Let's talk axes.

[bob10]

I want a short one to put in the disco, along with the arborist battery driven chainsaw.

SSAA SHOT EXPO 2012: Dahlgren Trading - YouTube (https://youtu.be/lwIqBXCXMe8)

[bob10]

When I did my apprenticeship in the Navy, part of it was Blacksmithing. But I didn't make this, more is the pity.

The Birth Of A Tool. Part I. Axe Making (by John Neeman Tools) on Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/37360333)

[bob10]

But I did make plenty of these, and heat treated them. They were the days, under the critical eye of Mr Smith [ yes really] to the melody of " get the bastard hot son, get it hot!!"

The Birth Of A Tool. Part II. Chisel Making (by John Neeman Tools) on Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/38165983)

[Tombie]

Chippy?

[bob10]

Damascus steel is a high quality Scandinavian steel. Love this blokes work.

The Birth Of A Tool. Part III. Damascus steel knife making (by John Neeman Tools) on Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/56287630)

[bob10]

Chippy?

Boiler maker welder.

[Tombie]

Boiler maker welder.

Stoker then [emoji41] ( MTP when I was in ).

I was ATC and transferred to ATWL

[bob10]

Stoker then [emoji41] ( MTP when I was in ).

I was ATC and transferred to ATWL

Tiffie. Never a stoker. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[bob10]

Our apprentice system was based on the RN one. Based at Quakers hill, on the site of the old Schofields air base, we did a four year apprenticeship. from the age of 15. A video of the job, the first ship in it is of the Vampire, my first sea posting. A long, long time ago.

Skilled Hands at Sea The Royal Australian Navy - YouTube (https://youtu.be/Na5VYTuBj-o)

[Tombie]

Thanks Bob...

Yes, I was in King Division... I'm guessing you may have been in the old huts...

[bob10]

Dampier Division, in the leaky old WW2 huts. Four four man cabins, with one cabin for the hut senior. A long walk to the ablution block, cold showers in winter, speaking of which if each cabin had one double adapter [ illegal], for bar heaters, the fuse for the whole hut would blow. A six inch nail fixed that, how huts didn't burn down is beyond me. The proper fuses were put back each morning, to pass inspection by random regulating staff. The stories that came out of that place deny belief. Like the time the wall on one of the first term huts, just a long hut with beds & lockers down each side, was completely knocked down by some senior termers, who believed they had a God given right to stir the first termers every night, ie, tip their beds over, and other random bastardry acts. One night, things got a little rough, bodies hit the wall en mass, and down it went. The first termers decided the best thing to do was just go to sleep, as if all was ok. The next morning, every senior sailor and Officer on the depot was standing around the hut , scratching their heads. They all knew what had happened, but couldn't prove it. Every first termer , when questioned said " gee Chief, I don't know, it was alright when I went to bed". The senior termers were going to own up, but the first termers banded together and with a lot of effort, put the wall back up. Childish, perhaps, but they were only kids, and besides, it created a bond between all the first term, who stuck to their story, and didn't dob. And it earned the respect of the senior termers, who became the guardian angels of the youngsters from then on. All a small part of creating an Esprit de corps, so they say. All I know is to this day , all who went thru there still stick together, our term has a lunch every 3 months at the Brekky creek, where stories are told, old friends catch up, and those who have crossed the bar are remembered.

[Tombie]

Excellent.... yes the stories of those times are most interesting.

All I can remember "Get of the grass"

And many a Double to the **** Farm!!