Weird Things You Have Done

[Willy P]

The Scotsman's Power Stretcher
I got started in the carpet business as a "striker" or apprentice installer under 2 brothers from Glasgow with accents that took months for this wee bairn to ken. These guys were the best Axminster installers in the city, a sub trade within the trade, so they were always busy. We were doing a large install in a casino (charging prices that would make most blush today) and had a few long stretches to do. I saw Jimmy getting a 12 foot length of 2 by 4. The tubes on the power stretcher were short, so he shoved in the wood and got 12 more feet. On a long stretch on a hall in a wood frame, Bobby nailed a length of 2 by 4 to the floor, stay tacked the carpet to another piece of 2 by 6 and used the piece on the floor as a fulcrum to get a tight stretch length ways in the hallway.
A company I used to work for pre raw cotton shampoos was the only place in town to do the Haitians. There was a ton of them on the market back then. We cleaned them as normal but then coated them with diadamacious(sp) earth, let them dry and the seed pod mess wicked on to the powder, not the fabric.

More from ancient Rome later....

 

[Bob Foster]

Holly crap Willy, we never knew. Tell us more.

 

[Shorty]

Not sure if I should tell this, but............... Willy would ken how I felt.

At a very tender age, I started my trade in carpet and vinyl tile laying, along with timber floor sanding and finishing, with a company called Luderus & Bode, this was owned by two Dutchmen.

I think this business is still going on the northern beaches in Sydney.

Carl Bode was a great bloke, Hans Luderus was a .........................well, let's just say a typical Dutchman, with apologies to the good ones out there.

Most memorable job was in a large mansion overlooking Sydney Harbour for a family that had won an Opera House Lottery.

They had Japanese Oak parquet installed all through the house, including on the circular stairway.

Several months later, we were back there to chisel a lot of the "planks" out.

Back in those days, our quarantine on overseas products was not so good and the parquetry had Japanes worm in the timber, eating little holes everywhere.

Aerated timber I called it in later days.

Other jobs in "Olde Sydney Towne" where they still had the gas lights mounted on the walls, and we would have to use our Vinco sanders to sand the floors, prior to laying sheets of masonite to get a flat floor, before we could lay the new carpet, which was nailed to the floor.

No smoothedge back then either. :shock:

Also no circuit breakers back then, all wire fuses.

So we would use a three inch nail cut down so we wouldn't keep blowing fuses with the sander.

That nail used to glow RED, I swear.

Most times, these floors had a black pitch on them that had to be sanded off, and whoever had to use the edger, really got a lungfull of foul tasting crap.

I think this may also have been the start of my back problems.

A few years into the job, and this day I had to stay and work in the shop attending to customers a making up orders etc; :shock: :shock:

Carl had said to me many times, "Don't hit Hans".

Long story short, end of the day, Carl came back and I said "C'ya mate, I won't be back" shiteatinggrin shiteatinggrin

He just looked at me and said, "Ya didn't, did ya"??

What could I say. ??


Ooroo,

:roll:

 

[The Asian Sensation]

I wake up in the middle of the night once in awhile and lay there not even realizing that I was rubbing my own nipple for a few mins. :shock: :shock: :?

 

[RIP IT]

It's ok....you're just getting in touch with your feminine side...apparently :shock:

 

[Desk Jockey]

I wake up in the middle of the night once in awhile and lay there not even realizing that I was rubbing my own nipple for a few mins. :shock: :shock: :?

Ummm dude this ain't Penthouse........and that ain't your nipple you're rubbing!