Day 2 - Catherine

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We started this second day of woodworking by deciding on the type and quantity of wood/materials that we would need to begin. Mr. Grisbee recommended that I use hardwood to make my cutting/serving board because of its durability and low maintenance. After looking at several different lightwoods and dark woods, I chose maple and walnut because of their rich contrasting colors.

Later in the morning, Mr. Grisbee introduced us to the table saw. He walked us through the many different preparation steps that we will have to do before using the machine. He showed us how to attach the blade and then square it with the triangle and a digital angle gauge to ensure a clean cut. Mr. Grisbee also explained that Sawstop table saws like the one we will use have a special safety mechanism where the blade will automatically stop at the slightest contact with flesh or other triggering items preventing major injury. We were also reminded to still be careful and always use the push blocks as extra precautions. The second part of the woodworking lesson today was on how to use different blades that are specific to making dados (trenches) in the wood. Dados are often used to fit and join multiple pieces of wood together.

In the afternoon, we went to Home Depot and Rockler to pick out our materials. I ended up buying one long plank of walnut and two smaller planks of maple. Both were 3/4" thick. Sutton and I later measured the walnut to be 98.5"x 6" and the maple to be 60.25" x 8". Tomorrow, I will finally get to start cutting! 

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