The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-12-14

ding frozen, rough boards,
and you heard that he was getting
only about So a day and was a car
penter's helper, there was every evil
dence to you that there was little
more to carpentry than driving nails
and putting boards together, eh, what?
For you know that the plans Of the
building we're prepared by an archi-
tect, and therefore, supposed that all
the carpenter had to do was to follow
them, which anybody could. do that
knew enough to handle a hammer and
a saw" AS for brain work being re-
CURED in carpentry, you never mag
ined such a thing. 1t would be one
of the last occupations, possibly, that
you would choose for your boy.
But it is never safe to generalize, In
this. instance particularly; for that
same carpenters helper, If he pos
sessed average intelligence and ambi-
ton would in all likelihood be fore
man of carpenters within a very few
years, and would have a big career in
front of him. 1t all would depend
upon his application. Given grit and
ambition, a boy can work up through
the carpenters trade to comparative
eminence, as we'll as through most
better known lines Of work. 1t re-
qufres hard work; but what occupa-
ton does not require hard work to
reach success? .
\ After you have thought owe 1t for
q while and learned a few things
about 1t, you might do worse than
start your boy in this trade. How to
go about it and the requirements?
Well, there are few preliminary re-
quiremepts to speak Of further than
that the applicant should be a reason
ably healthy boy of about 16 or more,
and have had some rudimentary
schooling. Co to a boss carpenter at
work somewhere and ask him for a
Job. If you are successful, as you
will be after seeing a few bosses, your
boy will be put to work as helper al
somewhere round SIS a week. This
work will not be carpentering. g The
boy knows nothing about it yet, you
know, except that he car probably tell
a hammer from a square, n be has
to learn before he can become one.
And so, for the first year, he will be
nothing more than the crudest kind of
assistant to one Of the carpenters
carrying boards and running errands,
and after a while, probably saving of
the ends of rough lumber and mailing
on ioists and scantling. The work will
be generally the same if the boy goes
into a factory and does what is gen.
orally known as inside work, and in
the latter he will be advanced at the
end of the first year to prabably 81
a week, and be set at bench work,
mailing holdings, putting window
frames together, etc.
At the end Of the second year there
will, be another promotion to probably
s1.5O a day (pretty good pay for a
boy of IS who is. learning a trade).
when he will be a sort Of first assist
ant to one of the master carpenters
and be doing pretty advanced things,
practically the same work, except the
most particular, that a master does.
though, of course, under the latter's
direct supervision. His pay will go
up a little, probably to SITS a day.
Having served these three years he
will be obliged to go into the carpen
ters' union. The union will be hold
ing out persuasions before this; but,
generally speaking, in most cities 1t
is not necessary 10 join the union till
after three years preparatory work.
Your boys standing in the union will
be that Of apprentice, which will con-
tinue for two years. His pay will be
So a day. and his work, If inside, viii,
be making doors, sash and blinds,
mantels, wainscoting, etc., and, out.
sile. the general work of carpentry OIL
buildings.
After these five years Of prepare
ton, your boy will have finished his
course of training and be known as a
fu~ll-fedged master carpenter, able to
do any Of the work that any carpen-
ter of that stage is capable Of, and
his pay will be around 81 a day OF
eight hours for inside work, and 81
more when employed on the outside.
And all this by the time he comes of
age at 81. There are few occupations
that offer returns as large as this to
young men.
Advancement from here on to high
er positions depends, as a rule, on
much more than has been learned in
the routine work your boy has fol-
lowed during his apprenticeship. He
will have realized long before the end
of his first five years that he must de-
vote his time to outside study and
practice II he expected to get into
higher positions, and will have been
burning midnight oil for a long while.
There Is a wide difference between
a mere carpenter and a carpenters
foreman-so great a difference that
ore cannot become a foreman, except
in most exceptional cases, without
having, acquired a fair working knowl-
edge of mechanical drawing; and to
be a regular building foreman, in
charge Of the workmcn on large build