Materials Hands-On Training

Author: Fourie

ISBN: 978-1920203740

Two new practical handbooks have just been published by Cape Town educational and vocational publishers Future Managers for the NCV 2 curriculum - Materials and Plant & Equipment. Their author Herman Fourie, studied modern languages at Rhodes University and apart from teaching has mostly worked as a translator, interpreter, editor and writer.

"This is my first attempt at writing a textbook, but while doing so I was able to apply a lot of my experience gained from building two houses of my own and also while restoring a Cape Dutch farmhouse in Heidelberg (Cape) that was built by a distant ancestor in 1728. My love of carpentry, especially restoring old Cape furniture and making replicas of old doors, windows ands metal fittings, has given me invaluable experience in working with and maintaining both traditional woodworking and metalworking tools and their modern electrical equivalents.

These books are not just about all the skills, tools and materials used in modern building practice, but also about the origins of the Universe, the world we live in, what it is made of and where all our building materials come from. There is interesting background information about the history and development of all the tools and materials - especially cement and concrete - that we use in our buildings.

We also discuss other important issues like health, first aid and safety and how new space-age materials like plastics are being used today. I tried to make the books very practical without neglecting the legal requirements of vital aspects like the erection and use of scaffolding, the use of ladders and safety wear, as well as aspects like recycling and energy efficiency - all matters that are going to become extremely important in the near future."