The Carpenter (1976)

foreign [Music] thank you wow Dawn and some beautiful one of the things I really look forward to in my work summer months are when we really move it's when I contract most of my work now I Make It or Break It for the whole year [Music] I feel pretty good about getting the summer job with Ted I'll get a lot of practice using the skills I learned in class during the school year Mike and I start early to take advantage of the long day it's hard work and it's long work we're outside I guess what got me into the field was the satisfaction of building something from ground up being your own contractor your own business for yourself you are responsible for everything that happens at each stage you've got to hire the subcontractors the other construction specialist you need for all the jobs you can't do yourself and you've got to work with them to make sure they follow your specifications when you're on your own you've got to know what you're doing in most areas of carpentry from putting up the structure to the finest finishing work [Music] I get real satisfaction when a project gets close to finished where there was once nothing just empty space there's now a room every stage requires skill and knowledge you have to know your materials and tools inside out because if you don't it's easy to make a mistake on your bidding I've been really lucky to be Ted's assistant he isn't just teaching me a lot about construction skills he's showing me the importance of planning being able to draw a good looking functional design is okay but you've also got to know how to price right yesterday yeah now I need the price on the outlets I have to get solid estimates for materials I buy and tools I rent and for any expert labor I'll have to contract and 1785. George what do you what are you going to try to do retire on me early for instance on this denim building I've got to get an accurate fix on the electrical needs and the electricians got to tell me how much money and time he thinks it will take to do the job 1785 is a 25 increase since last week you gotta watch these guys that's what I mean by pricing finally I take my estimate and plans to the customer by now we've talked several times and I think I know his needs but a customer isn't always sure exactly what he really wants built you've got to talk it out will it add value to the house well it given the kind of extra space he feels his family wants will the look of the den go with the look of the house I have to be satisfied that I can give him what he wants at the price he wants before I take the job um you've got to build a reputation for Quality that's the most important thing Ted's taught me I'm learning some of the basics of working with wood in vocational class at my high school I guess I'm lucky I'm getting a pretty thorough education in the fundamentals I don't know if I want to be a carpenter or cabinet maker or mailman I just like working with wood I have to know my math and geometry pretty well to get through Drafting and I have to know how to read a blueprint that's the trick of seeing how a room or building will look on paper it's more than just learning a trade mastering the tools are really knowing the materials it means being a pro I'm John right always use a rough grade on subfloor it hurts no sense in wasting a smoother board where no one's going to see it but there's something else that's more important than that Mike what else should you check up I guess you should take the building code you have to find out what thickness the board has to be the pro would do that Mike's right being a pro is the key phrase you hear around here you see in today's economy you've just got to offer more building methods everywhere getting more sophisticated and people are demanding higher quality but I think guys like Ernie pound here are more than willing to meet the challenge no no no no not too steep of an angle Ernie man doing a door jamb isn't easy you're getting the hang of it Ernie I just want you to be able to Chisel the letter perfect so you can whiz through any requirements into a good job all the school training is starting to pay off I feel I'm getting better at this maybe one day I'll be working with a crew right the one building this office tower my chances look good about getting into The Apprentice program at the local carpetition [Music] after four years as a union Apprentice I'll be a journeyman maybe doing different jobs at sites all over the area one month I might be working on an office building in the city and two months later I could be doing a job in the suburb miles away starting as an apprentice I'll be helping top carpenters in all kinds of jobs learning the little skills of the trade that really make you good maybe I'll be a roof on one job for a few months and in the union or the company I work for will have me doing something else like putting up subplot on a new building or drywall in a new office or doing finished carpentry in the showroom of a new store [Music] in the union program I'll get a lot of different kinds of experience and I'll get to work beside the pros and the other construction trades like operating engineers iron workers welders [Music] bricklayers and stonemasons they work in the structural phase and electricians [Music] and patents they work in the mechanical phase to make sure the building is going to function right and ladies and Painters they handle the finishing stage they're the ones who make the buildings look good these are just a few of the trades you see on a site of course there are some real drawbacks sometimes at coffee bake you see the guys taken can last for months if there's a building slot and work on some construction sites can be a little unsteady when the weather's bad especially in winter still you don't go through the hassles of running your own business like contract Carpenters you do a straight job and you get a straight check I like that another thing about being an apprentice is that the union will send me to a vocational school maybe one day a week or so sounds like a lot of time and work doesn't it but who knows I might just end up there's a foreman one of these days [Music] hi Ernie Miss Sims these are beautiful plans you've drawn up but I think we'll need to make more room for this terrible at the end of the second floor you're right Ernie I'll have the adjustments ready by tomorrow great [Music] [Applause] Just a Dream maybe but it's sure worth a try Ernie can have that construction work not me man I don't like working Outdoors the pay may be good but the chance of layoffs makes me nervous sides what I want well it's the craft of it all I like to see just how well I can handle a tool and shape that wood exactly I'm happiest when I'm working on something that's going to turn out beautiful [Music] [Applause] [Music] big saws and joiners to smooth out rough board tools you just can't take out to a site I want to work in a mill because you do custom jobs finish carpentry like this kitchen cabinet a builder ordered for a new house he's putting up or unusual orders like these wooden columns for the front of a courthouse middle workers make a lot of Windows and Doors special items where the work's just got to be exact of course Millworks work scums too slow down in general construction usually means a cutback at the Mills and you're always working in the same place [Music] the kind of work I want [Music] hmm yeah that's good Tony but the runners aren't quite parallel better hand playing it some more get a perfect starch on the Belt Sander in any area of carpentry you've got to have the desire to master your tools and your craft and you have to be exact I strive for that exactness and I make my students strive too because once you've been through tough training you can work on just about anything if not as a carpenter then as a Millman or a cabinet maker skills you're picking up Mike you'll be able to do just about any kind of job that uses wood yeah I like that idea sometimes I think about all the different places I might end up from building highways to working on ships maybe I'll just want to do small jobs in the country or be part of a big Crew putting up a shopping center foreign but for now I'm just happy to be doing what I'm doing working with Ted and using all the things I learned this year in vocational class it's going to be a good summer [Music] thank you