Your skills

[Baldbloke]

Very interested how we all ended up involved with tree work or firewood. It was fairly obvious in another thread how there was a common theme how most wound up working with trees.

Before that, I believed I was an oddity, and believed my work history to be very different from the norm until I’d read all your posts.

 

So, let’s hear about your skills whether they are through certification, apprenticeship or competency on DIY.

 

I’ll kick off with a chance to brag.

 

Panel beater through apprenticeship and a decade or so of ongoing self employment.

In the past have painted a couple of show winning cars as well as for insurance work.

Competent mechanic. Offshore specialising in diesel. Fully service and repair my own six vehicles.

Change and balance my own tyres.

Once had a PPL but haven’t kept it up over the last 30 years as too costly. Occasionally get the chance of an hour or two under supervision and hope to do a cheaper licence such as for gliding or a gyrocopter.

No bricklayer, but good enough for stone walling.

Can plaster without needing to rub down the efforts prior to painting. Not quick but have done entire rooms.

Reasonable blacksmithing skills, and have previously made double gates without a welder being required.

Welding. Mig, tig, stick and Oxy/acetylene.

Basic skills with a lathe. Turning and screw cutting. Able to use an English Wheel, shaper and rolls.

Basic but safe tree cutting skills. Fairly competent at sharpening chains and other cutting tools including large drills.

Can ride a horse, fence, work a digger and dozer.

Competent with a shotgun and rifle.

BLS and a few other basic skills recently picked up through NHS employment.

 

Some of you will have more than what I’ve picked up over my 60 years so let’s hear them[emoji1303]

 

 

 

[Mark Wileman]

I can start a chainsaw and hit nails 70% of the time with a hammer. My skill set is unfortunately pretty redundant in the civilian world, anyone need to call in some proximity fuzed artillery to crown reduce a 200 x 200 area?

[trigger_andy]

If you need someone to run your Intelligent Completions off-shore Im yir man!  

 

Make a mean cup of Joe. 

 

Make a lot of Saw Dust. 

 

 

[Mark Wileman]

On a slightly more serious note:

 

Getting roped in to help my Dad do DIY kind of stuff from a young age led me to be pretty handy as a youngster.

 

3 year Carpentry Apprenticeship after leaving school, mainly first & second fix on new builds.

I enjoy making the odd furniture-type bits and pieces, but I don't have the time or equipment to make really high end stuff. But the missus usually ends up with some kind of useless handmade tat each Chrimbo

A lot of military/mountaineering work led to a strange fascination with maps and navigation, I love it and if I had my time again I'd probably try to be a Cartographer.

Recently taught myself to weld, only with an arc but nothings fallen apart yet!

I really really want to try my hand at black smithery, I've stuck an evening course/experience on Santa's wishlist.

Aside from occasionally falling into my 12 year old self and wasting hours painting little soldiers and scenery, that is pretty much it for my skill set!

 

Oh, I make a living cutting and climbing trees, so I should probably list that in my skills (cautiously though, in this environment )

 

Edited December 10, 2018 by Mark Wileman

[Stubby]

Fairly competent brain surgeon , part time astronaut   and  consultant nuclear physicist .  Can sharpen a chain .  

Edited December 10, 2018 by Stubby

[spudulike]

What's an "Atronought" Stubby....new one on me

[Luckyeleven]

I can add 'thats what she said' to any sentence and make myself chortle

[Stubby]

4 minutes ago, spudulike said:

What's an "Atronought" Stubby....new one on me

Its a well known typing error ?

[spudulike]

Damn, thought it may have been some sort of attrition normalizer, Brexit needs you! 

[MattyF]

I can start a chainsaw and hit nails 70% of the time with a hammer. My skill set is unfortunately pretty redundant in the civilian world, anyone need to call in some proximity fuzed artillery to crown reduce a 200 x 200 area? [emoji4]

I can start a chainsaw and have a special skill of finding and hitting nails with it... usually with a brand new chain.