A Rough Timeline

A much needed Christmas break...but missing the feeling of wood in my hands. Dr. Huminski agrees that we are on or slightly ahead of schedule. I have looked at the weekends between now and the end of March. Right now, I am planning to work every weekend except for Martin Luther King weekend. The average work session will last 3 hours, but they could range from 2 to 5 hours. I plan to work for another 35 to 45 hours on the desk. There are also times when I can work with him on Wednesdays if needed. I will be sorry for the Christmas break to end, but can look forward to working more on the desk.

Learning As I Go

We now have the assignment to create a detailed timeline for completing our project. To do this, I looked back at the timeline that I included in  my proposal. I am pleased to say that I am ahead of this timeline. I did not put in as many hours as I thought I would have, but I have completed more of the desk than I predicted. This is partly because I started building my desk the second time I met with Dr. Huminski in his workshop. Instead of first learning basic carpentry skills and then building the desk, I have learned these skills as I work. At first, Dr. Huminski had to be more involved in the building process, watching me closely. Now that the I have learned and practiced the basic skills, he can tell me to do a process and I work on it alone and ask questions if i need to.

Wood-withdrawal

The week we thought would never come has arrived. We will be handing over our research papers tomorrow and giving them up to red pens and scrutinizing eyes. Honestly, it will just be a relief to have this paper out of my hands. It has been looming for a whole semester and I look forward to having it behind me.
I did not work with Dr. Huminski last weekend and we will not be meeting again until January. I guess I was suffering from wood-withdrawal because this past weekend I decided to work with wood. I simply went into our basement and cut, sanded, and carved pieces of scrap wood. Most of what I attempted ended in failure, but it was still nice to have saw dust on my clothes again.

Hibernation

Due to the busy time that we are entering and the Christmas holidays, Dr. Huminski and I will be taking a break from woodworking until January. This will give me a chance to devote more time this weekend to revising my research paper. We have made considerable progress this semester and have laid the foundations for next semester. The frame or carcass is almost complete and it is starting to actually look like a desk. I have spent over 20 hours so far working on the desk. There is still much to do, but as I became more familiar with the tools and procedures, I have been able to work faster. I am satisfied with where I am with my project right now.

The Puzzle

I worked again on Sunday with Dr. Huminski. It was the third weekend in a row that we had worked so we are on a role. The carcass of the desk is coming along very well. The back and front legs are complete and connected by side draw rails and front draw rails. This weekend, we will work on the backboards of the desk. Nothing has been glued yet because you have to wait until the end to do that. Building a piece of furniture really is like building a puzzle and at the end, all the pieces must fit.

TOOLS!

I spent 3 hours with Dr. Huminski on Sunday. We continued creating several mortise and tenon joints on the front and back legs of the desk. The front and side drawer rails were also cut and carved to attach to the legs.


Here is a diagram of the joint. The tenon is not a smaller piece of wood that has been simply stuck to the end of the larger piece of wood. Instead the tenon must be cut out of the wood. Therefore, a mortise and tenon joint cannot be created quickly. However, Dr. Huminski has the tools to make it simpler. During the 3 hour work session, I used 5 different types of saws:

Band Saw

Reciprocating Arm Saw

Edge Planer

Table Circular Saw

Miter Saw

My favorite is definitely the reciprocating arm saw. You basically glide the saw over the wood and it grazes a top layer of wood off. It looks so cool to me for some reason. Besides saws, we also use chisels which I am becoming more comfortable with. Also vital to a successful day of woodworking are pencils and rulers. Measurements must be exact or the puzzle will not fit.

A Week Without Research

It has been a week free of the research paper. For all those who are reading them right now, I am sorry for the headaches. We had a helpful discussion today in class about time management. There have been many of us feeling overloaded right now so it was good to talk and share ideas. Last weekend, I was out of town, but I am going back to the workshop to build on Sunday. I think we will continue with the mortise and tenon joints and maybe begin building the back legs. The pictures still will not upload onto the blog. Does anyone know the problem?

Rough Draft

Today, I turned in the rough draft for the research paper. It was quite a relief to be able to hand that paper over to someone else and let go of it for a time. It was a good start to my final research paper though and will help me to analyze my work so far and create a more clear and convincing paper for the final one. I volunteered at the Miracle League Halloween celebration this evening as a part of Erica's Senior Project. It was good to see the things she is able to accomplish and contribute to through her senior project. Everyone seemed to be having a good time and the event was a definite success.

Mortise and Tenon

Last Saturday, I worked again with Dr. Huminski in his workshop. We finished planing all the wood and I built my first mortise and tenon joint. This is a technique used to join two pieces of wood using a square hole. Another way to join two pieces of wood is by using the biscuit method, but the mortise and tenon joint is usually stronger. It took over an hour to create just two mortise and tenon joints so it can be a long process, especially for a beginner. The time is worth the quality though. I took some pictures during my time at the workshop, but I am having trouble uploading them onto the blog. Hopefully, I will be able to put them up soon.

Research Paper Thesis

On Saturday, I will continue my work with Dr. Huminski. The glue on the front legs will definitely be dry by now and I am anxious to see how they look. Before leaving our last session, Dr. Huminski told me to research mortise and tenon techniques in woodworking to prepare for the next session. I have begun that research and found that this technique is used in joining two pieces of wood using a square hole. I will report more of what I learn about this technique next week. 

I have revised my thesis for my research paper: Due to their scientific, historical, and intrinsic values, The United States Congress and Forest Service need to take a more active role in protecting our nation's old growth forests by more strictly limiting logging in these areas and eventually halting all logging in old growth forests. So far, I have been reading both articles and books on this subject. I have also been trying to contact a forest ranger in Pisgah National Forest because I am hoping to narrow my research to this national park. So far, I have not been able to contact an official ranger, but I will continue calling.

Research and Discussions

Dr. Huminski is not able to work with me this Saturday so we will continue our work in a week. I feel that we already made great progress in our first 3 hours, so I am excited to see what we will be able to accomplish next Saturday. I am continuing to work on the research paper as that deadline approaches. A few hours this weekend will be dedicated to research time at the library. The abstract created some interesting discussion in class on Tuesday. Because I have a free period during another class's Senior Project time, I was also able to listen to their discussion. It was interesting to compare the two group's discussion and the different direction each took. The abstract on helmet laws should spark some good conversation for next week.

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.

Searching for a Carpenter

For two or three years, I have had the idea to do an apprenticeship with a carpenter. If I could build anything, it would be a wooden canoe, but no one seems to do that in the area. In fact, no carpenter in the Spartanburg area seems to want anyone else to know that they are a carpenter. We live in a county littered with closet carpenters. My second choice would be to build a secretary style writing desk using traditional tools. Two years ago, an article was written in The Spartanburg Herald Journal about a carpenter who exclusively uses such tools. Unfortunately, according to the phone book, he does not exist and he has left the artisan group he used to be a part of. There are other carpenters who are members of this artisan group, but for another unpleasant surprise, the center does not have their contact information.
A week ago, I began conversations with a full time carpenter who has built several secretarial writing desks. He was interested in taking me on as an apprentice and my hopes were renewed. To be able to work with someone with 30 years of experience under their belt would be a wonderful opportunity. Of course, though, unexpected road blocks are always lurking and he discovered that with an apprentice, he would have to pay more for liability insurance. On Thursday, he called me with the final word and that road was officially blocked.
The same evening, a friend gave me the name of a man who turns wood, and though this is not the area of woodworking I initially hoped to work in, I jumped on the opportunity. Right now, I am still in the process of trying to contact him. I am also waiting to hear from Mrs. Zion's husband's secretary's father (I just thought it sounded funny) who works with wood. My hopes at the moment are to be able to meet with both of these men and look at their work areas and products and make a decision from my observations.