# Whats your day job?



## joiner_sim (11 Sep 2008)

:?: I was wondering with so many wood workers on this website, what does everyone do for there money to fund such an expensive hobby? :?: 

Surely everyone can't do woodwork for the day job as well, some might end up going mad, erm.... like me :roll: 

:arrow: My day job is working as a bench joiner, making architectural bespoke windows & doors, and everything else that builders may want to fit.

What do you do for the day job?


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## Mr Ed (11 Sep 2008)

Contracts Manager for a construction company

Cheers, Ed


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## shim20 (11 Sep 2008)

traditional/modern cabinet maker mostly bespoke stuff and handtools used alot, just me and the boss and his dog. been there for 4 years from 17, and love it most the time.


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## Shultzy (11 Sep 2008)

Retired


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## joiner_sim (11 Sep 2008)

Shultzy":3kqwp5ug said:


> Retired



Alright for some!


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## DaveL (11 Sep 2008)

Shultzy":2edzlgj9 said:


> Retired


Jealous :wink: :roll: 

Head up a third line support team in IT, we support a large national network.

But if asked at a party I will say a traffic warden and duck as it stops all the questions about their home PC. ](*,)


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## Shultzy (11 Sep 2008)

Yes, I know - life's a puppy :wink:


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## dickm (11 Sep 2008)

Retired too. Well, age catches up with all of us some time


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## wizer (11 Sep 2008)

IT Consultant for large media company. Tho poor health makes work intermittent.


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## chippy1970 (11 Sep 2008)

Carpenter/joinery is my job self employed

Golf is my hobby wish it was the other way around but it isnt


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## Ironballs (11 Sep 2008)

Kylie Minogue's personal masseuse

Oh you mean real job :roll: 

Project and programme management on IT projects


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## Good Surname or what ? (11 Sep 2008)

Sales manager for Oil & Gas exploration software. I run our business in Africa. Currently typing from my hotel room in Lagos Nigeria... and if any of you complain about the rain or roads in England .....

...and by the way - it's a night job and a weekend job too. Yesterday I learned one of my guys has typhoid as well as the usual malaria. :roll:


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## Digit (11 Sep 2008)

> Kylie Minogue's personal masseuse



Well I guess somebody has to do it! :lol: 

Retired!

Roy.


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## Rich (11 Sep 2008)

Plumber, hvac, mechanical maintenance engineer. 

And I love my job, right on my doorstep, (10 mins walk).

Rich.


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## Digit (11 Sep 2008)

Mine's at the end of the garden!

Roy.


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## Neil Dyball (11 Sep 2008)

Systems Project Manager - or "glorified computer programmer"

Currently on enforced 6-8 week sabbatical due to unexpected heart attack! Gives me a bit more time for woodturning though, clouds & silver linings etc.

Neil.


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## RogerS (11 Sep 2008)

Contract killer - no-one ever believes me...super 'cover' :wink:


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## Vormulac (11 Sep 2008)

Civil Servant in a little known part of the Department of Health, although I prefer the term 'International Man of Mystery', myself.


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## Digit (11 Sep 2008)

> Contract killer



Do you have a price list?

Roy.


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## tnimble (11 Sep 2008)

System, hardware, application, software engineer / architect / manager. Varies from hour to hour.

Comes down that I design and create electronic equipment and computer programs and try to have it finished on time by delegating part of the work (mostly the software part).


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## Smudger (11 Sep 2008)

RETIRED!!!!!


Just recently - can you tell?


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## pren (11 Sep 2008)

Warehouse monkey for a local £ shop! 

Totally fulfulling.

Just what I spent 3 years at University for! :roll: :lol: 



Is it me, or does there seem to be a disproportionate amount of IT types on here? :-s


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## Peter T (11 Sep 2008)

Technical director for an American laser machine tool company. That's why I get go there a lot!!


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## Shultzy (11 Sep 2008)

Before I retired I was in IT, amazing how many IT people's hobby is woodwork.


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## Digit (11 Sep 2008)

I was thinking the same shultzy, is it something to do with the job or what?

Roy.


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## DaveL (11 Sep 2008)

pren":3dk998js said:


> Is it me, or does there seem to be a disproportionate amount of IT types on here? :-s


Well after spending the whole day arguing how something you can't see working should work, when it don't, it's good to get into the shop and work on something you can touch. :lol:


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## joiner_sim (11 Sep 2008)

At school I took woodwork for GCSE, and less than a month into the course, I was given the chance to change courses and go into GNVQ ICT course. So I did. Left school I started apprentiship in carpentry and joinery!?! explain that? Maybe being stuck at a computer desk isn't physically challenging enough and causes the mind to want to do practical work?


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## oddsocks (11 Sep 2008)

DaveL":2w47zj9s said:


> Shultzy":2w47zj9s said:
> 
> 
> > Retired
> ...




I manage a technical network and applications design, implementation and support team in NA, EMEA and ASIA responsible for the network infrastructure that allows the company to deliver managed services (keeping other peoples voice and data services working).... my wife is fond of saying 'but you're in communications' (typically when the TV signal is bad, then something about getting a man on the moon etc)
Similar to the other DaveL - I say 'People Manager' so as not to fix other peoples computer and internet issues (doesn't work though!).


I saw in this thread the comment re IT in woodworking......I started 25 years ago when on a deep tech course and had spent the winter term calculating the voltage needed to bend a beam to hit the edge of the TV screen (no LCD then!) -others on the course signed out machine code programmers to use over christmas.......I bought some cheap tools, laminate board and made something I could see - a slide for my children. Next end of term I built it again with proper wood having discovered chipboard and rain don't mix.

I guess it's that the stress of modern IT & networks (when it breaks you know in minutes and the $ per minute of downtime is acute) that needs a hands on visible results hobby


Dave Long


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## Digit (11 Sep 2008)

At the end of the day a man who can build his house will have somewhere to live, the one who designs it may well have to hire someone to build it.
We need Indians as well as Chiefs and something you craft has something special about it.
You can't really leave your son a computer programme but you can leave him a lifetime of pleasure.

Roy.


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## oddsocks (11 Sep 2008)

DaveL":2juvvogp said:


> pren":2juvvogp said:
> 
> 
> > Is it me, or does there seem to be a disproportionate amount of IT types on here? :-s
> ...



Exactly!

And if I knew why the issue that happens randomly (1 minute to 3 hours) for less than a second in my network for the last week was occuring I would be much happier! Not really disruptive but highly visible and no indication in any log file or trace :-( . Where is that hammer?


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## Rich (11 Sep 2008)

I'm not a techie byany standards, but i thoroughly enjoy the benefits they bring, this forum is a prime example, having said that, I still stick by my old saying that computers don't jump off desks and make and mend things, it still takes manual skills to do that.  

Regards,

Rich.


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## mailee (11 Sep 2008)

Waisting my lfe away repairing and spraying cars, Looking forward to retirement in China. Oh and drinking lots of beer.


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## Digit (11 Sep 2008)

Why China?

Roy.


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## mailee (12 Sep 2008)

SWMBO is Chinese Roy, Back home to the family and the sun.


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## Jay James (12 Sep 2008)

Safety Equipment Engineer for the MoD. (work in a bomb disposal regiment). 8)


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## Raggy (12 Sep 2008)

CNC programmer / machine setter making bits for aeroplanes


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## Waka (12 Sep 2008)

Retired


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## PowerTool (12 Sep 2008)

Tankplanner for worlds largest intermodal operator,importing and exporting bulk chemicals;also Dangerous Goods Safety Advisor and Product Steward (means I have to both find the tanks,and make sure I don't wreck them :lol: )

Andrew


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## AndrewC (12 Sep 2008)

Applied physicist working in semiconductor manufacturing - yes, I'm one of those guys who goes to work, dresses up in a white bunny suit then gets to play with cool machines with lots of flashing lights  Except that most of the time is spent working out the equivalent of why when I pushed the button the lights didn't come on


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## Philly (12 Sep 2008)

Hurray! Get to say this - Plane Maker  
Been a long and windy road to reach this point but now doing this full-time.
Cheers
Philly


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## Paul Chapman (12 Sep 2008)

Retired  

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## MikeG. (12 Sep 2008)

Retired professional cricketer, now an architect and occasional developer.

One of the reasons I never do any drawings for the furniture I make is that I spend too long sitting drawing doing the day-job.

Mike


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## p111dom (12 Sep 2008)

Air Traffic Controller


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## maltrout512 (12 Sep 2008)

Building and carpentry for eight years now. Trying to get more work in the workshop. This weather is a problem working outside getting wet. Started making furniture, kitchens etc.


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## GrahamH (12 Sep 2008)

ex-cabinet maker with three years training at what was the London college of furniture.

Now dodging redundancy in IT whilst trying to do system integration design for a rather well known and soon not to be yellow insurance company.


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## frugal (12 Sep 2008)

Shultzy":3ngbxg53 said:


> Before I retired I was in IT, amazing how many IT people's hobby is woodwork.



Or is it just that IT types are more inclined to turn to an internet forum for their hobby than join a local group or evening class?

My day job is a technical design authority for one of the big 4 mobile phone companies.


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## dicktimber (12 Sep 2008)

Retired,

Don't know what I enjoy best...Woodworking...or reading this forum!!!!!

Mike


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## Argee (12 Sep 2008)

Housework quality-control, car and van driver/cleaner, lawn maintenance operative, cleaning manager of the external awareness modules (windows), weekly quad-wheeled container operative (shopping trolley), household Internet search-engine guru, domestic shelf-filler/stockist, occasional woodworking.

In other words, *retired*! 

Ray.


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## StevieB (12 Sep 2008)

Senior lecturer in cerebrovascular genetics - looking for the genes that contribute to strokes and heart attacks basically, although any disease will do!

Steve.


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## xraymtb (12 Sep 2008)

Please don't hurt me.....

Customer Service Manager for an energy company (I won't say which one...)

:twisted:


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## Jhalfa (12 Sep 2008)

Head of Finance for a division of a large American financial services company


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## Ironballs (12 Sep 2008)

The reason I took this up is that driving a desk all day or managing people can be hard work and challenging (and rewarding), but you almost never have anything tangible to show for your efforts.

Two years ago I found an evening class to go on and by the end of this year I should have my own handbuilt electric geetar. Also went on a week long bicycle frame building course this year never having wielded an oxy acetylene torch in my life. Now ride round on my own handbuilt by me mountain bike. That was very rewarding


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## Vormulac (12 Sep 2008)

AndrewC":1p6uimkh said:


> Except that most of the time is spent working out the equivalent of why when I pushed the button the lights didn't come on



In a previous life I was an electronic design engineer - that sounds incredibly familiar! :lol:


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## wizer (12 Sep 2008)

Ironballs":2zuj7sdj said:


> Two years ago I found an evening class to go on and by the end of this year I should have my own handbuilt electric geetar. Also went on a week long bicycle frame building course this year never having wielded an oxy acetylene torch in my life. Now ride round on my own handbuilt by me mountain bike. That was very rewarding



you've got some interesting courses up there!


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## Vormulac (12 Sep 2008)

Mike Garnham":b0vq1tej said:


> Retired professional cricketer, now an architect and occasional developer.
> 
> One of the reasons I never do any drawings for the furniture I make is that I spend too long sitting drawing doing the day-job.
> 
> Mike



God God! You're the Mike Garnham that played for Essex and Gloucestershire? :shock: I thought I recognised the name!


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## TrimTheKing (12 Sep 2008)

UK IT Infrastructure manager for one of the big 3 Accountants. Same as a few people have mentioned so far, I was sick of working my a$$ off all day, keeping someone else's network and systems up and running, feeling knackered at the end of the day with absolutely nothing visible or tangible to show for the effort.

Woodwork is the exact opposite of that (well, sometimes it's exactly the same, but I try and blank those days out  :lol: ).

Mark


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## seanybaby (12 Sep 2008)

I'm an underwater ceramics engineer


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## newt (12 Sep 2008)

Retired, previously flight testing military aircraft.


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## MikeG. (12 Sep 2008)

Vormulac,

I only played 3 games for Gloucestershire when I was a kid......but you missed Leicestershire from your list.

Mike


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## Racers (12 Sep 2008)

Hi,

Former parrot trainer, parrot trainer, parrot trainer, parrot trainer, parrot trainer, parrot trainer now IT techie.


Pete


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## filsgreen (12 Sep 2008)

Mental health nurse


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## MikeH (12 Sep 2008)

Add another tick to the the IT box. Live in Devon but currently work in Reading for a large IT company which has recently been in the news for the wrong reasons. 

Mike H


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## milkman (12 Sep 2008)

I was a graphic designer, now I'm partly a joiner/carpenter/oakframer and slightly a graphic designer. What I can say wit certainty is I'm totally poor but very happy : )


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## mailee (12 Sep 2008)

seanybaby":ky9sl0zf said:


> I'm an underwater ceramics engineer



What is one of those?? :? 



> Mental health nurse



Looks like you have your work cut out on here.


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## George_N (12 Sep 2008)

I'm a biologist working in a veterinary research institute, trying to find cures for farm animal diseases. Although not in IT, I do seem to spend a fair part of my day looking at a computer screen (including the odd peek at this forum  ).


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## woodshavings (12 Sep 2008)

Retired from running process instrumentation company, now Citizens Advice Bureau Adviser - harder work and no pay!!!!


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## ndbrown (12 Sep 2008)

Engineer working in aerospace. Looking forward to seeing the Vulcan tomorrow at Leuchars though. Woodworking keeps me sane!


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## xraymtb (12 Sep 2008)

ndbrown":1qh0qay9 said:


> Engineer working on the design/manufacture of the Radar for the Eurofighter Typhoon and similar military projects. Looking forward to seeing the Vulcan tomorrow at Leuchars though. Woodworking keeps me sane!



Do you work for BAE then? My brother works for them and worked on EMC/Lighting Strike on the Eurofighter until a few months ago.


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## Digit (12 Sep 2008)

I'd like to see the Vulcan again, I worked on some of the radar transparent panels when they were in production.
Saw a Vulcan looped once at Farnborough, a sight never to be forgotten!

Roy.


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## The_Stig (12 Sep 2008)

The Vulcan is based about a mile from my house so it flies overhead when its doing testing and things... a few of the guys that I work with have been involved with it in one way or another... unfortunately I've been at work everytime that its been out on tests which is a shame!!

PS. Job wise, I'm the eSales manager for Whitmore's Timber Co. Ltd



















*** Edit ***
These were taken on our patio by my father who managed to assemble my camera... it was on its maiden flight.


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## beejay (12 Sep 2008)

These were taken by my father who managed to assemble my camera during its maiden test flight from our patio.[/quote]

Thats one hell of patio you must have stig :lol:
regards, beejay,, (Headhunter)


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## The_Stig (12 Sep 2008)

You have no idea, I don't think I've got a photo of it on here but our garden is about 3 acres so plenty of room to roam wild and free.

Anyway, back to fixing the server.

I called BT today about the broadband and they told me that everyone one of their business customers had lost connection, lol. I bet there were quite a few technicians pulling their hair out!!


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## WellsWood (12 Sep 2008)

The_Stig":33ny6aeb said:


> ..... during its maiden test flight from our patio.



Strewth, that must be a heck of a patio :lol:

Damn - too slow!


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## The_Stig (12 Sep 2008)

Oh, ha ha... I've just noticed what I've put... here comes a quick edit :lol:


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## Inspector (12 Sep 2008)

Quality Control Inspector for an aerospace machining outfit specializing in large aluminium and "hard metal" ( steel and titanium) structural parts. Next time you go on vacation I may have had a hand in making pieces for it. That should make you think twice about flying!!! :shock: 

Started out as an aircraft mechanic and remember as a kid watching the Vulcan bomber performing at the Abbotsford Airshow every summer until they were retired. The newer stuff doesn't hold much interest for me any more.


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## Digit (12 Sep 2008)

> The newer stuff doesn't hold much interest for me any more.


Me neither. I worked on a number of first generation jets, things were exciting then, now it's all down to computers it seems.
I know, I'm old!

Roy.


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## The_Stig (12 Sep 2008)

I agree with you Roy, as someone that into the old GA I must admit that I never want to convert from my little Piper Cherokee as its simple and you have to do everything yourself, the sat nav never gets turned on as its takes up too much time!

If I could I'd get converted to a Piper Cub although if my grandad had the chance it'd be a Tiger Moth just like him, lol.

I have a friend who works for Rolls Royce testing the engines and he tells me things that make me wonder about commercial jets.

On a side note, my parents booked two 1st class tickets (my inheritance) with XL two weeks ago... it doesn't look like they'll be going anywhere on Sunday!!


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## Hitch (12 Sep 2008)

Metal fabrication/sheetmetal/welding...

Just about anything made from metal... steam engine stuff, structural steelwork, staircases, ducting, sculptures, gates. And a fair bit of site instalation aswell.

Nice varied work, a bit heavy and dirty at times though.


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## p111dom (12 Sep 2008)

Digit":1kyu5qat said:


> I'd like to see the Vulcan again, I worked on some of the radar transparent panels when they were in production.
> Saw a Vulcan looped once at Farnborough, a sight never to be forgotten!
> 
> Roy.



Just spoke to it today enroute to RAF Leuchars for the air display tomorrow. Got him to do a low approach and go around at work on the way past. Hope the people of Edinburgh and Fife appreciated it.


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## woodyone (12 Sep 2008)

I haven't got a job, i'm a student  sitting my GCSE's this year  . But i do have a job down my local wood yard when i'm not at school, which funds my liking of tools and also supplies me with the wood i need for almost nothing.  

Parents help too :lol: 

Woody.


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## CHJ (12 Sep 2008)

In my 15th. year of retirement, only ever Bf'd a Vulcan, worked extensively on a trials Valiant though.


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## The_Stig (12 Sep 2008)

Not many things beat waking up at the weekemd to the sound of its engines doing test runs


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## MikeG. (12 Sep 2008)

I don't know........waking up in a tent with an elephant 3 feet away beats that for me!!


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## The_Stig (12 Sep 2008)

Thats a good call, unless you find out that your in their favourite toilet spot...

...I keep having to glance away as I'm babysitting my 9 month old newphew and he's wriggling all over the place.


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## p111dom (12 Sep 2008)

It was surprisingly quiet actually. Haven't see it since probably 1991 ish and told all the people who had never seen it before about the noise and nothing. Made me look a bit of an buttocks really. I wonder if they have done something to the engines. Just as smokey as before though and still an impressive looking aircraft.


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## The_Stig (12 Sep 2008)

They certainly make enough noise around here, as far as I know they've kept the engines the same. I think they still run them at 80% capacity the only time that I think they ran them higher than that was during the Fawklands when they need the extra power due to the added weight of bombs, fuel and an extra person.


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## bigjoe (12 Sep 2008)

Besides being a lurker on here,im at the moment a full time carer for my wife who has a long term illness (not life threatening but constantly debilitating)and 2 daughters(and 2 lurchers) although i am a glass technician by trade ,i started off as a glazier and ended up working making specialist glass fabrications and also stained glass windows etc, i still get a chance to butcher wood now and again when time and money allows.

Joe


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## Anonymous (12 Sep 2008)

Started out as electronics technician, got a degree in Mechatronics (essentially robotics) and became a systems design engineer and programmer.

For past 10 years I have been a lecturer in a Robbins university and recently took over as Programme Director, so my current job is to teach on and run a degree programme (and do some research when I get the chace!!).


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## The_Stig (12 Sep 2008)

Mechatronics sounds cool!!


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## OPJ (12 Sep 2008)

Erm... I'm a full-time Cabinet Making student - but, it's only two days a week... Although I contribute to British Woodworking, I'm still officially unemployed - and it's not something I'm proud of!  :?


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## DangerousDave (12 Sep 2008)

In previous lives I was a Lab Technician for an FE college and a fitter in an aircraft factory.


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## Mark Hancock (12 Sep 2008)

Full time Woodturner - a few of us do exist :?:


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## Doug B (12 Sep 2008)

I`m a drain technician, :roll: i won`t go into details, suffice to say once i`ve handled a tool, most folks wont touch it.
Not such a bad thing, once had my van broken into & they didn`t take a thing. :shock: 
Best thing about the job, is getting home, going in the workshop & smelling freshly cut wood.


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## tigerturnings (12 Sep 2008)

I've just completed a degree in physics, then worked over the summer in utility metering, and I'm about to commence a PhD in computational engineering. Seems I spend increasing amounts of time on non-tangible computer based activities, so woodwork (and, increasingly now, metalwork) is a welcome change from that.


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## beech1948 (12 Sep 2008)

Hi,
MD of an IT Consulting company so lots of sales calls, lots of stupid customers, lots of fun but I'm now 60 and wondering how much longer I can tolerate this. The woodwork is how I create some break with the real world and a bit of sanity.

regards
Alan


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## jhwbigley (12 Sep 2008)

i'm a landscape gardener, so i do get to work with wood, in the rough and smooth... hoping to do a furniture design and making degree next year !


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## Anonymous (12 Sep 2008)

The_Stig":10rt92kg said:


> Mechatronics sounds cool!!



Certainly is


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## joiner_sim (12 Sep 2008)

:arrow: It's been great reading what everyone does for a living!

The RAF planes are brilliant. I go to the RAF Cosford airshow every year (well the last 3 years running).The noise from some of the planes is tremendous, and love to watch the display from the red arrows! :lol: 

I can't believe there's some-one on here taking an interest in woodwork, who's still doing there GCSE's thats just great! If you need an help or advice we're all here!

All the stories of everyone's walks of life are great to read. Woodworking is definatey a hobby at home! yes, I do it for a living, but noting beats making stuff off your own back, your own designs, and own cutting lists! I think that is why we're all so obsesed and its great! I wouldn't change anything! 8) 

Please keep posting..... :wink:


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## apache (12 Sep 2008)

My first post......

I'm a vet working mainly with cows


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## joiner_sim (12 Sep 2008)

apache":2tl0wl8u said:


> My first post......
> 
> I'm a vet working mainly with cows



welcome to the forum  there's a good bunch of guys here, we all share different opinions, but, varied advice helps when unsure what to do next on a project! Enjoy.....


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## neilyweely (13 Sep 2008)

I was a High Court Officer for 8 years. Basically a bailiff dealing with large company debts. It was soul destroying, and after a while I got so sick of it I left on a whim and went back to college to learn the noble art of woodcraft. Went from earning, well, a lot, to earning nothing for three years. Found out who my friends were, and regained my sanity to boot (thats debateable!!). Then worked on old houses for 5 years, for nowt, to 'learn'. Hhhhhmmmm?
Now I am struggling to make ends meet as I am living in a money pit!! And trying to make something I love doing pay well. 

As my ma said to me 'If you don't enjoy your work, it ain't workin!'

Been great reading 'bout all you techies!!! Boy, am I glad I went blue collar!!

cheers all.

Neil


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## wizer (13 Sep 2008)

It's great hearing the stories of those who have had the courage to go after their dream whatever the cost. I certainly don't have the bottle to do that. It's also funny that not one of the IT guys said they liked/loved/always wanted to do/can't wait to get back to the office/etc etc :roll:  :lol:

I see a lot of IT guys coming into the industry now who are disillusioned from day 1. Very few are excited to be doing what they do. Even the programmers and web devs seem to be de-motivated.


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## seanybaby (13 Sep 2008)

mailee":31deefgx said:


> seanybaby":31deefgx said:
> 
> 
> > I'm an underwater ceramics engineer
> ...




Potwasher :lol: :lol:


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## DaveL (13 Sep 2008)

James B":3k0iwifs said:


> I`m a drain technician, :roll: i won`t go into details, suffice to say once i`ve handled a tool, most folks wont touch it.
> Not such a bad thing, once had my van broken into & they didn`t take a thing. :shock:



That reminds me of when I went round Aldermaston. Standing inside a test reactor the chap pointed out that their shadow board of tools was complete. Nobody ever took a tool from there.


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## CHJ (13 Sep 2008)

neilyweely":mytt3qv6 said:


> I was a High Court Officer for 8 years. Basically a bailiff dealing with large company debts. It was soul destroying, .....



Having had the 'pleasure' of spending 4 months as a juror (foreman) on a company fraud case at Bedford Crown Court I can sympathize, for me it was a like doing an intensive short course in higher education; learning about a whole new facet of life (and low life) that I was glad I did. The thought of having to repeatedly turn round and go through the same set of hoops to satisfy the system however would not appeal at all.


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## Smudger (13 Sep 2008)

apache":jr2z803k said:


> My first post......
> 
> I'm a vet working mainly with cows



Welcome to the forum.
Woke up yesterday to find these staring over the fence...







Cute, but ultimately edible.


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## Vormulac (13 Sep 2008)

Smudger":1hafgvfz said:


> Cute, but ultimately edible.



:lol:


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## lemonjeff (13 Sep 2008)

Ex Gunsmith, designed and manufactured competition handguns, until 1997 then some freelance design on small arms, now I do freelance engineering CAD (mechanical). Boring stuff printing and packaging machinery which is very slow at the moment. 

Jeff


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## PAC1 (13 Sep 2008)

My first post as well!

When I left School I completed an apprenticeship as a Bench Joiner. That was in the late 70's early 80's. When I finished the apprenticeship I embarked on a further 12 years of part time and evening study and ended up qualifying as a Barrister. I deal with Construction disputes, which is actually very rewarding when you win a case and a builder or subcontractor is saved from ruin. However whenever I can I sneak off down to my workshop and make furniture. It is great therapy.


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## mailee (13 Sep 2008)

Let me be the first to welcome you to the forum Pac 1. I am sure you will enjoy your stay here.


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## Oryxdesign (13 Sep 2008)

Well I'm sort of a woodworker, it's mainly MDF veneered and painted but occasionally I get my hands on a real bit of timber. I have found myself getting into hand tools over the last few years and although I don't find myself using them professionally much I am enjoying myself.


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## joiner_sim (13 Sep 2008)

Oryxdesign":33b6p5xo said:


> Well I'm sort of a woodworker, it's mainly MDF veneered and painted but occasionally I get my hands on a real bit of timber. I have found myself getting into hand tools over the last few years and although I don't find myself using them professionally much I am enjoying myself.



MDF is horrible once it gets dusty! But... some great pieces can be made out of MDF. Using your tools should be enjoyable. Its a skill many would like to have but don't bother.


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## TheTiddles (13 Sep 2008)

Lead Product Development Engineer, I recon the longer your job title the less important you are...

Aidan


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## hpl (13 Sep 2008)

I trained in furniture, worked in a basic joiner shop for about a year and after being out of a job in the late 80's started up on my own as a woodturner. I now turn about 50% of the time and then work on other furniture work, like some of the other guys on here using lots of sheet material, but I do get to use solid timbers quite a bit as well.

Johnny B


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## Shultzy (13 Sep 2008)

wizer":12jpdy54 said:


> It's also funny that not one of the IT guys said they liked/loved/always wanted to do/can't wait to get back to the office/etc etc :roll:  :lol:



Well Wizer I have to own up to enjoying every minute of my work in IT. I started in Civil Engineering in 1970, got involved with mainframes in '74, moved into IT fully in '85, retired in 2006 as they made me an offer I couldn't refuse


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## wizer (13 Sep 2008)

I joined at the start of the Windows 95 phenomenon and loved the buzz, constantly learning. I feel the industry has stagnated since XP settled in. Perhaps I am seeing it from a support POV.


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## TrimTheKing (13 Sep 2008)

My problem is, when I started in IT, in a Local Support role in 1997 I was constantly fixing things and on a massive learning curve and that was tremendously enjoyable for a young man. Two years ago I took over management of the team and since then I enjoy what I do (well, mostly the people that I do it with, so to speak), but I don't get any real sense of achievement or self satisfaction out of it any more.

Work to me is the thing I have to do to allow me to live my life the way I want to, nothing more than that.

Cheers

Mark


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## Rich (13 Sep 2008)

I'm not a techie but I'm thankful for it, after all I would'nt be able to chat to you good folks without it, but at the end of the day, a computer will not jump off of a desk and make one of LN's benches or mailee's cutlery services, if IT ended tomorrow, good and beautiful woodworking would still carry on, that's not to decry IT, just being practical.  

Regards,

Rich.


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## quickthorn (14 Sep 2008)

I'm a self employed hedge layer and forestry contractor.


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## harryc (14 Sep 2008)

Really interesting thread this one, esp if you are nosey  

I have sold my soul to the devil and work for the largest Pharma company in the world, the one that invented the little blue pill 8) 

Harry


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## Rich (14 Sep 2008)

harryc":tkmd5pt7 said:


> Really interesting thread this one, esp if you are nosey
> 
> I have sold my soul to the devil and work for the largest Pharma company in the world, the one that invented the little blue pill 8)
> 
> Harry



Ibet that's "hard" to put up with. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Rich.


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## harryc (14 Sep 2008)

Yes Rich I have heard all the jokes, and I do mean all the jokes


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## dennis (14 Sep 2008)

Was the discovery of the chemical ingredients actually a cockup.

Dennis


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## Gower (14 Sep 2008)

Retired Heavy Goods Vehicle engineer. Now run a small Minibus charity with 30 odd volunteer drivers. Might have been easier to stay working! Interesting to see what other folk do or did for a living.
Gower


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## cutting42 (15 Sep 2008)

dennis":ilym4hps said:


> Was the discovery of the chemical ingredients actually a cockup.
> 
> Dennis



Quite apart from the dreadful pun the current desired effects of Viagra were actually side effects from the original purpose which was to make the heart pump harder. Gentlemen noted on the form whilst testing the drug that the effects were outstanding !

So not a cock up as such but certainly serendipity.

Oh and I negotiate Global purchasing contracts with the Pharma industry for a job. Ex electronics engineer, trainer, salesman all to do with Mass Spectroscopy which is one of the most exciting technologies in the world as far as Physics and electronics are concerned IMO.


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## Woodmagnet (15 Sep 2008)

Any free samples Harry. :lol: :lol: :lol:
I'm on disability awaiting surgery on my neck/spine area  , before
that i was a store detective. I got paid to follow pretty women
around all day.


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## Vormulac (15 Sep 2008)

TheTiddles":2t1crosc said:


> I recon the longer your job title the less important you are...
> 
> Aidan



I used to work in the alumni administration office for a university; there were 47 people working in there, 44 of them had 'Manager' in their job title but the job for each of them was basically answering the phone and photocopying stuff. :roll: 
Unfortunately a good few of them actually *believed* the 'Manager' bit and tried to act the part. Still, it was packed to the gunwales with young totty, so it was a pleasant place to work!


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## ByronBlack (15 Sep 2008)

I'm a lab manager responsible for the manufacturing of spectacles for a group of independent opticians in the south-east.

However, myself and SWMBO are planning on getting off the 'grid' as it were. We're in plans to move out of regular civilisation and run a self sufficiency business in the Scottish highlands - whether that works out or not we are not sure at the moment as the property sales have slumped, but if it picks up and we can sell our place, that is what we are looking to do. Part of the business will involve teaching people some basic wood-working for self sufficiency, while she does the whole farming aspect.


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## ajbell (15 Sep 2008)

Hi

I am a factory manager.

Would love to "get off the grid" just don't have the nerve to do anything about it. Plus tools are expensive so I need a job to buy them - then don't seem to have the time to use them!

andy


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## Digit (15 Sep 2008)

When my children finished school the wife and I simply said 'sod it' and walked away from 'civilisation' with no plans at all as to how we would go on from there.
It was a time a great excitement and we've never regretted it once.

Roy.


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## ByronBlack (15 Sep 2008)

Digit":3emh3446 said:


> When my children finished school the wife and I simply said 'sod it' and walked away from 'civilisation' with no plans at all as to how we would go on from there.
> It was a time a great excitement and we've never regretted it once.
> 
> Roy.



Tell us more Roy - where did you go, what did you do?


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## Digit (15 Sep 2008)

I held a senior exec's post but found that I preferred working with my hands as well as my brains and that sitting behind a desk wasn't for me, my wife knew that I was less than happy and when a good friend died suddenly I was offered his position. I realised at that time the board room was not for me.
I arranged a decent financial package with the group and moved to a small village in Telford where we bought an ex coaching Inn in a terrible state.
I took a job as a maintenance engineer and we were happy.
Then they built the M54? almost to my door step. Property prices rocketed, and when a neighbour started selling drugs we had had enough. We waited a few months till the boy finished school then moved here to Wales.
The house was in an appalling condition. No electricity, hot or cold water nor drainage, but it had a large garden, and as we had moved many times we decided this was where we would settle.
There was no work locally, a pump manufacturer was looking for a fitter till they found out that I had been a pump designer and decided that I was over qualified.
As the house was in such need of work I signed on for unemployment pay. Locally there was a warehouse that did house clearances and I was there one day looking for some hand tools when all the lights went out.
The boss had bought a washing machine that was supposed to be in working condition and that was the result.
"I'll sort it for you" says I, and so I became self employed repairing domestic appliances.
My son moved back to Telford and found that six months later he hated the crowds and came back home, so I hired my daughter to sell appliances for me in our local market and my son joined me in reconditioning and service work.
The house was two beds, an outshut kitchen that had been tacked on the side with daylight showing between the two buildings, two sockets, the walls of asbestos cement and the ceilings of insulation board. Rain water came in under the walls.
The septic tank didn't work and the pipes were all broken up. The garden was so over grown that it was some weeks before we found the boundaries.
When the local electricity company sent a chap to replace the downed incomer he refused to connect us till I removed all the spiders.
We shared the placed with Mice, Shrews, Bats, Foxes, Badgers and Toads, and the place was under water when it rained.
It was fantastic!!!!

Roy.


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## TrimTheKing (15 Sep 2008)

Brilliant!!

And what's it like now???

Mark


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## Digit (15 Sep 2008)

A bit different Mark! Due to a spring in the back garden we were waterlogged the first winter, so I dug out along the back, built a dry stone wall, dug paths and drains, laid 25 tonnes of shale and then topped with gravel for paths.
The living accommodation was two rooms of 8 X 12 ft which we knocked into one, built a new chimney breast, replaced the windows that were 18 x 12 inches, re built the kitchen and bathroom, rewired and replumbed.
We added a large conservatory, garage and greenhouse, verandas back and front, garden shed, tool shed, my workshop, and added a second drive.
The place was painted a tasteless bright yellow, so I stripped every board off, reversed them then soaked them in creosote.
We planted hundreds of trees and shrubs.
Now my son is currently converting the garage into living accommodation as well.
We insulated everything as well so that the running cost are minimal.
Being a timber dwelling the council classified it for rating purposes as a caravan so my rates are £200 a year!

Roy.


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## andypo (15 Sep 2008)

M.O.D Firefighter


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## johnf (15 Sep 2008)

Retired builder/Developer Brickwork , Groundwork , Roofing , that sort of thing


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## gasman (16 Sep 2008)

anaesthetist in Oxford, hence 'gasman'


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## cutting42 (16 Sep 2008)

gasman":16q4t2dl said:


> anaesthetist in Oxford, hence 'gasman'



Its also a heck of a lot easier to say


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## Shadowfax (16 Sep 2008)

Retired fire officer. Now work as a fire safety adviser to a local authority.

SF

Still love the smell of burning, though!


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