Feburary Freewrite

Which way do you learn the best? Hand-on, seeing, or hearing? I learn best by doing things hands-on because you also get to actually do something while your learning.

In woodshop, we have made a heart shaped stand. The stand took us six weeks to make and I know that seems like a long time, but we only have forty-five minutes a day to work on our projects. Some days we even have less time because of Wednesdays. As you all know on  Wednesdays we have a shorter day, which means shortened periods.

With the heart shaped tables or stands, our teacher had to teach us how to use a new machine in the shop. We learned how to use the Radial Arm Saw. The Radial Arm Saw is a combination of a circular saw and a track arm execpt the radial arm saw does cut the wood all the way through. It cuts dados in the wood creating a small arc to put the screw in to attach the legs and the heart pieces together.

Making this project requires a lot of knowledge with power tools. You have to know how to use a power drill, a jigsaw, radial arm saw, and a power sander. When your table or stand is all done you have a decision to put on a coat of stain to make the wood darker, or you can just put on clear coat. A stain makes your wood darker and a clear coat just brightens up the project.

If you plan on making something like a stand or table it will take a lot of practice. Making something look good is easy, but actually making something good is the trick!