Our first day in the woodshop was a success! After the requisite and thorough safety pep-talk and going over basic terminology (i.e. kerf and gullet, as seen on the board above), we did some demos on each of the big machines (table saw, band saw, chop saw, sanders, drill press) before introducing our Shop Certification Project.

Matt’s drill press demo

The simple object could be made in a day and would require the accurate use of each of the big machines. Below is an image of the object: a two-part flat piece of wood with a curved edge and a hole in one side. This would be the project by which we built student comfort level on the machines and also made sure they had learned proper safe use of each tool. And of course, craftsmanship counts!

The first task was to hand out a rough cut piece of plywood to each student, with shop drawings to scale, including dimensions. Students could follow these drawings to do a full layout of their piece, including width, length, angle of the endcut, hole location, and curve. We used tape measures, a combination square (which allows you to measure and draw 45 and 90 degree angles for perfectly “right” lines), and mechanical pencils to do so. Our motto, like may other shop classes, is “Measure twice, cut once.” Precision is key, and students would be graded on the accuracy of their cuts, so we spent extra time laying out each of the components.

Layout materials

We had worked out the 7-step sequence for the project, which touched on every machine in a specific progression. By the end, students would have a perfectly-dimensioned sanded and finished piece.

Step 1: Table Saw
The first step in our shop sequence was to “rip” the pieces of wood down to their appropriate width of 4 inches. To do this rip cut, we would use the table saw. The table saw is intended for straight long cuts, usually going with the top grain of the wood. We did two cuts, one on each side, to give us two perfect edges.

Step 2: Chop Saw
The short ends of the piece had 45 degree angled edges, which required the use of our compound miter chop saw, which can cut angles up to 45 degrees. The cuts were made parallel, so that the section of the wood looked like a parallelogram. The total length of the piece, from outside point to outside point, was twelve inches, which required some specific geometry to calculate the location of the 45 degree angle cut.

Step 3: Disc Sander
Next, we took the rough-cut pieces to the disc sander and sanded down the angled edges, removing burn marks and cleaning up the hard edges.

Step 4: Drill Press
Next, we were ready to drill our hole. The hole, 1 inch in diameter, was to have its center located was to be located exactly 1.5 inches from the edge, and 6″ from the outside edge along the longer side. To drill this 1″ diameter hole, we used a forstner bit, which cuts larger diameter holes using a sharp knife edge along its outside rim.

Step 5: Band Saw
Our next step was to cut the curve, which would divide the wood into two pieces that fit snugly together. This required the band saw, which is useful in cutting freehand curves. The curve could be drawn freehand on the students’ pieces of wood, but needed to begin at 1.5″ from the corners, and curve up to 1.5″ from the long edge at its center point. The bandsaw can take a lot of practice and finesse, and a few students struggled with “steering” the wood in the right direction to stay along their drawn line.

Step 6: Disc Sander
Almost done! We use the disc sander to finish up the edges, both straight and curved, taking out any burn marks and achieving a smoother rounded edge.

Step 7: Random Orbital Sander
Lastly, we used a combination of a random orbital sander and handmade sanding blocks to smooth out the inside of the hole and the top and bottom surfaces of the piece.

And voila! A simple object made using all of the important woodshop tools. Matt and I were really proud of all the students’ success, and responsibility on the first day. A few told us they were a little scared by the machines, but we think a healthy fear of rotating blades is okay, as it keeps you aware and alert. The results were great: the wooden pieces showed a lot of precision and craftsmanship that will come in handy for the cornhole board construction. Below are a few video interviews of the finished pieces, with Alexia and Anthony explaining the process we went through to make them. Congrats to all on a successful first project in the Studio H woodshop!!