winkle100 Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Good Morning all, Im new to this site, so you will have to bear with me!!!! Me, my wife Hayley and boys Ellis 3.5 and Joseph 1.5 have just started the migration process!!!! The paperwork side of the Vetasses has been issued, just waiting on a reply - this week we hope! I know this question has been raised numerous times but I cant find anything that is recent. What can I expect in the skills test? what kind of questions do they ask?is it only carpentry questions? I've moved slightly way from my carpentry roots into more of a site / project manager role so my overall knowledge is ok, just a little nervous with the carpentry bits as you would expect. Are they not looking for someone that has a good all round knowledge Or just carpentry and thats that! Im getting a little nervous, if the paperwork comes back ok the skills test will be this month? Any pointers would be greatly appreciated, all you carpenters out there I'm sure you remember what it was like.. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest waitingtogotooz Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Hi, My OH carried out the Vetassess last year. He is here with me and said you have to prove that you have been working in that particular job for at least 20hrs a week. did you have to send off references? He said that his Vetassess test included: Making a saw horse from drawings pitch a roof pitch a gable/hipped roof plane some timber sharpen a chisel an assessor also calls you out to an interview room throughout the day and asks a lot of question ie about hilti cartrdige guns dumpy levels best of luck, if any more questions, just ask Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkle100 Posted February 19, 2011 Author Share Posted February 19, 2011 Hi, My OH carried out the Vetassess last year. He is here with me and said you have to prove that you have been working in that particular job for at least 20hrs a week. did you have to send off references? He said that his Vetassess test included: Making a saw horse from drawings pitch a roof pitch a gable/hipped roof plane some timber sharpen a chisel an assessor also calls you out to an interview room throughout the day and asks a lot of question ie about hilti cartrdige guns dumpy levels best of luck, if any more questions, just ask Thanks for that, that gives me something to focus on. Yes 4 references, accountant letters qualifications- everything but the kitchen sink! Im a time served carpenter but I've been off my tools for some time,I've now moved into site management, so as you can imagine I'm a little nervous, as well as rusty! In regards to roof, what is your OH's opinion in the easiest way to do it on the day? Most threads say it is set out in a piece of Ply, is the ridge set in place or do you work it out from scratch? Can you take a ready Rekoner? Can you use your IPhone app? I was thinking of drawing it to scale on the ply they supply, this would give me all my lengths,did anyone do it this way? Is there an easier way? I appreciate your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest waitingtogotooz Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Thanks for that, that gives me something to focus on. Yes 4 references, accountant letters qualifications- everything but the kitchen sink! Im a time served carpenter but I've been off my tools for some time,I've now moved into site management, so as you can imagine I'm a little nervous, as well as rusty! In regards to roof, what is your OH's opinion in the easiest way to do it on the day? Most threads say it is set out in a piece of Ply, is the ridge set in place or do you work it out from scratch? Can you take a ready Rekoner? Can you use your IPhone app? I was thinking of drawing it to scale on the ply they supply, this would give me all my lengths,did anyone do it this way? Is there an easier way? I appreciate your help. regarding the roof. they use an 8x4 sheet of ply, as the perimeter of building, and you form your gable end, rafters, hip end on this 8x4 sheet you only have (wall plates) and the rest you do yourself you can take anything you like and use your iPhone app, he said he would recommend a book you can draw to scale on the ply, my OH said that someone did that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest johnbaguio Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 regarding the roof. they use an 8x4 sheet of ply, as the perimeter of building, and you form your gable end, rafters, hip end on this 8x4 sheet you only have (wall plates) and the rest you do yourself you can take anything you like and use your iPhone app, he said he would recommend a book you can draw to scale on the ply, my OH said that someone did that. Hi Waitingtogoz, I'm also a carpenter and awaiting practical exam schedule I just passed my stage 2 requirements and like everybody else still in a the dark to what does practical exam brings.Yet,reading thru your threads it's giving me confidence and insights to the exam and I'm grateful for it. I would also like to ask if vetassess had you put on the roofs? Thank you Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest waitingtogotooz Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Hi Waitingtogoz, I'm also a carpenter and awaiting practical exam schedule I just passed my stage 2 requirements and like everybody else still in a the dark to what does practical exam brings.Yet,reading thru your threads it's giving me confidence and insights to the exam and I'm grateful for it. I would also like to ask if vetassess had you put on the roofs? Thank you Regards Hi No prob My OH said you are in a classroom type environment and the building a piece of 8x4 ply with a would be wall plate around the perimeter of the ply Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkle100 Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 Hi No prob My OH said you are in a classroom type environment and the building a piece of 8x4 ply with a would be wall plate around the perimeter of the ply I take it they give you the pitch and away you go?The saw horse, is it jointed or simply screwed? Would like to get a bit of practise in for the big day... Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest waitingtogotooz Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I take it they give you the pitch and away you go?The saw horse, is it jointed or simply screwed? Would like to get a bit of practise in for the big day... Cheers He said it is jointed and screwed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest myboysjam Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Hi there I done the test last year and it wasn't to bad bit nerve racking but you are made to feel at ease by examiner .I would recommend you get a roofing square for the roof as the pitch is 30 degrees and you just set the square to that and get all the cuts from that. Anymore questions just ask Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkle100 Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 Hi there I done the test last year and it wasn't to bad bit nerve racking but you are made to feel at ease by examiner .I would recommend you get a roofing square for the roof as the pitch is 30 degrees and you just set the square to that and get all the cuts from that. Anymore questions just ask The thought of it is probably worse than doing it. I've just got a app on my IPhone, you simply punch in the width,length and pitch and it gives you all your lengths- did anyone use one? In your opinion which is the easiest way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pomtom Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Getting excited and nervous! We just have to pass this practical then its all plane sailing, has anyone got any more information on what questions they ask you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkle100 Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 Getting excited and nervous! We just have to pass this practical then its all plane sailing, has anyone got any more information on what questions they ask you? From what I can gather the questions are nothing out of the norm, common sense so we should be ok. I'm more nervous with the roof and saw horse, although I'm going to polish up this weekend in the garden to make life easier on the day- I hope! Any ideas about the construction of the saw horse- could do with practicing this also!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest johnbaguio Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Hi there I done the test last year and it wasn't to bad bit nerve racking but you are made to feel at ease by examiner .I would recommend you get a roofing square for the roof as the pitch is 30 degrees and you just set the square to that and get all the cuts from that. Anymore questions just ask Hi myboysjam, Thanks heaps for the helpful inputs!How about the roof did you literally put on the metal/shingle roofs or was just the roof frames? cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest myboysjam Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Hi there it was just the frame the different types of rafters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest johnbaguio Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Hi there it was just the frame the different types of rafters How about the height of the roof was it given too besides the pitch? How did the practical took,also do you still remember those questions they asked maybe you can give me some heads up.I'm so nervous about this assessment so I need as much help as I can get. Your effort in sharing is much appreciated. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nohea Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 How about the height of the roof was it given too besides the pitch? How did the practical took,also do you still remember those questions they asked maybe you can give me some heads up.I'm so nervous about this assessment so I need as much help as I can get. Your effort in sharing is much appreciated. John Hi John My husband was going to do the carpenter practical but got freaked out when roofs were mentioned, so changed to carpenter/joiner as you don't have to do the roof!! I remember him not sleeping and worrying so much before he went to do it, he bought books and allsorts to revise even though he has been a qualified joiner for over 20 years. When he got home after doing it he said it was so much easier than what he was expecting and if your a decent joiner you would sail through no problems. The people who run it are helpful and friendly and are not there to catch you out so to speak, for example my husband was told to 'go and wait by the buzzer', he had no idea what this was, thought it was some kind of doorbell or something, so asked the man who told him its what they call a surface planer , (they call some machines and tools different things in oz apparently), but the man was fine about it and just explained this. The questions he was asked were all common sense, health and safety etc. one question was something like; if you were working in the bush what would you need? he said get shade if needed and make sure you have plenty of water and food etc. Make sure you have all ppe on the list my husband forgot ear defenders but luckily borrowed some off a well prepared man who had a spare pair!, he also said the sawhorse was very easy and all of the instructions were easy to follow etc. and you get plenty of time to complete all tasks. He said the atmosphere in the room was chilled and didn't feel like you were being tested so to speak, Good luck with it all, i'm sure you'll be fine once you get there, i think the build up and not knowing quite what to expect it the worse part! :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest johnbaguio Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Hi John My husband was going to do the carpenter practical but got freaked out when roofs were mentioned, so changed to carpenter/joiner as you don't have to do the roof!! I remember him not sleeping and worrying so much before he went to do it, he bought books and allsorts to revise even though he has been a qualified joiner for over 20 years. When he got home after doing it he said it was so much easier than what he was expecting and if your a decent joiner you would sail through no problems. The people who run it are helpful and friendly and are not there to catch you out so to speak, for example my husband was told to 'go and wait by the buzzer', he had no idea what this was, thought it was some kind of doorbell or something, so asked the man who told him its what they call a surface planer , (they call some machines and tools different things in oz apparently), but the man was fine about it and just explained this. The questions he was asked were all common sense, health and safety etc. one question was something like; if you were working in the bush what would you need? he said get shade if needed and make sure you have plenty of water and food etc. Make sure you have all ppe on the list my husband forgot ear defenders but luckily borrowed some off a well prepared man who had a spare pair!, he also said the sawhorse was very easy and all of the instructions were easy to follow etc. and you get plenty of time to complete all tasks. He said the atmosphere in the room was chilled and didn't feel like you were being tested so to speak, Good luck with it all, i'm sure you'll be fine once you get there, i think the build up and not knowing quite what to expect it the worse part! :biggrin: Hey Nohea, Thanks this helps a lot.Now,I dont have to be looking through the whole library/net for carpentry books. Just drop me a note if your husband remembers some of the questions they've asked it will be of great help.We are thinking of moving to Melbourne I have an friend employer stationed here and I have all our visa applications(RSMS 119) and meds sent to DIAC and while waiting for the approval I was asked to do a "positive skills assessment" all CO needs. Hoping this is all. Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest myboysjam Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Hi there no they don't give you the height of the roof you need to work it out from the pitch and angles.I bought a roofing square and it's great it gives you the right angles you just set it to 35 degrees and cut everything at that.the questions they asked me were the parts of a scaffolding they give you a picture of a scaffold and a list of parts and you just have to match up the parts.and they also asked me about removing a wall as what would you look for first like check for pipes and cables seer if it's a load bearer and then the instructor said that's fine .it's not bad the instructor makes you feel at ease and as long as you show how to use the tools and saw etc you should be ok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkle100 Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 Hi there no they don't give you the height of the roof you need to work it out from the pitch and angles.I bought a roofing square and it's great it gives you the right angles you just set it to 35 degrees and cut everything at that.the questions they asked me were the parts of a scaffolding they give you a picture of a scaffold and a list of parts and you just have to match up the parts.and they also asked me about removing a wall as what would you look for first like check for pipes and cables seer if it's a load bearer and then the instructor said that's fine .it's not bad the instructor makes you feel at ease and as long as you show how to use the tools and saw etc you should be ok You make it sound easy, to be honest the more I read about it the easier it sounds- I'm still practicing though. I have an iPhone app that you add your dimensions of the roof + pitch and it gives you all your lengths and angles etc !! What other methods did people use, can you take anything in there? What about the the saw horse, what is the construction of this, jointed and screwed- what angles? Would like to practise this as I'm Told they are a little un- forgiving!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos fandango Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 You make it sound easy, to be honest the more I read about it the easier it sounds- I'm still practicing though. I have an iPhone app that you add your dimensions of the roof + pitch and it gives you all your lengths and angles etc !! What other methods did people use, can you take anything in there? What about the the saw horse, what is the construction of this, jointed and screwed- what angles? Would like to practise this as I'm Told they are a little un- forgiving!! Did my practical 18 months ago now and I've answered these particular questions many times since. These examiners are not there to catch you out, they are there however to see that you can show a certain amont of competancy in Carpentry, so like I've said before if this is your proper job you shouldn't have any problems. The sawing stool is manufactured using a drawing which gives all dimensions and also the angles and depth of housings.....so what the examiner is looking for is that every saw stool made by each carpenter SHOULD be exactly the same and also proves you can work from a drawing. Just like has been mentioned earlier the roof is constructed on a sheet of 8x4 ply with a 3x2 wall plate screwed around the perimeter. You are given a drawing again which gives you all the info you need to build a gabled (at one end ) and a hipped roof at the other end, and just cutting jacks to one half of the hip end......obviously you got to cut the common rafters to hold the ridge there, but if you dont know that....well then you shouldn't be doing this exam.....I use a calculator and roofing square, but you can use any thing which gives you the answer.... apart from copying someone else I suppose.... I had to set out a storey rod for a window and door frame...allowing for studs etc.....cut a length of timber with a circular, then plane it up (dont forget your PPE !!!!).....answer questions about scaffold parts and health and safety on question sheets they give you....THEN got quizzed in a separate room by the examiner........... AND I did all this and was driving back home by midday having passed.....(we started at 8-30am) Like I said, if you know your stuff it is a piece of p**s, granted it is an exam so there is a bit more pressure there......but you will walk out after it all and say...."what a piece of p**s". I would suggest practicing if you can...sheet of ply, 10 lengths of 3x2 and away you go...saw stool just practice setting out for the housings and splays and srewing it together....oh its also got to be a certain height so when you got it structurally constructed turn it upside down and measure each leg length and use the bevels you set up to cut the feet !!!!!!..... Hope this helps Good luck Carlos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leelee 18 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Hi can i ask where are you going to live over there? have you got a sponsor or job ready? my husband is a carpenter and we are just starting our journey to move to Brisbane as we have friends out there, i know you can get a state sponsor if your goin perth as they want carpenters, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos fandango Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Hi can i ask where are you going to live over there? have you got a sponsor or job ready? my husband is a carpenter and we are just starting our journey to move to Brisbane as we have friends out there, i know you can get a state sponsor if your goin perth as they want carpenters, Hi firstly so it helps others reading if you want to reply back to someone who has posted a comment look for the orange tabs at the bottom right of their window....you should see ...quote post...multi off...quick reply...thanks... If you click quote post you get what shows just above my message here a greyed out copy of your post so you know its you I'm referring to, also you can edit out words in the message which is greyed (just leave the brackets and quotes inside intact) whilst your in reply mode like this.... state sponsor if your goin perth as they want carpenters, and even change its colour !!!!!. If you for instance have read my post and want to show you have read it, just click on the thanks tab and your username will show up at the bottom of my post.....ok forum workshop closed for today and sorry if I'm trying to teach you to suck eggs !!!!!! Now in answer to your question if it was aimed at me.....I'm WA state sponsored and heading off to perth where we have friends (when we eventually get our visa), and no I havn't got a job waiting so hopefully they'll all be queing up at the airport waiting for me when I land. Cheers Carlos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest johnbaguio Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Hi there it was just the frame the different types of rafters Hi Myboysjam, Thanks again for the vital tips it's really helpful!I still have a few queries I hope you don't mind:biggrin 1.When you cut the rafters were you given specs for the overhang of the tail rafter? 2.How about the ridge for the gable roof on the other end did the ridge also had overhang or was it leveled or flashed on the wall? 3.Were there any questions regarding masonry,stairs,computations or was it just practical ones? Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest myboysjam Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 Hi there johnbaguio the other end of the ridge is just cut flush at the end of the ridge to form a straight gable. They give you the over hang to cut the rafters can't remember what it is . It was just practical questions I was asked dont know if it same for everyone . Really there's nothing to worry about if you know how to use tools measure and cut the right angles which are all givien to you on the paper . Also the test runs from 9 till about 5 but everyone in my class was finished for 2 o'clock and that was with a half an hour break so there is not much to worry about. Also I cut the saw hors height wrong. I cuut the legs about 10 mm short but still past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkle100 Posted February 27, 2011 Author Share Posted February 27, 2011 Hi there johnbaguio the other end of the ridge is just cut flush at the end of the ridge to form a straight gable. They give you the over hang to cut the rafters can't remember what it is . It was just practical questions I was asked dont know if it same for everyone . Really there's nothing to worry about if you know how to use tools measure and cut the right angles which are all givien to you on the paper . Also the test runs from 9 till about 5 but everyone in my class was finished for 2 o'clock and that was with a half an hour break so there is not much to worry about. Also I cut the saw hors height wrong. I cuut the legs about 10 mm short but still past. Myboysjam morning, Various people have said you get your results a few days later- do you get any indication on the day how you got on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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