A Day in the Workshop

On Saturday, I worked with Mr. Huminski for a little under 3 hours. We started by determining the amount of wood we needed and seperating the wood into the needed width for each pile. We created 3 piles of 3/4 in. wood, 1/2 in. wood, and 3/8 in. wood. We then used a surface planer to plane the wood down to the width that each pile needed to be. It was a long process in which you must slowly plane the wood down by putting the pieces through the machine numerous times. A sort of vacuum is attached to the machine so that all the sawdust goes straight into a large bucket. The bucket is about 3 feet tall and we filled it almost twice. After planing about 60 or 70 square feet of wood, we began building the front legs to the desk. They are each 30 inches tall so I had to cut them at the appropriate height. To create the correct width, I then glued two pieces together so that the two front legs together require four pieces of wood. The legs are now clamped together and drying.
It was a very successful start to building the desk. Dr. Huminski claims that planing is the worst part of the building process and I even enjoyed that so I cannot wait to get to the more enjoyable parts. We will continue working together in a week from Saturday.
The Senior Retreat was an excellent break from school. It was my first time at Windy Gap and I was extremely impressed. It is a beautiful place. Although we placed second, I am still very proud of my fellow Abominable Snow-Porcupines. We competed valliantly. Watching Walden chop down trees with a little knife to build our raft was quite entertaining. It was dissapointing to have to leave and I still think that we should make another trip up there before the year is over.

Hours in the Library

Last weekend, I spent about 5 hours doing research to write a thesis for my research paper. I have decided to focus on protecting "old growth forests" within National Forests. The subject is still too broad though and I am planning to narrow my paper to 2 or 3 national forests. Pisgah National Forest has a large amount of old growth forest and I am excited about the opportunity to include a local forest in my paper. As part of my research, I plan to go to Pisgah and interview a ranger there.
I am waiting to hear a confirmation from Dr. Huminski, but the plan is that I will start working in his workshop this Saturday. I am going to buy my eye and ear protection tomorrow and prepare myself to work with wood!

Goodbye Proposals

Proposals are over! Now on to the research paper and starting the project. Deforestation is a very broad topic for a research paper and I am working on narrowing my area of focus. Today, I talked to a forester in South Carolina who gave me some advice. I will call the Cradle of Forestry Center in Pisgah again tomorrow since I could not reach them today.
I started work at BRC Designs last Sunday and plan to work some more next week in the mornings.
Dr. Huminski and I have decided on some desk plans to follow. I am very pleased with the choice. The plan is to begin working with him next weekend since it is vital that we start early to avoid a huge time crunch next semester.

Choosing Plans

For the past two weeks, I have been researching plans for writing desks. I am trying to find a set of plans that will challenge me, but not be too difficult for a beginner. There were several plans that interested me, but one that especially appealed to me. The desk is both beautiful and practical. I am waiting to hear from my mentor on his opinion of the proposed plans.
I am also in the process of trying to begin working again at the place I had my summer job. I am doing this to earn the money that will be needed to pay for the wood to build a desk.

Things Are Looking Better

Well, I have found a carpenter and mentor to work with. Mr. Huminski will be working with me this year. Initially, I was not really considering him as an option because Brendan worked with him last year and I felt that I needed to set my project apart from his. However, I feel now that I can personalize my project through the product I create and the different style and type of wood I will be using.
The due date for the proposal was drawing very near and still no carpenter would agree to work with me. So I decided to call Mr. Huminski. We met in his work space which I was very impressed with. He showed me some of the pieces he had built and I told him my goal to build a Drop Front Style Writing Desk. He was excited about this idea which increased my enthusiasm for the project. Mr. Huminski has a true passion and love for woodworking and this attitude has already helped to ease some of the doubts that I began having about this project.