are not available" so the builders lay out the building using a 2 tape method. Note a 10lb hammer is needed to drive the hubs.
Larry was 80 when he filmed this video:
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I would be hard pressed to keep up with him.?ÿ He was a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity for years, a teacher to many, and a pretty good author.?ÿ The first time I saw him use the claw of a hammer to grab a "tuba four," it was a lightbulb moment.?ÿ While he largely helped the "subdivision house" come about, he was far from a proponent of McMansions.?ÿ He and his 2nd wife had 5 kids that all shared a 950sqft house.?ÿ The story of tract housing in California and his role in it is actually pretty interesting:
https://www.keepcraftalive.org/one-carpenters-life/
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/garden/larry-haun-the-carpenters-carpenter.html
https://www.finehomebuilding.com/author/larry-haun
I'll steal one quote from those articles:
"My wages as a journeyman carpenter in the early ??50s were less than $2 an hour. Jim and I found a builder in the valley who was willing to let us do his framing for a flat, per-house fee. For $90, we would frame a 900-sq.-ft. house on a slab. It had two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a gable roof. A three-bedroom, 1100-sq.-ft. version went for $120, which included setting door jambs and window frames, putting siding on the front, and making it ready for stucco on the outside and plaster on the inside. My younger brother, Joe, joined us, and soon the three of us were framing one of these houses every day, nearly doubling our wages." (emphasis mine)
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He died from cancer caused (at least in part) very likely from his working conditions (ie. little PPE as earlier alluded to, no NIOSH implementation, etc.).?ÿ It, especially for our profession, is a reminder that being cautious and 15 minutes later to get the job done right and safely might not be such a bad thing in the long term.
My dad was a carpenter ('joiner' in Scotland) most of his working life, one piece of advice he regularly repeated, 'measure twice, cut once'. When he started out there were no power tools, in fact there was no mains electricity. For a new house everything was made in the workshop or on site, sliding sash windows (for the well off), kitchen cupboards and all timber sections were dressed and planed to shape from rough timber. When he began fitting toilets in the 1950's a common reaction from older people was along the lines of 's-----g in the house, what's the world coming to'!
I was a framing carpenter before and while going to school for a degree in geomatics. Built my house and shop and only build stuff for myself these days or help out a friend. Still have an use my first worm drive Skilsaw purchased over 25 years ago, I think I'm on my 3rd or fourth power cord. Works as well as the day I bought it (used).?ÿ
