Chainsaw Carpenter
I've never been very handy, but that changed22 total reviews
Comment from joann r romei
This was a great story, I loved the way you described the scenes, he acted like a boss to you, I have 3 sons and my husband is very impatient with them whe he asked them to assist with projects, it causes tension and isn't a learning or bonding experience,
reply by the author on 17-Apr-2024
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This was a great story, I loved the way you described the scenes, he acted like a boss to you, I have 3 sons and my husband is very impatient with them whe he asked them to assist with projects, it causes tension and isn't a learning or bonding experience,
Comment Written 17-Apr-2024
reply by the author on 17-Apr-2024
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Hello Joann,
I have two sons, twin boys. They're grown up now. I wish I could remember how it was when they were growing up. I recall taking them out on the fishing boat, which neither one cared for. They both used to get seasick out on the ocean, but I needed the help so bad, I couldn't do without them. My older son later worked on a fishing boat for several years, and both of them worked for the Alaska State Troopers in the enforcement division of fish and game. I think when boys get older, they want to challenge the old man, which isn't all bad, but they don't always see the full picture. Sometimes it's not until they are grown and have families of their own that understanding finally sets in. Thanks for sharing.
Have a blessed evening gal.
Tom
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Yes that is true. post more stories ,
Comment from tfawcus
Necessity is a great motivator. That sounds as it would have been an enormous undertaking. I know how useful a good chainsaw is on a farm. I couldn't have done without one.
reply by the author on 16-Apr-2024
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Necessity is a great motivator. That sounds as it would have been an enormous undertaking. I know how useful a good chainsaw is on a farm. I couldn't have done without one.
Comment Written 16-Apr-2024
reply by the author on 16-Apr-2024
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Hi tfawcus,
yes, we really didn't have any other choice if we wanted to cut trees or lumber. The trees in Southeast were too big to make log cabins out of. Fortunately we had a sawmill, just no electricity for the first five years. Thanks for the fine review.
Have a blessed evening.
Tom
Comment from LateBloomer
Hi Tom, let's hear it for the Chain Saw! An all-in-one tool. Necessity, the mother of invention, or in your case, skill. It's hard to imagine living without electricity, but people can get used to anything. Perhaps, in some way, we were better without electricity, albeit life moved more slowly. Of special note:
--One Christmas I received an Erector Set.
(I have wondered if they still exist. Also, that bridge that collapsed in Delaware looked like it was an "Erector-Set" bridge.)
--It didn't take too long for him to realize that I was pretty useless on the job, and he stopped asking me to come to work for him.
(Just being a kid sounds like fun to me, or perhaps a job more appropriate for a 14-year-old.)
Question ... did you sell your car because you needed money to buy tools, or did you sell your car because you had no need for it?
Thank you for your author's notes. Well done. Margaret
reply by the author on 16-Apr-2024
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Hi Tom, let's hear it for the Chain Saw! An all-in-one tool. Necessity, the mother of invention, or in your case, skill. It's hard to imagine living without electricity, but people can get used to anything. Perhaps, in some way, we were better without electricity, albeit life moved more slowly. Of special note:
--One Christmas I received an Erector Set.
(I have wondered if they still exist. Also, that bridge that collapsed in Delaware looked like it was an "Erector-Set" bridge.)
--It didn't take too long for him to realize that I was pretty useless on the job, and he stopped asking me to come to work for him.
(Just being a kid sounds like fun to me, or perhaps a job more appropriate for a 14-year-old.)
Question ... did you sell your car because you needed money to buy tools, or did you sell your car because you had no need for it?
Thank you for your author's notes. Well done. Margaret
Comment Written 15-Apr-2024
reply by the author on 16-Apr-2024
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Hello Margaret,
thanks so much for the great review gal. I sold the car because it was being stored at the city warehouse in Hoonah, in the parking lot out front. I came in to town one day, and one of the windshield wipers was gone. I figured if it stayed there unattended for a long enough time, I wouldn't have anything left. We did need the money though. I took some of the money and left for a month trying to get my head together. I absolutely hated that farm. It was one of the hardest times of my life. We were going in to November and the weather was more cold and gloomy than normal and nothing was changing for the better at the farm at that time. When I was on the jet flying south, I was totally convinced that it was going to crash because I was leaving the farm, and I felt bad for all the other passengers, but I thought, I may go to hell, but hell can't be any worse than the farm. Trying times gal.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
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Wow. You had to walk a hardline, and it looks like you made your right choices for
YOU. Thumbs up. 👍. M
Comment from Brett Matthew West
Many times new toys kids get for Christmas do not take long before they get bored with them. A lot of times parents buy these types of toys for their kids in hopes they will take after whatever profession they possess and become discouraged when their kids show little or no aptitude for that skill.
"hated the farm". Believe I would have held a slightly different opinion of that way of life. Each their own though, I guess.
"chain saws" should be chainsaws. You have both varieties of the spelling in this piece.
Seems you had quite the experience and became at least adequate in some carpentry techniques.
In Notes "The were" should be They were.
reply by the author on 15-Apr-2024
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Many times new toys kids get for Christmas do not take long before they get bored with them. A lot of times parents buy these types of toys for their kids in hopes they will take after whatever profession they possess and become discouraged when their kids show little or no aptitude for that skill.
"hated the farm". Believe I would have held a slightly different opinion of that way of life. Each their own though, I guess.
"chain saws" should be chainsaws. You have both varieties of the spelling in this piece.
Seems you had quite the experience and became at least adequate in some carpentry techniques.
In Notes "The were" should be They were.
Comment Written 15-Apr-2024
reply by the author on 15-Apr-2024
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Hello Brett,
thanks for catching those errors, I've corrected them. Unfortunately I didn't have the space or time to go into the reasons that we hated the farm. It wasn't so much the hard physical labor that was the problem, although we worked harder than we should have because the people in charge were fearful of "feeding the flesh man." There was a lot of religious hoo-ha that went on, and the place was run by a group of elders who often had no idea what they were doing. We were working in a rain forest, so everything that one would normally expect to experience on a farm was made more difficult by the extra challenges of the rain, mud, wild animals eating the crops ( the bears loved carrots and dug up entire rows of them) and equipment that was old and worn out. To add to the pressure, all the heat for the cabins, tabernacle and laundry house came from wood. We went through massive amounts of it, and were never able to let it season, so most of the wood was wet or green. In some cases the logs had set in the mud flats and had absorbed salt water from the tides that floated them twice a day. It wasn't your normal farm experience. However, you may have found it pleasant.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
Comment from barbara.wilkey
Thank you for sharing this with us. One of my granddaughters, she three, wanted a toddler version of an erector set for Christmas. It's very toddler like. It has large, for toddler hands, plastic screws and a large screwdriver, and etc. She loves building with it. All toddler safe. She likes to build things.
reply by the author on 14-Apr-2024
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Thank you for sharing this with us. One of my granddaughters, she three, wanted a toddler version of an erector set for Christmas. It's very toddler like. It has large, for toddler hands, plastic screws and a large screwdriver, and etc. She loves building with it. All toddler safe. She likes to build things.
Comment Written 14-Apr-2024
reply by the author on 14-Apr-2024
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Hi Barbara,
I liked "building" things, but only things I wanted to put together. Usually it involved scraps of wood and copious amounts of Dad's nails and of course his hammer. Of course none of it had any value or purpose. I think with the Erector Set, I just didn't like to read directions. I wanted to have fun, and reading directions was like being in school- no fun at all. Thanks so much for the great review and comments gal.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
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Yesterday when I was Zooming with son and his family, I had to laugh. The little girls got another type of building set and the three-year-old Eleanor used one of the straight pieces as a sword and hit her sister. Hmm, I thought was only boys behavior, I guess not. LOL
Comment from zanya
What an interesting and entertaining read narrated with humor and candor - I know nothing about carpentry but reading this slice of life makes me wish I had learned something about it !! Thanks for sharing.
reply by the author on 14-Apr-2024
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What an interesting and entertaining read narrated with humor and candor - I know nothing about carpentry but reading this slice of life makes me wish I had learned something about it !! Thanks for sharing.
Comment Written 14-Apr-2024
reply by the author on 14-Apr-2024
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Hello Zanya,
many times after I became an adult I wished I had learned the trade from my dad. While I got some on the job training, as it were, on the farm, it would have been beneficial to have the skill that I could have drawn on, knowing that I had learned from the best. Thanks so much for the great review.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
Comment from royowen
How interesting our state only has an average rainfall of 20 inches a year, so by enlarge the wood here is always dry, the native trees are a mixture of gum trees, but a few other natives and European trees too. Like you, I never really wanted to to do trade, although I could do all forms of welding and metal witk, beautifully written Tom, well done, blessings Roy
reply by the author on 14-Apr-2024
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How interesting our state only has an average rainfall of 20 inches a year, so by enlarge the wood here is always dry, the native trees are a mixture of gum trees, but a few other natives and European trees too. Like you, I never really wanted to to do trade, although I could do all forms of welding and metal witk, beautifully written Tom, well done, blessings Roy
Comment Written 14-Apr-2024
reply by the author on 14-Apr-2024
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Hello Roy,
the trees in the Tongass National Forest, which covered all of Southeast Alaska, were primarily spruce and hemlock. They grew quite tall and provided a lot of lumber. Unfortunately, all the rain created an environment where they would rot too, so often large trees had a lot of rot inside and much of the wood would be turned to pulp. Thanks so much for the fine review.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
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I can imagine
Comment from Karen Cherry Threadgill
Thank goodness I was a skinny little girl. I didn't mind fishing, but I could not have shot an animal. I do not have the build to use a saw of any kind. I sold things mainly over the phone, In a mall, On the the road. My gift of gab and collections of jokes, stories and trivia held me in good stead. No construction work for me.
Good story. Karen
reply by the author on 14-Apr-2024
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Thank goodness I was a skinny little girl. I didn't mind fishing, but I could not have shot an animal. I do not have the build to use a saw of any kind. I sold things mainly over the phone, In a mall, On the the road. My gift of gab and collections of jokes, stories and trivia held me in good stead. No construction work for me.
Good story. Karen
Comment Written 14-Apr-2024
reply by the author on 14-Apr-2024
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Hello Karen,
none of the ladies on the farm ever used a chainsaw that I recall. Of course the ones we used to build with were much smaller than the ones with the three foot bar that would be used to fell a large tree. They were all dangerous though. One fellow on the farm was using a saw when it kicked back and struck him on the bridge of the nose. He had a fairly good sized schnoz, but apparently it was even larger before the accident. I guess something good can come from everything.
Blessings,
Tom
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You have a good sense of humor. Even your bulbs are entertaining. Karen :-)
Comment from Pam Lonsdale
I think a lot of dads are disappointed when they realize their son is not a carbon copy of them and their interests; I saw this with my father and brother; then again with my husband and son.
"A level was the closet thing" - make "closest"
I know what the rectangle thing with the bubbles in it is! I've used one from time to time to make sure my pictures are going to be LEVEL:-)
Next to last paragraph: you've written two by four out here, but wrote 2 x 4 earlier - just thinking of consistency, if it bothers you. Also, "the other end was was four inches" - lose one "was"
Was your father still alive when you began using carpentry tools? I just wonder what he thought.
I enjoy your stories about the farm, and this one had a poignant throwback to your childhood that blended well with the story you were telling us.
Thanks for sharing, Tom, and have a lovely Sunday.
xo
Pam
reply by the author on 14-Apr-2024
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I think a lot of dads are disappointed when they realize their son is not a carbon copy of them and their interests; I saw this with my father and brother; then again with my husband and son.
"A level was the closet thing" - make "closest"
I know what the rectangle thing with the bubbles in it is! I've used one from time to time to make sure my pictures are going to be LEVEL:-)
Next to last paragraph: you've written two by four out here, but wrote 2 x 4 earlier - just thinking of consistency, if it bothers you. Also, "the other end was was four inches" - lose one "was"
Was your father still alive when you began using carpentry tools? I just wonder what he thought.
I enjoy your stories about the farm, and this one had a poignant throwback to your childhood that blended well with the story you were telling us.
Thanks for sharing, Tom, and have a lovely Sunday.
xo
Pam
Comment Written 14-Apr-2024
reply by the author on 14-Apr-2024
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Hello Pam,
thanks for catching those errors, you've got a sharp eye gal. I have a battery powered level that is great to put on a wall to check that the pictures are even. It's a laser level and projects a red line that you can follow, and doesn't leave a mark. I don't hang many pictures anymore, we don't have enough wall space left, although my wife might disagree with me on that. Thanks so much for the great review gal. Have a blessed day.
Tom
Comment from Jim Wile
What an interesting story, Tom, filled with your usual good humor and keen analysis.
Isn't it interesting how people just assume you know things that you would have no way of knowing on your own, and they never taught you. Then they blame YOU for being stupid.
I loved the way people adapt to whatever conditions they find themselves in, as when using an oil pencil and chainsaws to mark and cut wet wood. Where there's a will, there's a way. And who knew going to church could be such a painful experience in the early years?
Loved everything about this story. - Jim
reply by the author on 14-Apr-2024
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What an interesting story, Tom, filled with your usual good humor and keen analysis.
Isn't it interesting how people just assume you know things that you would have no way of knowing on your own, and they never taught you. Then they blame YOU for being stupid.
I loved the way people adapt to whatever conditions they find themselves in, as when using an oil pencil and chainsaws to mark and cut wet wood. Where there's a will, there's a way. And who knew going to church could be such a painful experience in the early years?
Loved everything about this story. - Jim
Comment Written 14-Apr-2024
reply by the author on 14-Apr-2024
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Hello Jim,
I'm so glad you enjoyed this offering. Splinters weren't the only painful thing about attending those meetings. Often they lasted three hours, with multiple elders getting up to speak. After about the first hour and a half, most folks were done listening, and even sooner if the speaker was just flapping their gums. It seems we humans can adapt to most any situation, whether we want to or not.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
