Billbeee

Hi, I'm Bill Bradley, billbeee here at wikipedia and builderbill on some of the web

I'm a tradesman carpenter and a builder, with 49 years in the game. I was a member of our local "Master Builder's Association" for more than two decades. Now that I am retired I am slowing down on the doing it and spending more time on the writing about it. I have taught quite a few apprentice carpenters in my time, but not nearly as many as the old tradesmen that taught me. The modern way of building with large large companies running jobs that rely solely on sub-contract labour has killed traditional apprenticeship as it used to be. In some small way I guess what I am trying to do is pass on a bit of the stuff I have learned myself over the years.

The small amount of content I have provided for Wikipedia is mainly the addition of photographs. As soon a I start adding text content to an article I tend to fall foul of the wiki's requirements to be impersonal. I tend to write in a "how to" style, as though I am talking to a young guy starting out.

I am a great fan of Linux software. I go into that in a bit more detail at my personal website builder Bill

Recently I have started signing or watermarking my photos and sketches with the name "builderbill" that being part of the name of my website. Once again I have run foul of the powers that be. I guess it is OK to put a copy of a recognised artist's work here, complete with signature but if you do it on your own work it is a definite no no. One section of my site I have opened up for free download, that is the illustrated roofing glossary section.

Drawing

Drawing in one way or another has always been a part of my life. As a young tradesman carpenter and joiner I was taught "Technical Drawing" at night school and at work we drew window and door sections on setting out rods. I have always taught apprentices to think out building problems vai thumbnail sketches and to a certain extent solve them by drawing out to scale, roof sections or stairs etc. I hate the modern trend of using pre-programmed calculators that "do the lot". (I don't mind using calculators, everyone should learn to use them, but first learn the basics.)

I started CAD drafting in the early 1980,s and took to it like a duck to water. Very soon I wanted to sketch in figures in some of my renderings, boy oh boy, I re-discovered the joys of drawing freehand for fun. )I never did do any fancy architectural renderings, borrrring).

Gallery

<gallery> File:Nt-termite-mound.jpg| A very early pen and ink wash drawing, still my favourite medium. Direct and no going back. File:Max-asleep.jpg| A rare excursion into watercolour. Against the pundits advice for watercolour I used very dry bristle brushes. File:Kurasaw-rashomon.jpg| A conte crayon sketch from a video still. Akira Kurasawa is a master. Every frame worth studying. File:Phimai.jpg |Not good planning is, light was fading, they were closing the gates.... pen and ink wash Phimai Thailand. File:Saigon.gif| Backpacker district in Saigon, the food was poor, the beer was warm, but the location looking straight down De Tham street was GREAT. "One outta three ain't bad".