| David CONSIDINE BMCS, USCG |
| Last updated 2007-11-30 |
| Click on any picture to bring up a larger verzion! |
| (Before people write me on it, much of this IS on the "military" page.... but Chiefie is continuing to do things all the time so I started this page!) |
David Considine is a Senior Chief Boatswain's Mate in the U.S. Coast Guard and is currently 'Officer In Charge' of a CG station in
Massachucetts. He has been corresponding with me for a few years and his work is some of the nicest I've ever seen. It is a
pleasure to put up this page to display his craft.
Massachucetts. He has been corresponding with me for a few years and his work is some of the nicest I've ever seen. It is a
pleasure to put up this page to display his craft.
Let's start with one of the most important items to a Chief Petty Officer in just about ANY naval
Service: his HAT. The hat is a symbol of the CPO's rank, and also a reminder that he has
achieved a position of respect and responsibility which is difficult to convey to the civilian. The
Chief is (all respects to the Officers aboard) the man who is REALLY in charge of the various
functions of the ship. He is the grease that makes the gears go 'round, the final source of
knowledge for all hands (if the Chief says that's how it works, then you can believe that "That
s How It Works"), the man who really controls the crew and the day-to-day operation of the
particular division of the ship's workforce, the real "go-to" guy in any emergency.
I could go on, but essentially the CPO IS the Service. When he achieves his rank of Chief, he is
given his first hat, and anyone who has NOT 'made' Chief cannot really understand the true
importance of this object to him. Suffice it to say it's like his diploma.
Service: his HAT. The hat is a symbol of the CPO's rank, and also a reminder that he has
achieved a position of respect and responsibility which is difficult to convey to the civilian. The
Chief is (all respects to the Officers aboard) the man who is REALLY in charge of the various
functions of the ship. He is the grease that makes the gears go 'round, the final source of
knowledge for all hands (if the Chief says that's how it works, then you can believe that "That
s How It Works"), the man who really controls the crew and the day-to-day operation of the
particular division of the ship's workforce, the real "go-to" guy in any emergency.
I could go on, but essentially the CPO IS the Service. When he achieves his rank of Chief, he is
given his first hat, and anyone who has NOT 'made' Chief cannot really understand the true
importance of this object to him. Suffice it to say it's like his diploma.
Chief Petty Officer's Hat box decoration by Chief Boatswain's Mate David Considine, USCG (O.I.C. of Chatam MA USCG Facility.)
"This is the anchor I made for my Chief's Initiation hat box. I basically tied the rope anchor that is the frontispiece of the
'Encyclopedia of Knots and Fancy Rope Work' by Graumont and Hensel. Since the Coast Guard Chief's Anchor has the
shield I had originally planned on making the shield overlay the anchor. That was almost impossible... I ended up cutting the
shank of the anchor in two and used a wood cutout of the shield to place in between the new top and bottom. For the shield I
used several different sennits and straight ropes."
"This is the anchor I made for my Chief's Initiation hat box. I basically tied the rope anchor that is the frontispiece of the
'Encyclopedia of Knots and Fancy Rope Work' by Graumont and Hensel. Since the Coast Guard Chief's Anchor has the
shield I had originally planned on making the shield overlay the anchor. That was almost impossible... I ended up cutting the
shank of the anchor in two and used a wood cutout of the shield to place in between the new top and bottom. For the shield I
used several different sennits and straight ropes."
A picture frame that Chief made... the picture inside is of a Coast Guard
Lifesaving Crew around the turn of the 20th century, somewhere in
Massachucetts.
The frame has several different senits applied to a board backing and
then small mats and turksheads are applied over them as decorations.
This one is not completed as shown; David had not yet done the
"edging" sennit to hide the rest of the board backing, but you can
easily see how pretty this will be when fully done.
Picture frames have long been a tradition among seamen and some
are enormous and incredibly intricate. It IS somewhat a dying art.
Lifesaving Crew around the turn of the 20th century, somewhere in
Massachucetts.
The frame has several different senits applied to a board backing and
then small mats and turksheads are applied over them as decorations.
This one is not completed as shown; David had not yet done the
"edging" sennit to hide the rest of the board backing, but you can
easily see how pretty this will be when fully done.
Picture frames have long been a tradition among seamen and some
are enormous and incredibly intricate. It IS somewhat a dying art.
"I had done this for my brother ten years ago
while underway on a Coast Guard Cutter. He
had received the harpoon from a friend and
asked if I could put some fancy work on it.
Looking through Ashley I found what he had for
Harpoon fancywork. I didn't want to drill
through the wood so I did the best to secure
the trail line in accordance with the pictures in
Ashley* (#2062 and 2063) making the mount on
the handle rather than the actual iron. "
(*The Ashley Book of Knots" by Clifford Ashley)
while underway on a Coast Guard Cutter. He
had received the harpoon from a friend and
asked if I could put some fancy work on it.
Looking through Ashley I found what he had for
Harpoon fancywork. I didn't want to drill
through the wood so I did the best to secure
the trail line in accordance with the pictures in
Ashley* (#2062 and 2063) making the mount on
the handle rather than the actual iron. "
(*The Ashley Book of Knots" by Clifford Ashley)
Gilbert and Sullivan tell us "A Policeman's Life Is Not A
Happy One." Well, a sailor's life, while happy, may not
necessarily be a safe one.
Chief had to get issued a cane after a recent injury and
so, like any true sailor who's laid up, he decided to
"improve the shining hour" with a bit of fancywork on his
"third leg".
Happy One." Well, a sailor's life, while happy, may not
necessarily be a safe one.
Chief had to get issued a cane after a recent injury and
so, like any true sailor who's laid up, he decided to
"improve the shining hour" with a bit of fancywork on his
"third leg".
Then, there's the bellropes. Every sailor who does knotting at some point will try his hand at turning out a bellrope or two. Chief
hadn't tried one of these and had been thinging about doing one when he ran across my tutorial on bellropes and decided to give
it a shot. The results are, even to the untrained eye, impressive, and to the trained eye they are the mark of a true devotee of the
craft. I would be proud to have any of his ropes aboard a vessel I commanded.
The bellrope is to the ship what the hat is to a Chief: along with the ship's bell, it ranks as the "heart" of the ship. It is probably
the most jealously guarded piece of equipment and the fancier the bellrope, the more prestige it gives to the vessel. They can
range from the purely functional to the almost obscenely ornate and from six inches long and straight up-and-down to one I saw
(made for HMS Ark Royal in the early 40's) which was three feet tall and took almost a year to complete. Needless to say, the
more ornate are kept in a safe place and only mounted for ceremonial occasions such as visits by Very High Brass or diplomatic
port-calls. Sailors who do these as gifts reserve them for those whom the most respect. To be given the bellrope from a ship
(as was done for Churchill and Roosevelt) is a mark of almost incredible respect.
hadn't tried one of these and had been thinging about doing one when he ran across my tutorial on bellropes and decided to give
it a shot. The results are, even to the untrained eye, impressive, and to the trained eye they are the mark of a true devotee of the
craft. I would be proud to have any of his ropes aboard a vessel I commanded.
The bellrope is to the ship what the hat is to a Chief: along with the ship's bell, it ranks as the "heart" of the ship. It is probably
the most jealously guarded piece of equipment and the fancier the bellrope, the more prestige it gives to the vessel. They can
range from the purely functional to the almost obscenely ornate and from six inches long and straight up-and-down to one I saw
(made for HMS Ark Royal in the early 40's) which was three feet tall and took almost a year to complete. Needless to say, the
more ornate are kept in a safe place and only mounted for ceremonial occasions such as visits by Very High Brass or diplomatic
port-calls. Sailors who do these as gifts reserve them for those whom the most respect. To be given the bellrope from a ship
(as was done for Churchill and Roosevelt) is a mark of almost incredible respect.
For those of you who may be interested in constructing a bellrope of
your own, let me refer you to my tutorial on the subject.
Chief Considine started out with a rope "pudding", or core for the
bellrope, with a coxcomed eye around a thimble (used to prevent
wear on the rope as the ship moves back and forth and the bellrope
necessarily moves against it), then he covered the pudding with the
"body" or "Casing" of the rope, finally adding the decorative
turksheads you see here... they go from a 3x5 at the small end to a
7x9 at the big end in order. (Nice touch!)
He also too the time and pains to "box" the end of the bellrope
(something rarely done anymore) by creating a mat across the end
and then locking that in with the larger turkshead. Very tricky to do
well.
your own, let me refer you to my tutorial on the subject.
Chief Considine started out with a rope "pudding", or core for the
bellrope, with a coxcomed eye around a thimble (used to prevent
wear on the rope as the ship moves back and forth and the bellrope
necessarily moves against it), then he covered the pudding with the
"body" or "Casing" of the rope, finally adding the decorative
turksheads you see here... they go from a 3x5 at the small end to a
7x9 at the big end in order. (Nice touch!)
He also too the time and pains to "box" the end of the bellrope
(something rarely done anymore) by creating a mat across the end
and then locking that in with the larger turkshead. Very tricky to do
well.
Then we have some pictures of the bellrope before
and after varnishing: you can see how much it has
changed the colour and appearance of the finished
item. Varnishing is a necessary evil: without it, salt
spray and the not-always-clean hands of the
watchstanders would deteriorate the work in a short
time. Varnish, while it changes the colour drastically,
will preserve the bellrope indefinitely. There is a
varnished bellrope in the British Museum which dates
from the mid 16th century and which may have been
on Henry Tudor's flagship at one time.
and after varnishing: you can see how much it has
changed the colour and appearance of the finished
item. Varnishing is a necessary evil: without it, salt
spray and the not-always-clean hands of the
watchstanders would deteriorate the work in a short
time. Varnish, while it changes the colour drastically,
will preserve the bellrope indefinitely. There is a
varnished bellrope in the British Museum which dates
from the mid 16th century and which may have been
on Henry Tudor's flagship at one time.
A small "straight" bellrope (also can be used for many other purposes
aboard ship) which would have been found on a ship's motor whaler or
cutter.
And, "our little family".... the belleope above, the small bellrope and an
interesting tool... a line puller. We use these for dragging line thru
turksheads while building them, for tucking small decorative
eyesplices or... you name it. One of those tools which you can't figure
out how you got alone without it once you have one. This one is of
.24AWG piano wire which has been bent several times and the handle
braided up around it. Cheap, easy to make, invaluable and a perfect
example of not only the sailor's adaptability and inventiveness, but the
perfect answer to, "What am I goona do with THIS stuff?"
aboard ship) which would have been found on a ship's motor whaler or
cutter.
And, "our little family".... the belleope above, the small bellrope and an
interesting tool... a line puller. We use these for dragging line thru
turksheads while building them, for tucking small decorative
eyesplices or... you name it. One of those tools which you can't figure
out how you got alone without it once you have one. This one is of
.24AWG piano wire which has been bent several times and the handle
braided up around it. Cheap, easy to make, invaluable and a perfect
example of not only the sailor's adaptability and inventiveness, but the
perfect answer to, "What am I goona do with THIS stuff?"
Below, port and starboard views (what.... you were expecting maybe "left" and "right"?) of another bellrope that Chief
Considine made for a retiring Master Chief. What a NICE retirement gift and how the Chief's eyes must have shone.
Considine made for a retiring Master Chief. What a NICE retirement gift and how the Chief's eyes must have shone.
I have some more things on my computer
which need to get posted here, but that'll
have to wait a while.... it's a big site and
needs a lot of maintenance.
which need to get posted here, but that'll
have to wait a while.... it's a big site and
needs a lot of maintenance.