Day 3 of Carpentry
Pictures are coming. I promise.
I started on my toolbox this morning. (There was a blackout this morning at the school, but luckily we had power back up by 9:30am.) I have to say that there is something satisfying about walking around school grounds to look for a sapling to cut down to use as your toolbox handle. Using the drawing blade to remove the bark was very meditative, and I was amazed at how wet the wood underneath was.
Radial arm saw is fun to use. I don't like the compound miter/chop saw as much. It cuts "meaner" and feels less intuitive after learning the radial arm first.
Radial arm saw, make sure the fence is clean of dust first. Then you mark at the side of the board furthest from you. You bring the arm forward to test the blade against the mark. Push the arm back. If you have a dust vacuum, turn it on first. Turn on the saw. Make your cut. Note that the arm does not need to come all the way forward. It just needs to completely clear the board. Push the arm back. Turn off the saw. If there's an electric break, use it to stop the blade. Then turn off the vacuum.
With the chop saw, you mark the side of the board closest to you. Then you bring the arm forward and check the blade against the mark. You can "taste" on the waste side by moving the board (the saw is stationary until the portable circular saw). When you're ready, bring the arm forward. Turn on, push the arm down and back to make your cut.
Group A put up the back wall of the shed during the morning. So my group put up the front wall in the afternoon. We started by making sure the front frame was squared. We put a temporary diagonal brace on it to keep it from moving.
I didn't try my hand at the jig saw, but I did try a drop cut with a portable circular saw. You don't want to line up the back of the blade because it's hard too. You do want to hold down the front of the saw well, while you lift the safety guard and the back of the saw. The point is to turn on the saw while you're above your cut so that you can drop into it. We were using this to cut out the doorway in the siding material. The corner detail was actually cut out with the jig saw.
Also to keep in mind, if you need to re-position yourself while using the circular saw, stop and wait for the blade to stop. Re-position. Back up the saw a little when you're ready to start again. You don't want the teeth to be in the wood when you're restarting the saw or else you might make a messy cut.
We nailed the siding to the front frame. And then we moved it onto the floor frame. Put the wall up, and put in a few temporary nails into the bottom plate to the floor. Prepare a brace on the side by nailing it diagonally to the floor frame. Clamp the top of the brace to the top of the front wall. Check for level. When it's leveled, tighten the clamp and nail in a temporary nail. Check for level again. If it's ok, put in a second temporary nail. Repeat on the other side.
ANYWAY!
What I really want to say is that I can now buy the chair plans from Wave Hill, and I know that I am capable of making it. Whee!
http://www.thekitchn.com/the-perfect-garden-chair-and-you-can-build-it-yourself-222202
P.S. I have not worked out all week so far. I feel guilty. XD
edit: I forgot! We learned how to install sheetrock aka drywall.
I started on my toolbox this morning. (There was a blackout this morning at the school, but luckily we had power back up by 9:30am.) I have to say that there is something satisfying about walking around school grounds to look for a sapling to cut down to use as your toolbox handle. Using the drawing blade to remove the bark was very meditative, and I was amazed at how wet the wood underneath was.
Radial arm saw is fun to use. I don't like the compound miter/chop saw as much. It cuts "meaner" and feels less intuitive after learning the radial arm first.
Radial arm saw, make sure the fence is clean of dust first. Then you mark at the side of the board furthest from you. You bring the arm forward to test the blade against the mark. Push the arm back. If you have a dust vacuum, turn it on first. Turn on the saw. Make your cut. Note that the arm does not need to come all the way forward. It just needs to completely clear the board. Push the arm back. Turn off the saw. If there's an electric break, use it to stop the blade. Then turn off the vacuum.
With the chop saw, you mark the side of the board closest to you. Then you bring the arm forward and check the blade against the mark. You can "taste" on the waste side by moving the board (the saw is stationary until the portable circular saw). When you're ready, bring the arm forward. Turn on, push the arm down and back to make your cut.
Group A put up the back wall of the shed during the morning. So my group put up the front wall in the afternoon. We started by making sure the front frame was squared. We put a temporary diagonal brace on it to keep it from moving.
I didn't try my hand at the jig saw, but I did try a drop cut with a portable circular saw. You don't want to line up the back of the blade because it's hard too. You do want to hold down the front of the saw well, while you lift the safety guard and the back of the saw. The point is to turn on the saw while you're above your cut so that you can drop into it. We were using this to cut out the doorway in the siding material. The corner detail was actually cut out with the jig saw.
Also to keep in mind, if you need to re-position yourself while using the circular saw, stop and wait for the blade to stop. Re-position. Back up the saw a little when you're ready to start again. You don't want the teeth to be in the wood when you're restarting the saw or else you might make a messy cut.
We nailed the siding to the front frame. And then we moved it onto the floor frame. Put the wall up, and put in a few temporary nails into the bottom plate to the floor. Prepare a brace on the side by nailing it diagonally to the floor frame. Clamp the top of the brace to the top of the front wall. Check for level. When it's leveled, tighten the clamp and nail in a temporary nail. Check for level again. If it's ok, put in a second temporary nail. Repeat on the other side.
ANYWAY!
What I really want to say is that I can now buy the chair plans from Wave Hill, and I know that I am capable of making it. Whee!
http://www.thekitchn.com/the-perfect-garden-chair-and-you-can-build-it-yourself-222202
P.S. I have not worked out all week so far. I feel guilty. XD
edit: I forgot! We learned how to install sheetrock aka drywall.