Thunderbird Club

[PillO]

While your talking about cars tearing down the road with smoke trailing behind. A story from days long gone: our branch in the Andrew or navy after we qualified as divers got sent on the famed DEODs course or a short course on bomb disposal if you don’t know. We got taught how to deal with a lot of things that might ignite and we were encouraged to lark around booby trapping everything and anything as a way of teaching us to deal with real life situations. The usual place we’re the heads where we dreamed up ever more inventive ways of giving our mates an enema, going to the loo was a long process

Not the course I was on but a friend, they booby trapped someone’s car, not just any car but a near new Ford Capri, his pride and joy. What they did was rig up a smoke flare to go off inside the car just as he drove off. Well apparently this car was seen leaving the main entrance to a large military base in Kent looking like a parachute display team I did see the aftermath

After trying to write up something similar, I have realized that my army stories all seem to end in arson, attempted murder, assault... Soldiers in the 'special' branches of the military tend to be thugs. The only variable is if they are well disciplined or not.

 

[theFixer]

Does that have an adjustable mouth?

HIYOOOOOOOOO!!!

 

[Christine]

After trying to write up something similar, I have realized that my army stories all seem to end in arson, attempted murder, assault... Soldiers in the 'special' branches of the military tend to be thugs. The only variable is if they are well disciplined or not.

We weren’t thugs, piss heads yes, I seemed to be drunk a lot, most of my stories probably end up with everyone in a dress which was fine by me.

We did quite a lot with the SAS, they came to us to learn to dive, we gave them a very hard time training but the just soaked it up. At the end of the day they would spend an hour in the gym before a 10 mile run/sprint; they were superhuman! They used to teach us self defence and escape tactics, they got their own back but I’m not actually sure they intended to kill us or it was just their way. Actually they were decent guys, when they came to us we always went out together at night and had a great laugh. Which in itself reminds me of an event we witnessed; they didn’t wear dog tags like us due to their status as semi secret. We went to a nightclub after a night on the town, there was 6 big guys on the door who knew how to handle themselves, they asked to see our tags as we went in, fine for us but they refused the troopers. One tried to explain that they weren’t allowed to carry I'd but the bouncers we’re having none of it. After a bit of a heated discussion one of them said”look we’re in the SAS, we don’t wear tags”, well one of the bouncers took this as a personal affront and tried to hit this smallish trooper, less than 10 seconds later the lad had reduced the 6 bouncers to a pile of Broken bones which created a major incident in Pompey with police and ambulances everywhere. When that was over it was like he’d just done some required task that he did several times a day, no sweat, no stress , nothing, I get more tensed up parking the car in the drive.

The next time I saw him was on Ascension Island on the way to the Falklands, some clown put the SAS and the SBS (the navy equivalent) next to each other but when the error of his ways was pointed out the solution was to put the divers in between them, after that we were prepared for what lay ahead

 

[Christine]

HIYOOOOOOOOO!!!

I wish yours was adjustable!!!

 

[Engle]

Now that's a girly little plane, what will you look like with that, send it to me instead

I like Veritas tools, I've never had a bad one but I've never owned one of those I'm still using my old Stanley 60 1/2, whislst not a bad tool isn't in that league, I'm a tad jealous . Block planes are such versatile tools because you can alter the cutting geometry by changing the sharpening angle. Does that have an adjustable mouth?

I thought you might appreciate the Veritas plane. It’s replacing my Stanley that has a crack in it. I’m going to be working on a couple of uprights and decided it was worth the extra money.
Yes it has an adjustable mouth. There are also set screws on each side that stop the blade from shifting sideways.

 

[Engle]

Interesting design. A friend of mine was telling me that Veritas was the only maker that had done anything novel with the design of a plane since ever. Hadn't seen one until just now.
I guess you like it?

Yes it’s surprising how well engineered and smooth it is compared to my old Stanley.

 

[Engle]

I don’t think that design is that novel other than the use of the old Norris style adjuster which is the best bar none, I’m not aware of any other block plane using it. Where Veritas do win is in the quality of manufacturing which is second to none, hopefully that qualify extends to the cutting iron too but I don’t see them marketing it if it didn’t

The blades are available in 3 different types of steel:
Veritas® Standard and Low-Angle Block Planes - Lee Valley Tools

 

[PillO]

One tried to explain that they weren’t allowed to carry I'd but the bouncers we’re having none of it. After a bit of a heated discussion one of them said”look we’re in the SAS, we don’t wear tags”, well one of the bouncers took this as a personal affront and tried to hit this smallish trooper, less than 10 seconds later the lad had reduced the 6 bouncers to a pile of Broken bones which created a major incident in Pompey with police and ambulances everywhere. When that was over it was like he’d just done some required task that he did several times a day, no sweat, no stress , nothing, I get more tensed up parking the car in the drive.

And therein is where the thuggishness lies. A captain who lived next door to me in barracks spirited away in the middle of the night because his life was in danger from his own troops for having assigned extra duties on a Friday night. A soldier held for MPs (after being caught stealing) by having a bayonet driven through the back of each hand and into a picnic table. Soldiers use the skills taught for use in war as problem-solving techniques.

 

[Count Bassie]

I don’t think that design is that novel other than the use of the old Norris style adjuster which is the best bar none, I’m not aware of any other block plane using it. Where Veritas do win is in the quality of manufacturing which is second to none, hopefully that qualify extends to the cutting iron too but I don’t see them marketing it if it didn’t

I'm not knowledgeable about it myself, just what a cabinet maker friend has told me.

 

[Christine]

And therein is where the thuggishness lies. A captain who lived next door to me in barracks spirited away in the middle of the night because his life was in danger from his own troops for having assigned extra duties on a Friday night. A soldier held for MPs (after being caught stealing) by having a bayonet driven through the back of each hand and into a picnic table. Soldiers use the skills taught for use in war as problem-solving techniques.

I wouldn't have described them as thugs albeit some were. He wasn't looking for trouble, agreed they should have moved on when they were first refused admission but the bouncers attacked him, all he did was defend himself, his mated did nothing other than watch I suppose. It wasn't a case of kicking them afterwards, he just stopped them from hurting him and stopped.

I've heard of some brutal events in our forces but I never came close to anything like that myself thankfully. There are investigations ongoing here into possible murders at the Deepcut barracks some years ago, I wouldn't be surprised, there are some vindictive "little" sods in the armed forces, it can breed a bully culture, I was very fortunate that I was in the most misunderstood branch of the navy and got left well alone by rank and file as well as officers who let us go about our misguided ways unchallenged; sort of "you there! Are you in the navy?" Yes sir we would reply, to which they you'd bark "Why aren't you in uniform?, were divers sir we would reply, to only get "Very well carry on!", easy life!

 

[Christine]

I'm not knowledgeable about it myself, just what a cabinet maker friend has told me.

He's not actually wrong because the block plane is different to a bench plane and there must be some sort of innovation to get the iron and the Norris type adjuster to lock together as it fits around the cap iron screw on a bench plane. I wish I could justify one myself, maybe if I can manage to break my Stanley!

 

[Count Bassie]

I was making practice dummies for Wing Chun kung fu, and made extensive use of a block plane and a workbench vise to shape the wooden arms. My friend, whose shop I was working in, told me about Veritas.

After getting a rough shape on a shaper table, the next step was a block plane, and it was fairly intensive use... I hope to get back to making those again, and would def consider buying one of those Veritas planes.

 

[Count Bassie]

I was making practice dummies for Wing Chun kung fu, and made extensive use of a block plane and a workbench vise to shape the wooden arms. My friend, whose shop I was working in, told me about Veritas.

After getting a rough shape on a shaper table, the next step was a block plane... I hope to get back to making those again, and would def consider buying one of those Veritas planes.

Getting an octagon with the shaper...

Into the worktable vise...

Plane to round.

Turns out to a good piece of labor, depending on the Mahogany you use. For the purpose you want a really hard wood, so you want the plane to be nice to work with.

Those pieces ("arms") are for beating your arms against when doing the "Dummy form". I don't have access to a lathe, but you can get them round enough with a plane.

 

[Christine]

Getting an octagon with the shaper...
View attachment 3081185
Into the worktable vise...
View attachment 3081187

Plane to round.View attachment 3081190

Turns out to a good piece of labor, depending on the Mahogany you use. For the purpose you want a really hard wood, so you want the plane to be nice to work with.

Those pieces ("arms") are for beating your arms against when doing the "Dummy form". I don't have access to a lathe, but you can get them round enough with a plane.

View attachment 3081195

A shaper, spindle moulder in the U.K. Is my favourite machine ever, I miss mine so much

 

[Haji]

We weren’t thugs, piss heads yes, I seemed to be drunk a lot, most of my stories probably end up with everyone in a dress which was fine by me.

We did quite a lot with the SAS, they came to us to learn to dive, we gave them a very hard time training but the just soaked it up. At the end of the day they would spend an hour in the gym before a 10 mile run/sprint; they were superhuman! They used to teach us self defence and escape tactics, they got their own back but I’m not actually sure they intended to kill us or it was just their way. Actually they were decent guys, when they came to us we always went out together at night and had a great laugh. Which in itself reminds me of an event we witnessed; they didn’t wear dog tags like us due to their status as semi secret. We went to a nightclub after a night on the town, there was 6 big guys on the door who knew how to handle themselves, they asked to see our tags as we went in, fine for us but they refused the troopers. One tried to explain that they weren’t allowed to carry I'd but the bouncers we’re having none of it. After a bit of a heated discussion one of them said”look we’re in the SAS, we don’t wear tags”, well one of the bouncers took this as a personal affront and tried to hit this smallish trooper, less than 10 seconds later the lad had reduced the 6 bouncers to a pile of Broken bones which created a major incident in Pompey with police and ambulances everywhere. When that was over it was like he’d just done some required task that he did several times a day, no sweat, no stress , nothing, I get more tensed up parking the car in the drive.

The next time I saw him was on Ascension Island on the way to the Falklands, some clown put the SAS and the SBS (the navy equivalent) next to each other but when the error of his ways was pointed out the solution was to put the divers in between them, after that we were prepared for what lay ahead

I worked 13 years for a tactical gear retailer/wholesaler/distributor/manufacturer based outside of Fort Campbell, home to the 101st Air Assault Division, 5th Special Forces Group and 160th SOAR, among others. Our location was just outside the gate of the SF and SOAR compound, so we did a lot of business with those guys. I was there for my experience in business, and I'm a never was. I had some experience selling to SEALs but most of the guys I met then were students. All I had heard about special operations guys was that "those guys are crazy." After I got to know some of those dudes (and I still get to call some real deal, bad ass heroes my friends) I realized that They're not crazy. They're some of the most intelligent, most clever, most analytical minds I've ever known.

One day a troop for 22 SAS stopped by the shop. He was cross training with 5th Group and was done working for the day. We had a great time talking about Every thing from gear to geopolitics. He brought in his gear bad so we got to see what kit they were using. Every once in a while while digging stuff out of his rolling duffle he'd say "can't show that; classified..." Great dude who brought a stack of catalogs back with him, and we got a call and a purchase order from that.

I'm starting what I consider my new career in Human Resources starting on the 23rd. I still miss how much fun it was working in the tactical industry...but I never got to where I handled it well when a troop we knew deployed and didn't come home alive.

 

[Haji]

One of the plusses I didn't expect when going to digital wireless (Line 6 G30) was that the digital system transmits a wider frequency range than the cable does, and I ended up with a nice high end sparkle to my sound that wasnt there with cable alone. And, I wasn't getting that cable rolled around my leg and tripping myself anymore, which alone is worth the price of admission.

 

[PillO]

I wouldn't have described them as thugs albeit some where. He wasn't looking for trouble, agreed they should have moved on when they were first refused admission but the bouncers attacked him, all he did was defend himself, his mated did nothing other than watch I suppose. It wasn't a case of kicking them afterwards, he just stopped them from hurting him and stopped.

I've heard of some brutal events in our forces but I never came close to anything like that myself thankfully. There are investigations ongoing here into possible murders at the Deepcut barracks some years ago, I wouldn't be surprised, there are some vindictive "little" sods in the armed forces, it can breed a bully culture, I was very fortunate that I was in the most misunderstood branch of the navy and got left well alone by rank and file as well as officers who let us go about our misguided ways unchallenged; sort of "you there! Are you in the navy?" Yes sir we would reply, to which they you'd bark "Why aren't you in uniform?, were divers sir we would reply, to only get "Very well carry on!", easy life!

There are some very well trained troops. They apply as much force as needed; no more, no less. Unfortunately, there are others that are simply thugs. But outside the military, they would probably still be thugs. The greater problem is that there are thugs in society. The military problem is that you then teach them to be very good thugs. There should probably be some amount spent of psychiatric treatment to rein in those well trained thugs.

 

[PillO]

I worked 13 years for a tactical gear retailer/wholesaler/distributor/manufacturer based outside of Fort Campbell, home to the 101st Air Assault Division, 5th Special Forces Group and 160th SOAR, among others. Our location was just outside the gate of the SF and SOAR compound, so we did a lot of business with those guys. I was there for my experience in business, and I'm a never was. I had some experience selling to SEALs but most of the guys I met then were students. All I had heard about special operations guys was that "those guys are crazy." After I got to know some of those dudes (and I still get to call some real deal, bad ass heroes my friends) I realized that They're not crazy. They're some of the most intelligent, most clever, most analytical minds I've ever known.

One day a troop for 22 SAS stopped by the shop. He was cross training with 5th Group and was done working for the day. We had a great time talking about Every thing from gear to geopolitics. He brought in his gear bad so we got to see what kit they were using. Every once in a while while digging stuff out of his rolling duffle he'd say "can't show that; classified..." Great dude who brought a stack of catalogs back with him, and we got a call and a purchase order from that.

I'm starting what I consider my new career in Human Resources starting on the 23rd. I still miss how much fun it was working in the tactical industry...but I never got to where I handled it well when a troop we knew deployed and didn't come home alive.

There are a great number of soldiers who are very good. They progress well, get selected for additional/special training. The thugs get left back and then become resentful of being passed over and get more thuggish. I have known excellent soldiers. I have also met some thugs.

I don't have any solutions. I just recognize a problem. I can't even identify what the root of the problem is.

 

[theFixer]

Is it just me, or is it starting to wreak of political opinion in here?

 

[Christine]

Is it just me, or is it starting to wreak of political opinion in here?

No that's just cabbage boiling, probably been on a bit too long