For this project, Martin and I started building a small boxcar but realized that we would need more time. Although we completed fixing errors in the engine, we still needed some parts as well as gas which was an investment we decided not to take. We then went our separate ways and I decided to try something new, which included manipulating the form of the wood to make the illusion that a ball was trapped inside.
Part A
Research:
- My research consisted of first finding a project I wanted to do. I found my project idea from a YouTuber called WoodLogger. He has created many things but I chose to do a simple project that was still interesting to do.
- I followed his measurements from the tutorial but ended up making a few adjustments. This resulted in a longer more flexible body so that the ball can pass through smoothly.
- My research was well organized and was clear to follow.
Design:
- My project wasn’t very flashy all though it does look kinda cool. This did not result in issues. It’s more for function and illusion than a trophy item.
- Originally I wanted a certain species of wood Basswood but ended up with pine. It smelt nice though so I made an exception. Pine is still a softwood as well so it worked just as well as I would’ve hoped.
- I designed it to be cut a certain way to have curved inside edges done with a drill and a Forstner bit. However, I found it to be a struggle to cut it using the bit as rather the drill wasn’t moving fast enough or the bit was dull and all it was doing was melting the wood from how hot it got. So I ended up drilling 2 holes and learning how to set up the scroll saw to cut all the way around.
Materials:
- Gathering materials was easy as I had goofballs at home and I knew there was wood in the shop. However, the wood in the shop did not meet my needs in thickness so I had to glue two pieces together.
- The glue turned out to be a problem as when I tried to soak the wood in boiling water the wood glue came loose and ruined the flush look of the two pieces of wood.
- I then asked to find wood in the woodshop which I had not thought of before and to my surprise, I found what I need. This means I did not need to use wood glue and the finished product would look better.
Construction:
- The construction of the original two-piece block made me impatient as I don’t like waiting for glue to dry as it ruins my work momentum. This resulted in a small waste of time but I managed to finish a bit of this reflection which wasn’t all that bad.
- The glue I used for the original block didn’t hold under the hot water. Although the wood expanded as hoped, and the ball slipped through without problems. The wood was hot enough to come loose.
- Trying to use the adjustable scroll saw was tricky as well as it took me a few tries to get the right cut line. I learned faster after watching Mr. Romani on the scroll saw after replacing the saw blade.
Construction Learning Tools
- I learned how to use the saw blade safely and properly. I needed this to cut a large-scaled piece of wood that I could not cut on any other table saw.
- Cutting the inner side of the block required a different tool as I couldn’t use the band saw and the spindle sander would take much too long. I learned how to properly set up the scroll saw as the result of this.
- To get the golf ball in the wood. I needed to soak the wood in near-boiling water in order for it to expand for me to slip the golf ball through the spaces. This took me 2 attempts as the first block had glue which I found out later was a problem. The second time worked fine. The wood expanded accordingly and both balls slide through fine.
Part B
Things learned
- How to properly set up and use the saw blade
- How to properly set up and use the scroll saw
- How to expand wood underwater
- That building a car required materials that were more expensive then we thought
- That judging how much time needed should not be taken lightly
Part C
Self Evaluation:
Grade: A-
Although Martin and I misjudged the time and money we needed on our ideal project, we still learned more in-depth about the engine. With our hands-on and observation skills, we were able to fix some problems that appeared as we stripped the engine slowly to look for parts that were damaged or missing. However, as we went our separate ways after a class or two I saw that everyone was doing something pretty similar incorporating the basic tools and materials in the shop to make their projects. I wanted to do something a little bit different, by manipulating the form of the wood to make it appear that a ball was trapped inside with no way for it to enter or escape. To heat the wood in the water I had to take my project home myself. Although the project was simple enough to complete fairly quickly I prepared for errors as I’ve never tried this before. An error the first time was that the wood glue didn’t last under the hot temperature but I was prepared that that would work instead I had a backup piece of wood to cut to scale without using glue. however, both pieces of wood worked exactly the way I wanted in terms of expanding. I feel like I was a lot more prepared for this project in terms of planning and preparation than any other project. An improvement I could work on is my cutting on the scroll saw as I’m still a little shakey and it’s a 50/50 that the cut goes smooth. Other than that I believe my work habits were consistent.
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