hw7

I think this past two weeks has been a very good learning experience. We really got to review on stuff I had forgot about math wise, and I also learned a lot about how to build and how to be a carpenter. It did start off really boring and informative, but once we started cutting the experience just kept getting better. I really think cutting with the mitre saws was really fun, because it was a rush and cut the wood really fast. I have to say painting was by far the worst part of this intersession, it just took so long and the sun was just burning me to pieces. But, after seeing the final product and how everything turned out it was really worth the sweat and hard work. I wasn't a part of the corn hole group, but I am very proud on how they turned out also. They really look professional and non-kiddish. I did help out with sewing the corn bags together and that was also a very great learning experience. I think working with Ms. Smith [Michael's great aunt] was part of why it was so great. She was really nice and helpful and knew her stuff about sewing really well. I think i made about four corn bags and I am very happy about that even though it sounds like it isn't that much at all, but hey it isn't an easy thing. I made a couple mistakes which made me have to do stuff over, which did slow things down which is the reason I only made four of them. Overall this intersession was definitely worth being in and I am very proud I was able to be a part of it.

hw6

If you had 27 "2x4" pieces of wood the total width would be "108" and the total height would be "54". Yeah that was really random but Mr. Shulman wanted us to figure that out. Today the biggest challenge in constructing the gaga pit was just drilling the screws through the ply wood and into the "2x4" studs. So, to defeat this challenge I just had someone look on the other side to see if i went in the wood or not, but other than that I would just keep drilling it in the same hole in different angles which got really frustrating at times. My work plan for tomorrow is to get the top pieces all set up and sturdy, then we're all going to put our names on one of the walls, and then put the rules of gaga on one of the walls also. We also have to touch up on some of the wood and make sure the paint looks nice and perfect so there isn't any scratch/scuff marks on it. After we have done that will be FINISHED!

hw5

Today I really didn't run into any problems, except when Sky was checking all of our pieces of wood, like 5 pieces were off by at least like 2 inches which means we have to cut new pieces, so that's what we have to do to overcome this problem. My favorite part today was using the pressure drill which is Mr. Anthony's. It gets the screws in super fast and it makes the coolest popping sounds. Me and Gio wouldn't use any other drills except that one, that's how much fun it was to use I can't wait to use it tomorrow. 

hw4

This week when i was painting, I got very lightheaded and got headaches from painting in the sun. I overcame this problem by just basically slowing down, drinking water and just chill for a minute, but as soon as I felt better I was back out there helping my partners Lena and Sky. I am very proud of the cuts I made in our lumber. I feel like I measured good and I am proud of that because of how much effort I put into cutting the pieces, and how the final cuts looked at the end. The next step to completing this project is basically putting the whole thing together. The way we are going to get there is by paining our second coats of yellow on our ply wood, and learning some more math that might have to go along with putting it together, and finally start constructing it.

hw3

On the first couple of days I really likes how we actually got to learn math to refresh my brain [it was boring], because I really did forget a lot. Although, today was by far the most fun day of intersession, we got to work with professionals and learn a lot about cutting wood and how to measure it the right way. I also learned a lot of little tips that help me out in the future, like how to draw the line all the way around the wood, and how to mark the piece of wood that is to be used after being cut with an "X". Our group did make a mistake today, and made a cur wrong which was really just a good learning experience that I am sure won't happen again. What happened was that the wood was supposed to be cut like a trapezoid, but one of the sides was just the same as the other, which isn't supposed to be like that. Will Spencer on the other hand was super super helpful today. He came in and taught us some safety features while using a mitre saw, and he also just was super friendly and a real friend to me today also. On the first day of intersession Larry Rosenstock taught us a bunch of good lessons that will help us out later on in the future.

hw2

Today 3/4/08 we had to work on measuring our lumber. I noticed that if you measure with the line crooked you won't be able to cut straight because your sense in your mind will make you follow the line even though it may feel as though the line is straight when really it is going crooked just like the way you had made the line in the first place. If I had to teach someone how to use a a hand saw i would tell them to always wear safety goggles because dust goes flying everywhere. I would also tell someone to always cut towards tour chest when you are starting your cut, because it will make your life much easier and it won't slide forward and slip off which can really get someone hurt. Also today we had learned a magic number which is 67.5 in which we had to repeat 10 times in a row. So the reason this is a magic number is because, each corner of the gaga pit (octagon) will have to be 135 degrees for each angle. So if you cut that number in half you get 67.5 which is the MAGIC NUMBER!

hw1

On the first day of intersession 3/3/08 i found out the difference between a section view and a plan view when you are sketching out your idea for your project. A section view is a sketch from the side, and a plan view is a picture from above (bird's eye view). Today we also had to come up with a safety skit, and my crew did ours on not goofing around with someone who is cutting wood or is using a tool. I was the "non-smart kid" who jumped on Sky's back when he was sawing wood and I made him cut his fingers off. Ours was just based around not wrestling and using smart decisions when someone is in the middle of working on something with a dangerous tool. Another thing that happened today was Mr. Larry Rosenstock came in to teach us about carpentry, and he told us that American made saws are very different than Japan made saws, because American made saws teeth are made to push through the wood, and Japan made saws are made to pull through wood. Mr. Rosenstock also taught us a saying, "Measure twice, cut once". This means that you have to measure twice just for perfection so you don't mess up on the piece of wood you're cutting because wood is very expensive. So basically it is just making sure you are being precise.