A BUTCHERS JOB

One may be lead to think that this Blog Post has something to do with a butchers job as one would expect in a meat shop for example. Sadly this blog post is quite different as this is what was said to me after having surgery of the procedure that ended up being a butchers job. So lets jump back a decade so I can paint this picture so all are on the same track and will have a greater understanding to my references.

Turning Back The Clock To 1995 - 1996

In the year of 1995 I was living and working as a Chef for the Tongan Royal Family as well as looking after the tiny Islands National hotel, The Dateline Hotel in Nuku'Alofa Tongtapu. This is where I met my second wife and we decided to start having children so a few months before the birth of our first child we headed back to New Zealand as it was important to me that our children would get the best start in life. Being a New Zealand resident would secure all ambitions and education of the highest level.

Once we landed in NZ I took on a job as a truck driver to pave thge way ahead as we planed on returning to the islands once our baby was 3 to 4 months old. This was not to happen as I was working for a company moving furniture.On this particular day my life was about to turn for the worst, as I was involved in an accident moving a piano into a house ending up having it land on top of me. 

At the time I remember getting up and thinking " Shitr that hurt" but after later tests I was to find that my spine was badly hurt. My life as i knew it changed after this accident and we did not return to our island paradise.This all happened at a time in NZ where imaging was not the greatest and I had to survive for the next six years working part time in tremendous pain through the birth of our second daughter just a year after our first. 

First Spinal Surgery 2002

After six years of living on a concoction of drugs including morphine and steroids I finally got my day in surgery. After the operation I was overwhelmed as this was the first time in many years that I could stand properly without severe nerve pain. I was to have minor setbacks in the years that followed but these were minor compared to the intense pain I had initially. Sure I went through some really shocking years as well but I could function to a very good degree.

Christchurch Earthquakes Demolition

In the year of 2012 I headed south to Christchurch as this was the hub of New Zealand that required a great deal of skilled people for primarily demolition. This was also the place where I met my third wife Emily. The work was great and the money was fantastic as we were in the most dangerous buildings whilst earthquakes were still occurring at a rate of three a day. We only evacuated the building with shakes over 4.0 and 5.0 would close the Red Zone completely.

At the end of this year I returned to my second trade as a tiler working for some real fuckwits as well as for some great companies. This is when I started my own company Christchurch Tilers as there was a need for top quality as others were just about speed and get the cash.

World Starts To Fall Apart February 2014 

History was to repeat itself as I hurt my spine thinking it was just a small setback and things would be great in a few days. This was not to be as the days turned into weeks with my pain increasing putting my jobs behind schedule and that was a great concern! I had a few good guys that helped me out and took over some jobs for me still thinking it was a minor setback.

Early March 2014 I ended up in severe pain to the doctors and then on to hospital after having MRI scans that showed that more discs had prolapsed and I would require surgery. At the time I was admitted I had a Surgeon Paul Nicol tell me that he was a neurosurgeon and how he has done over a thousand of these operations and how the team were all experts. This was not to be the case! This surgeon was later to talk this shit to my sister as well!

Surgery - Don't Kill Me

I remember going in to surgery and I jokingly said something like just don't kill me with a response of something like, "no chance of that happening and you will be back in no time. Gee talk about tempting fait as upon waking from the surgery and recalling saying to people in operating room that I can't breathe, then seeing hands over me and feeling a sharp pain under me ribcage I was back under the knife. Thids was a really rough time and you can read more about that journey here Paul's Medical Nightmare

A Bit Of A Butchers Job

I knew something was wrong when I started to wake up as I had memories of talking to my mum and my Grandparents that had passed. The feeling of fear and pain combined are things that still haunt me today as I have severely bad nightmares. The thing that pisses me off a great deal is how the surgeon said they had lost me for a while and how they had done a BUTCHERS JOB on me to get me back together. After looking down and seeing my wounds in my stomach pictured here horrified me to say the least.

Eight Months On and I have just recently started therapies to try to find my way back to my life I once had is proving to be very hard as I am having panic attacks stressed out, sever pain that is now increasing along with a magnitude of physiological issues. Basically I think I am pretty fuvcked in the head to tell the truth.

The bloody surgeon that has caused this to happen can say to me he has done a bit of a butchers job to get me back together can just go home have a drink or whatever and go" Gee that was a bit of a bad day" then go start on some other poor bastard without any comeback or hardship as he is protected by the ACC and the NZ Law. We cannot sue the surgeons or medical professionals as they are in a NO FAULT SYSTEM but for anyone else we can get screwed over!!

These bastards may be protected by a stupid law but the fucker is not protected from the patients they work on. I can see something bad happening that will wake up the government to the fact that we will not be treated like things that do not matter!

 I for one am totally pissed off as my condition worsens whilst these liar wankers go on living their lives. I really want these bastards to feel my pain I have to live with every bloody day! And as far as the Paul Nicols so called expert is nothing but a liar fuckhead as he is only a bloody registrar that has only this year been let lose on live patients, before that he was in Tasmania Medical School.

So Thank You Dr Boet, Paul Nichols as you two clowns I hope will get fucked over by someone or something one day and feel the pain I live in every fuckin day!!

FINDING POSITIVES IN BAD TIMES

As we travel on the paths we choose through the journey of life sometimes we hit the odd pothole that throws us for a while, where we may stumble or we may fall. The main thing we have to do in these times that we fall or go off track as to how we have planned our life is to seek positives in all bad situations. I can hear a lot of you saying "Sure easy for you to say" as if I am living a perfect life without these hiccups or disasters. But in actual fact I am going through a living hell of my own right now but know that I have to seek positives no matter how dark the skies may appear!

FALLING INTO THE ABYSS 

I had the next few years of my life planned out to a T of what I was going to do and achieve and with this plan in place I was making giant strides forward equipping my business both with equipment as well as mentally focused. After working for a number of Cowboy companies as a tiler I saw that there was a great opportunity to start my own tiling business focusing on quality and charging the customers accordingly. I had a load of contracts in place and everything was ticking along nicely before the unthinkable happened!

WHEN MY WORLD CAME CRASHING

This day started like any other day cheerful rise breakfast then off to the job site being a house with a young couple doing up their house. I gave this couple a really good deal as I wanted to see right by them and everything was going to plan until the unthinkable happened!! 

The builder was carrying a stove across a new floor I had laid and one of the guys was slipping with his grip so I rushed over to help. I did not expect the other guys to let go leaving me with the entire weight of this wetback oven. Subsequently I felt an enormous amount of pain and I knew instantly that I had done some serious damage, as I had previously hurt my back some years prior that required Orthopedic surgery placing metal and screws in my spine!!

After a visit to the doctor I was given pain relief as I was sure that this would subside after a few days but this was not to be the case as my pain intensified that led me to being admitted to hospital a short time later. This was where my Nightmare was about to begin that you can read about here. Pauls Med Nightmare From this point on I had to look for positives and some days that is really hard to do!!

FINDING POSITIVES WHEN TIMES ARE BAD

This is where I bring you to the subject of this Blog, about finding positives when things are bad. No matter how drastically our lives have changed we have to look for positives because if we do not look for and find positives we will only fall deeper into a world of despair that has lead many before us to a point of doing the unthinkable. I have been here where I had thoughts of ending my life and my suffering but I have managed to find reasons to live.

My positives I started to find in the early parts  of my recovery were very simple ones like being able to get through another day gradually setting goals like being able to drink water by myself to being able to wipe my own bottom after going to the toilet. You may think that these are not positives and be thinking of bigger goals like taking your life back instantly to how you had planned it. But in reality we have to start off with small goals before we can focus on goals like getting the life we had back.

Over the weeks in hospital everyday I set goals some I achieved and others I did not,but I was always sure to remind myself of a positive for each and every day. I know that some days we feel that it is too hard, the pain is too severe but we have to push those thoughts aside and make the best of what we have, as quitting is not an option.

It has been nearly eight months now and I am still finding positives even though in the back of my mind I know that I will more than likely not be able to return to those plans and that life. Taking that onboard and accepting it is very hard but I would sooner accept it and anything close to that life would be a major success. I am 48 almost 49 years of age and thinking about alternatives is not nice but through workshops I have attended I have seen others that are worse off than I and seeing that really put things into perspective for me, as I know things could be worse.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS POSITIVES

Having attended workshops doing woodwork I have found something I have always liked and enjoyed doing. I know that I am  getting rather long in the tooth to start a new career that may take me a couple of years to get qualified and I most likely will not ever make the sort of money that I am use to earning, but the positives outweigh the negatives. The positives would be being able to be creative making furniture the old way using techniques such as dowel and biscuit joins along with dove tailing taking away the conventional method of nailing everything. 

The money would be less initially but with positive thinking I am sure I can make a comfortable living if not better than that producing custom pieces that will outlive me. Knowing that I would be creating pieces that could or would be handed down from generation to generation is very rewarding in itself. I know that I am in for a long hard road trying to get well at the same time as making sacrifices but these sacrifices will be worth the effort. 

We can all find positives in every day and I implore you to follow the steps I have taken and will continue to take finding all those p[ositives no matter how small they may be, as there is always somebody that is worse off than you are. Count yourself lucky as I count myself lucky as I have life and I will watch my children grow and hopefully see grandchildren in the years to follow as I am a positive thinker and I will succeed down this pathway that has been set for me. With a little help from others I can and I will succeed in whatever life throws at me as I know how to find positives when the skies have darkened.

FINDING YOUR POSITIVES

No matter what your life was like before you had a setback or a total transformation of life you must stay true to yourself and look for positives no matter how small they may be. If your only positive is waking up then that is a big positive taking that next breathe and the one after that is all positives as we heal as much as we can. 

Always be thankful for the life that you have as that is yours and it is worth living no matter how insignificant you may feel it is your life and it IS worth striving forward.

I use to feel sorry for myself and feel bitter and angry as to what has happened to me, but I know these are wasted emotions and anger is a disease that will slowly eat at you until nothing is left unless you take action and let the negativity go.

I remind myself that there is always someone else that has it harder than I do and there is always someone worse off than you are! For all people finding positives is essential as we are all human beings that have so much to give and so much to enjoy

Please keep finding positives! I cannot emphasize this point as it is so important that we 

KEEP FINDING POSITIVES

Paul Morris Christchurch NZ

HOW TO MAKE A JEWELLERY BOX

Today we live in a society that is all about now and buying furniture that is cheap and basically crap as it will not last. Sadly for our children they are growing up in an era where everything is made cheap to be replaced. I try to tell and advise my children to save the money and spend it wisely on quality solid wood furniture.

How To Make a Solid Wood Jewellery Box

 First of all you will need to have a basic plan or at least an idea and create your masterpiece on the fly. I have opted for using recycled Rimu that was once sarking on a Villa from the year 1950. This timber was 250mm wide so we put it through a plane to dress the timber to a size of 200mm wide and 20mm thick.

Once you have your dressed timber at 90mm wide 20mm thick we can start to create

First lets cut the sides to a length of 265mm x 90mm wide with ends cut on a 45 degree angle .

Then cut the ends to 160mm in length with both ends on a 45 degree angle

.

I have not illustrated it here but I will make a point of doing this next time to show you. It is quite easy really, 

STEPS FOR SIDES & ENDS

1. Lay out your sides and ends with the 45 degree angles facing down so you have your box laid out end to end. 
2. Now I want you to tape the ends of each piece to the next adjoining piece.
3. Once that is done then carefully turn on its side. 
4. Now apply a small amount of PVA glue to each of the right angles so they are covered from top to bottom.
5. Now join your corners together and you will notice how the tape is holding your box together then check it is all square with your square.
6. Use a wet rag to wipe away excess glue from internal corners
7. Once this is done leave for about 2 hours before starting next step.

STEPS FOR TOP AND BOTTOM

So your box is taking shape with all sides glued together and square. Great now we take the two pieces for the top and bottom to join to our box.

1. Take 2 pieces of your timber that is 90mm wide by say 270mm in length and glue down one edge of the timber.
2. Clamp these 2 pieces together making sure that they are even and flat and let these dry over night
3. Repeat step 2 for top of your box this can be done in advance.
4. Once your pieces are dry run glue PVA around the bottom edge of the box then squeeze together ensuring that the base is wider than your sides in length and width
5. Now repeat this process straight away for the top of the box and clamp together so that you have a completed box clamped tightly together.
6. Leave to dry overnight clamped very tightly using 4 clamps

MAKING YOUR TOP

Lid

1. Measure 30 to 40mm down from the top and place a line around the box here
2. Now with a tablesaw if you have one or with a handsaw carefully cut this piece off as this will be your top / lid.
3. Once this is done you may wish to use a plane to shave the timber down on the bottom of box then sand all your box until it is very smooth.
4.  You may choose to use a router to make a nice shape on the lid
5. Great now our lid is ready mark 25mm in from each side on the box and on the lid for where your hinges will be placed.
6. Now very carefully draw around the hinges both on the box and the lid and very carefully chisel this out so your hinges are countersunk.
7. Now take a fine drill and partially pre-drill where screws will go!
8. Once you have your hinges on your jewellery box you can finish final sanding and then coat with oil or alternative to protect and beautify your creation.

OILING YOUR JEWELLERY BOX

Hinged and oiled

I highly recommend using Danish oil as it gives a very distinctive look to your finished project. You can buty Danish oil from all good outlets that deal with paint and timber products.

1. Step one make sure your project is free of dust
2. Use a cotton cloth and gently wipe all over your bare timber.
3. Leave to dry overnight then lightly sand with a 600 grit
4. After sanding repeat the process until you have 6 to 10 layers depending on the depth of field you desire

Materials & Tools

Looking Front on Beautiful Gloss

1. Timber 90mm wide as a minimum, however you may find wider pieces at your local timber yard for the top and bottom parts
2. PVA Glue
3. Masking tape
4. Ruler or tape measure
5. Table saw or handsaw with a good eye!
6. A pair of small hinges
7. 180 grit sandpaper & 400 grit to finish
8. Sharp knife remove some dry glue
9. Screwdriver
10. 4 x G clamps
11. Danish Oil

IMPORTANT NOTES

1. Always use a fresh clean cotton cloth for oiling
2. You will most likely only have to sand the first 2 or 3 coats to obtain a smooth finish
3. Always use a microfiber cloth for dusting
4. After glue all corners wipe with a wet cloth
5. Have all tools ready in advance
6. Always leave overnight before apply next coat of oil

Have Fun and enjoy!

 

RECYCLED RIMU FOR FURNITURE

Here in Christchurch there are a lot of places that you can collect Rimu and other woods at a reasonable price to use for projects and furniture making. Sadly some big companies are exploiting this current feast of materials selling them on to local people at an at times exhaustible price! But in a market like we are seeing today there are a few good places to purchase from like Southern Demolition as the rate at this company is fairly fair of around $7.00 per lineal meter.

About Rimu

Out of all New Zealand's forest trees Rimu is the one that is most widely spread.These trees can be found throughout New Zealand in the low lands to mountain forests in the North and South Islands as well as Stewart Island. In most places the large, rounded heads of a few to a dozen or so trees per acre emerge well above the general level of the canopy of broad-leaf trees below. Such forests have little or no regeneration and seldom contain any trees in the intermediate stages. 

These large Rimu trees can range in age from 700, 800, or even up to a staggering thousand years old. Facts of age and structure of such forest have given rise to the theory that the rimu is a relic of past climates which have been more favourable to it. It is certainly not replacing itself. However, along the edges of some forests on the pumice plateau of central North Island the rimu is younger, and intermediate age-classes and regeneration do occur. It is also present in secondary “scrub” on clay soils of the north.

Items I have made

Here are a few pictures of items I have made for local people as well as items I have in the pipeline for my family in Northern New Zealand. Rimu is a great timber to work with and I specifically try to find pieces that have had a bit of a knock, or have lots of knots. Using timber like this adds character to the things you are making. I really do not want things I create to look new.

The first item here is a Jewellery box that I have made for a local here in Christchurch. This piece in particular was made from recycled rimu of a high quality. This jewellery box will be lined on the inside with green felt with a mirror in the lid. It has had 8 coats of Danish oil on the exterior and 4 coats on the interior. I am selling these for around $80.00.

Photo Frames Picture Frames

I am starting to make a few photo and or picture frames for some of my artwork I have collected over the years. Most pieces are already framed in metal or cheap woods or chipboard rubbish that has been made to look nice by the artist or framer. Personally I  feel there is nothing more beautiful than natural timbers especially recycled as I like to see timbers used that already have a history. 

For example of this would be a lot of the Rimu that I currently have in stock has come from a house that was built in 1860. To have a beautiful photo frame or Glory box made from timber like this carries a lot of history with it.

Each piece I sell includes as much history as I can find about the past uses of this timber, like the last use it had whether that be from a historical home or from a stock pile that has been over looked from days of old.

Wasted Products From Christchurch Earthquakes

Hi everybody, Well today I am going to talk a little bit about the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes. There are thousands of houses yet to be levelled and around 150 commercial buildings to come down. I have an issue with the amount of wastage, firstly when I was on contract taking down the Clarendon towers the amount of wastage was beyond a joke. Computers, tables in fact everything one would find in a 21 level building. Some things were saved an most metals were sold by management. But there was thousands of items that could have been used for families and or community projects.

  Historic houses Wasted

Flooring panels we have saved and
now I am building a project!

There are so many houses that have been torn down and only some of the big companies are making money from it. An example would be, let's say a house that was built in the year of 1850.

 Now these houses were built to last and I will show you examples of this shortly. All the roofs were covered with Rimu then the iron was laid on top of this.

 There is evidence of tar used on some of the roofing timber but I will share full report with you once I get it from the Archaeologist that is documenting our historical house.

Recycling Or Profit Focused

 Some companies here are saving the Rimu  and then selling it back to people for $7.00 to $10.00 per lineal meter. I would have liked to see some deconstruction sites give this timber to community projects, as there are lots of people that can utilize these materials. This is only the tip of the Iceberg as there has been many under-handed deals go on with some people making lots of money from taking stuff from these houses and selling it.

Days Of Old Carpentry

This is part of an old light switch and I will do a blog about
this at a later date.

The houses built in the mid to late 1800's were built to last with many techniques by skilled men compared to the through it up attitude we have today. Examples like all the doors are solid wood biscuit or dowel together. All the walls were covered in Rimu timber that was 400mm wind and 10mm thick. The carpenters then tacked scrim over the boards for wall paper to adhere to.

One house in particular that belongs to our landlord got smashed hard in the quakes. This house has had many owners and you can see the building practices of each lot of craftsmen changed through each decade. We have found some interesting items that i will talk about in-depth at a later time.

Saving What We Can

Led-light window out of the house above this will be
 turned into an artistic piece

After sorting out a deal with my Landlord I have had the help of some strong friends remove all the led-light windows and some of the early style doors.

 I have plans for some of the led-light windows and I can use the Rimu that is thicker for building furniture.

 The other windows I will find a good home for them but not someone that will on-sell to make money. Here are a couple of images of the material we have saved from being wasted.