mentors #1: first post ever

Always hated journals, i say the wrong thing, say a brutal thought aloud which should have been left unsaid, or put my foot in my mouth several times a day, to put thoughts in print-AGHHHHHHHHH. i’ll try anything once, always a glutton for punishment.

Past carpentry mentors; Manny, Junior, and Scott. too much to write, just due one at a time.

Manny was 1st. 2 1/2 years, all summers, after school winters. Basics really. No, much more. We met while working in a huge mill building, he was an old friend of the owner. He made a fortune in the vending machine industry, that was the rumor, when I met him he worked as a favor for Harry, the owner, I think just to keep busy. It was the type of place where many things went unsaid and unseen, you just had to know, those who didn’t had a short tenure. At the time i think he was late 60s or early 70s. I was 13 or 14.

Manny knew about everything in the entire bldg, from electrical, mechanical plumbing to structural, would have thought he built the place. Usual bldg. maintains was up to us. Framing retail or storage spaces, repair doors, stairs, sheetrock, drywall or panel offices, thing of that nature were typical. We also rerouted, installed or brought to date quite a bit of electrical and plumbing. I was always his helper, the kid, but he made sure i knew exactly the reason and technique for all actions.
He started most jobs to the 1/2 way point and made me finish, then the dreaded inspection, with Harry! A couple of faults were always found but never had to tear up and reinstall anything. He was a good teacher, forced me to learn, no easy task to teach an early teen. he never set me up to fail either, the way some think that half assed idea serves a learning experience. never. we both knew and understood the importance of trust. We did get along well.

It took me years to realize how much he taught me, long after he passed to really understand. Of course basics were covered, tool care, safety, and maintenance, material selection, job supply estimation, reusable or junk material, all those things. The things that are second nature to me now, he planted the seed. Where to stand while ripping, how to make a quick cross cut sled, or a push stick for an odd or small cut. Moving material and how to order cuts and assembly in a logical and efficient manner so not to re-handle or tie up machines, that concept was always taken very seriously. The first time he tripped over a mess I made was the last, Manny was so pissed he showed me a look I never saw before, stared right through me. To this day I’ve only seen that look of hate/anger and disappointment one other time. Very quick and short lived but intense in Manny’s case, and I was young. I know I learned something that day. The first person to put trust, faith and confidence in me, in a real world setting, looked at me and thought that may have been a bad idea. Needless to say I’m careful where I out things and try to cut with as few adjustments to machine, jig or outfeed area as needed. He taught me how to think and adapt and improvise in a safe and logical manner, or thats what I feel I learned or stole from him. technique was never really drilled or reviewed in a classroom like setting. I know how to sharpen a chisel and know when one is dull, I have no idea what angle it is when sharpest though, and I don’t care. Manny did teach me dull tools are the most dangerous though, no mater what angle it is dull at. Measuring whenever practical was done w/o tape, if one was used nothing between 0 and 16th was important, I feel if something requires that much precision and is made of wood, tapes and rules are worthless, a dry test is needed large then trimmed to size. If this upsets anyone sorry, its just how i learned and experience in my world justifies this belief for me, everyone has their own world so do whatever works for you. Those are just a few examples. (is there any tape that is marked in 32 or 64???)

Anyway, Manny’s eyes got bad, he was working less and less, I was doing more and more, plus I was working after school, 16 years old, I was in no way a maintenance man in charge of a mill. What were these people thinking???? When Lacrosse season finally rolled around I left the mill, letting it be known No weekends during the season, then we could talk about the following summer. long story short-Owners tried several crews, most were short lived, and a team of 4 did what a 70 year old Portuguese immigrant and a 14 year old boy did.

Manny had a stamp he often would use- GUS- Guaranteed User Satisfaction, or Guaranteed Until Sundown, or Give Up, Son, or God’s Ugly Secret. That stamp could mean many things, we found thousands. A little game we would play was to fit GUS to a given situation we were in. My favorite was when while speaking to Harry’s daughter he GUSed me; called me a gifted, unique student. I’ll never know if he meant me to hear that. I’ll also never know were stamp went, thought about making one but would just never be the same.

-- Ciao, gth.