Thursday, March 1st

I have to attend a district meeting about Construction and Woodworking. Today you will do three things.

1) View additional instruction from Maucks about jointer operation; please take notes on things to do; things not to do; and best practices. There will be a test at the beginning of next week.

There are three separate videos about 7 minutes; 9 minutes; and 6 minutes long
Jointer safety video #1 Setup
Jointer safety video #2 Precautions
Jointer safety video #3 Operations.


Take notes on the basics of the machine:
Name:
Drive type:
Principal Use:
Secondary Use:
Built in Safety Features:
Safety Precautions (Behaviors to follow):

Procedures for use to get good results:



2) You will view a video from a beloved, and long time teacher of woodworking Roy Underhill. Roy has been making the show The Woodwright's Shop for over thirty years. His focus is on hand tools, and old tools. Even if you like using big machines, paying attention to the way he "lays out" the projects he works on, his comments about grain direction, and other things that are universal, you can learn a LOT from watch him.

The video I would like you to watch today is about making a kind of wooden toy called a Whirlygig. We will be making toys after we make our cutting board. (The cutting boards should be complete before spring break.) You will not have to make a toy as complicated as a Whirlygig, and I don't expect most of us to build toys as complicated as Whirlygigs. I am thinking of what the Guild of Oregon Woodworkers does.  Or something like:





As you watch The Woodwright's Shop: Secrets of the Whirlygig Season 29 Episode 2 (26:46), please take notes about "alignment" that is, "How does a maker ensure that parts that need to be parallel or inline are so?" You may also want to jot down ideas like how an "eccentric wheel" will affect movment.

The final activity for the day is about planning for a project. There is a handout for you (and a photo of that handout below.) The last thing that needs to get built for the production of Into the Woods is a "counter" for the bakers. This counter is to be 42 inches tall; 36 inches wide; 16 inches deep. It will have a top counter that will have a one inch "lip" that is the top of the shelf will be one inch below the front (so at 41 inches high). There will be another shelf only 12 inches deep that is four inches off the ground. This counter will be made out of 1/2 inch thick Baltic birch plywood. This plywood comes in sheets 60 inches x 60 inches. Your job is to figure out the most efficient way to lay out the wood on a board. (You will need to sheets of plywood. ) You will need to draw lines indicating cuts that will need to be made to the board, and subsequent cuts to the parts. You should have as little waste as possible. (Extra credit: design a second "cut list" that could be used to build a counter as close as possible to the one ordered from a single 60"x60" sheet of plywood.)

Remember that when making cuts on a table saw you can't just "stop" at a certain point. Generally speaking you must rip through the board.

Some of you may wish to have some graph paper to make your figuring easier. Turn in your work to the "In" box before leaving, or give it to Mr. Zartler next class.

February: Cutting Boards and Set Builds

Class has been working to mill wood for cutting boards.

Milling means taking big boards, and making them shorter, and square. Students should have had an opportunity to be given lessons on the jointer. Also see the jointer videos on Maucks.com .

Students also worked to assist with building the sets for Into the Woods.

Students have been given the following protocol for making a cutting board:

Cutting Board Finishes: Tuesday/ Wednesday 6/7 February

Contrary advice on finishing salad boards?

Why is there disagreement? What are the pros and cons of each?

ToolMetrix discusses finishes. How are finishes that "build" different than finishes that "penetrate"?

Charles Neil, southern woodworker, LOOOONG Time YouTube Teacher, says something different.

What advantages does Neil's "build" finish provide? Are there disadvantages he discusses?

Friday February 1 and Monday February 4

Plan for the day:

Please review the photos and links on the previous entry first. Take notes on ideas, as well as on procedures for making a cutting board.

The following links show various approaches to making a cutting board. I make a note about whether or not I know and trust the maker before each link. EXTRA CREDIT if you notice something fishy or unsafe in any video.

This Old House Makes a Cutting Board: Reliable and Trustworthy source. (9 minutes)

The Wood Whisperer Makes a Cutting Board: This guy annoys me, but he is a well known wood worker, who is careful to show you good techniques. End grain board. Does he annoy you? (18 minutes)

Wood moves? The Wood Whisperer 4 minutes.

Edge grain board. I don't know this source. Be wary. (8 minutes)

Cutting Boards

Cutting Boards can be made out of edge gain; face grain; or end grain.




This board is strips of mostly edge grain.



















This board is strips of mostly face grain.

















This is an end grain cutting board. It is harder to make and requires more material.















Please read these two pages for information on what the differences are between the type of wood grain used for cutting boards:


Face vs. Edge. Vs. End Grain Cutting Boards

Edge Grain Vs. End Grain 

Wood Moves

We started second semester with examining in more detail the way wood works (or should we save wood moves?).



We discussed the words used to describe parts of a stick of wood. We discussed how wood moving was related to how our finger jointed box is put together.

We discussed plywood. How it is made, and how this effects how we use it.

Second Semester

Second Semester will require more technical knowledge. Students should be prepared to take notes more often.

Mr. Zartler will work on selecting projects that can progress more quickly.

First project of 2nd Semester will be a cutting board.

Also it is important to note that ALL previous safety tests and demos will be carried forward into second semester. If you haven't yet passed a test or demo, you need to see Zartler immediately (flex time?) to get this taken care of.

End of Semester 1

Students had time to complete safety tests and demos.

Students worked toward completing their boxes.