Day 3 - Catherine
Day 3!! Having gone to Home Depot and Rockler yesterday, we were all set to start the real work today. Mr. Grisbee gave us a lesson on how to use the planer and the jointer, two woodworking machines that help to level out the wood.
My first step was to cut the huge 98" long walnut plank and shorter but equally oversized 60" maple plank into manageable pieces. As my cutting board design is 12", I cut the wood into 13" pieces to account for the planing and sanding that will happen at the end. I then used the jointer to sand out the edges. I only ran the walnut through the jointer because the maple was too wide. I found it tricky to use the jointer with the wood placed horizontally because as you push the wood through with the two push grips you are supposed to lift one hand up and place it in front of the other one to evenly guide the wood through but I apparently did not have the coordination for that. I was also supposed to mark arrows on the sides of the wood to easily identify which side I planed but even that was confusing as I would accidentally mark the arrows the wrong way or have it marked the right way but then accidentally sand it off on the next run through the jointer. I then used the planer to smooth out the maple. The planer was a lot easier to use because you just have to give it a little push at the beginning and once the blade catches, the machine will run it through for you.
The next step was to cut the slices of walnut and maple with the table saw. Since the pattern I am creating is an optical illusion, there are many, many pieces to cut. I have to cut 21 pieces of maple and 21 pieces of walnut, so 42 cuts of wood total that range from 4.5mm to 39.5 mm.
I went a little overboard with the cut lists and spent a good half hour doing very tedious calculations to try to maximize the number of cuts I could get out of one piece of wood. I didn’t even end up using the calculations as I forgot that it made more sense to do the calculations in increasing thickness and to do all of the ones of the same that the same thickness at the same time in order to avoid having to change the fence measurement excessively. It took me many practice cuts to understand the tension required to slide the wood along the fence without pushing too hard against the blade which created charring and splinters. Once I got the hang of it I was able to do the first 22 cuts.
To end the day, Mr. Grisbee gave a very enthusiastic presentation on the “life-changing skill” of wrapping cables the correct way. Basically, it involves twisting the cable clockwise then counterclockwise, alternating after each wrap until you have a nicely wrapped cable that lays flat. If you do it correctly you’re supposed to be able to throw the cable outwards without creating any knots. This also took me a few tries and lots of initial confusion but I think I have mastered the cable wrap now.
Tomorrow, I get to look forward to another 20 more cuts!
My first step was to cut the huge 98" long walnut plank and shorter but equally oversized 60" maple plank into manageable pieces. As my cutting board design is 12", I cut the wood into 13" pieces to account for the planing and sanding that will happen at the end. I then used the jointer to sand out the edges. I only ran the walnut through the jointer because the maple was too wide. I found it tricky to use the jointer with the wood placed horizontally because as you push the wood through with the two push grips you are supposed to lift one hand up and place it in front of the other one to evenly guide the wood through but I apparently did not have the coordination for that. I was also supposed to mark arrows on the sides of the wood to easily identify which side I planed but even that was confusing as I would accidentally mark the arrows the wrong way or have it marked the right way but then accidentally sand it off on the next run through the jointer. I then used the planer to smooth out the maple. The planer was a lot easier to use because you just have to give it a little push at the beginning and once the blade catches, the machine will run it through for you.
The next step was to cut the slices of walnut and maple with the table saw. Since the pattern I am creating is an optical illusion, there are many, many pieces to cut. I have to cut 21 pieces of maple and 21 pieces of walnut, so 42 cuts of wood total that range from 4.5mm to 39.5 mm.
I went a little overboard with the cut lists and spent a good half hour doing very tedious calculations to try to maximize the number of cuts I could get out of one piece of wood. I didn’t even end up using the calculations as I forgot that it made more sense to do the calculations in increasing thickness and to do all of the ones of the same that the same thickness at the same time in order to avoid having to change the fence measurement excessively. It took me many practice cuts to understand the tension required to slide the wood along the fence without pushing too hard against the blade which created charring and splinters. Once I got the hang of it I was able to do the first 22 cuts.
To end the day, Mr. Grisbee gave a very enthusiastic presentation on the “life-changing skill” of wrapping cables the correct way. Basically, it involves twisting the cable clockwise then counterclockwise, alternating after each wrap until you have a nicely wrapped cable that lays flat. If you do it correctly you’re supposed to be able to throw the cable outwards without creating any knots. This also took me a few tries and lots of initial confusion but I think I have mastered the cable wrap now.
Tomorrow, I get to look forward to another 20 more cuts!
Catherine, this reminds me of a wooden puzzle I once saw. So many pieces! What beautiful wood, and nice equipment.
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