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I am a mechanical engineer by profession, but lately I have taken a great interest in trim carpentry. I have gained much insight from FHB and JLC, but I haven’nt had much work experience except on my own home. I was thinking about doing volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity to learn more.
For an individual such as myself, what is the best way to to obtain more on the job experience?
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Trim must be learned thru practice. And trim in remodeling is a whole lot different than new construction. Habitat may be a good start...but I don't know how much trim they install...and doubt there's not much crown and other details. Nut...as far as the trim basics....doesn't matter if it's custom moulded stain grade trim....or bottom end sale price trim....getting it to fit like it grew there takes the same steps. Buy a few books, read and study the pics.....and start dressing up family and friends homes! Jeff
*Mr. P,I got my first few jobs by asking for them. The jobs I was hired on to knew I wasn't top notch. They just knew I was willing to work and learn.Good luck.Where you go from here is up to you.Ed.
*With apologies to the artisans here...The first 90 percent of good carpentry is patience and common sense. When you are new to it, you need to give yourself lots of time to think through every problem, make a few mistakes and correct them. The biggest difference with the pros is that they can use their experience to think quicker and work faster. I can plumb and wire a house to code, but it would probably take me 8 months to do what a pro (or a couple pros) could do in a week.I love working slow and learning, it beats my desk job, but I certainly would not bill a client for the time I take. That's what the pros are for!
*As a begginer, always trim your longest walls first....this way, if you screw up the piece, you can cut it down for the next longest wall.Pete
*If you have done trim work on your own home, you are light-years ahead of most Habitat volunteers. The trim is very simple but will give you a chance to practice the basics. You will also gain experience in one of the great functions of trim carpentry, covering up mistakes and making it look good. My technical advice is that you learn how to use a sharp block plane. Good luck.
*and even as a pro! ....and don't be shy about tearing it out and doing it again....this time right! And....make your standards the highest...that way....once you are happy....everyone else will be too! This pretains to my previous statement about installing paint grade to stain grade standards......that way, when you're up to stain grade work....you're level of skill and standards is already up there. ....trim is my favorite......take your time and have fun. Jeff
*I had the same attraction to trim work a few years back. I work for some high end home builders and I spoke to their head trim man. He is a 65 yr old man who has been doing it his whole life. I had the day off took a trip to the job he was on and helped him for a day for free. Best money I ever spent. Oh the tricks of that trade are something else. Art work I call it. If you take a good approach to a master of anything and show the interest you have in their skill with enthusiasm, I am sure you wont be turned down for a day of free help.
*The best lesson I ever got in this kind of work was from an old hilbilly I worked with a few years ago.Sometimes we have a tendency to overthink things, and get caught up in a loop of what-ifs.This fellow said that was going to be no help, and that you need to jump in with both feet and do something. Cut and nail, and if you screw up, well, the yards are full of this stuff.More or less, he was right, and it is kind of liberating. Just jump in and go. You will likely mess up now and then, and you just learn from it.Best wishes.
*Do a 'search' on this board for "trim" and you will turn up a lot of interesting details. You might also try terms like "crown", "moulding", etc.
*When I was 16 I learned trim from a 70 Y/O carpenter.. He was a master & very quick. This was the days when a door was hung from scratch. No pre-hung doors then. The only power too he had was a 1/4 inch power drill which he never used. He used his Yankee. His Yankee had the spring removed so it wouldn't spring out and stab a door. He would make a miter box for crown out of 1x6's. Could back plane casing so it came together with the adjacent casing perfectly in just a few seconds. And most of all he was a kind and good man. (all 120 pounds of him)
*Jump on in, the waters fine. A good trim carp can cover his mistakes before he gets caught and make (his mistake) it look like it was part of the design. It's a learning process that never ends...and the money's not bad either if you bypass all the middle men and deal directly with your client (home owner) Starting out though, I'd probably hire out to a trim crew as a helper and go from there. It's a good idea to begin learning properly, can you do that in a program like Habitat?
*P,My first bit of advice would be to NOT hire with a trim crew doing tract type houses. The only thing you'll learn is how to do things the wrong way. Quality lessons start with quality teachers.Second, get ready to make lotsa' mistakes, you'll do the preverbial "Cut it twice, and it's still too short" routine. As said above, take your time and think, speed will come with experience. You'll find that people are not generaly worried about high speed, if the job is done with high quality.Lastly, think of every job as if it was your own house. If you would'nt do a crappy job at your house, don't do it at someone elses.Good luck, welcome to the trades. Chris
*PIf you are serious about learning to install trim carprentry as a profession, then Habitat is not the best plase to start. Find builders building high end home in your area and try to find out whom they use to trim. Try then to contact with these people. Most people who opperate a trim carpentry company are very willing to hire a novice whom they can train. If yor intrest is simply to learn more about the mechanics of trim carpentry then you will have to judge for yourself. I have trimed some habitat homes and the trim was simple (of course, economics). The point is you won't learn much. If you are only curious that's great. practice on your own place and get exp. from habitat. ( they could use the help). If you want to turn pro, get on the bottom rung of the best ladder you can find. FTDS
*Finish carpentry is a lot like magic. I mean the live entertainment type of magic. Both involve a large bag of tricks to learn, tricks to hide and cover and make things look better than they are. The stage magician gets you looking at his right hand while he's really swapping something with his left. The trim carpenter gets the side of the joint facing the room tight by cutting on a slight angle, so the side against the wall is a tiny bit open. In either magic or finish carpentry, you'll have a lifetime of learning new tricks to add to your bag, and developing skill in performing the tricks you know. My grandfather was in the finish carpentry business in Chicago, circa 1920 - 1950.-- J.S.
*I would like to build an outdoor shower in the back of my house. I live by the beach and my house is build on sand. If anybody has plans for an outdoor shower please e-mail me thank you Robert serra p.s. I now that fine home building did an article about an outdoor shower but I can't find it on the search engine
*I have to agree if you want to learn how to do high end trim work Habitat isn't the place. If you want to learn how to do simple decent trim then it is. Simple Decent Housing thats what we do here in Ventura County.In Partnership,Martin
*I started out as a self employed honey do. Slowly emerged out of all that as a trim carpenter. As it turns out I love it. Slowly getting into furniture making now but still am amazed at what a good tim job can do for a project,...and what a bad job can do.I will never forget showing up to my first PAID trim job carrying my brand new plastic mitre box, a rusty old back saw, a hammer and 6 penny finish nails. I was an easy shoe molding job in a bathroom but I was serious. I emerged about 2 hours later. I think I made $40.00 bucks,..I was elated. Adice? enjoy it. There is really a science to getting a tight fit. Amaze your friends with your meticulous style. (Actually, my meticulouse style pisses my freinds off,.."its good enough" they say).Learn to cut crown upside down like you are supposed to. learn to cope your inside 45s. It really is better. Welcome
*I still say the basics are the same...and practice makes near perfect....so Habitat would be a step in the right direction. Jeff
*P, start with Habitat. Basic tasks, no pressure, great folks, good eats...
*Jim, He'd probably learn more working for Habitat than he would working with some of the hacks claiming to be trim carpenters. I don't know if there are many in Ohio, but I've seen a fair share in my neck of the woods.
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I am a mechanical engineer by profession, but lately I have taken a great interest in trim carpentry. I have gained much insight from FHB and JLC, but I haven'nt had much work experience except on my own home. I was thinking about doing volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity to learn more.
For an individual such as myself, what is the best way to to obtain more on the job experience?