carry all

Finished of the tool box today and I'm pretty happy with it. Apart from a few small gaps in the joints, a scratch and a chip it looks pretty good. It was all glued together yesterday arvo so thismorning i had to unclamp it and sand it down.
After it was sanded, we spent the rest of the morning sorting ou the construction sequence. we found a good format and as a class we all had some imput and went pretty smoothly. All that's left now is finish up the portfolio and look forward to coming back next year.

starting to take shape

After 3 days of being mostly in the workshop the tool box is starting to look like a tool box. On friday we finished of our drawings, cutting list, and joined our ends and base with the biscuit machine so come monday we were right iinto the marking out stage. We started monday morning by machining our timber to correct thickness and then spent the rest of the day marking everything out. It all went pretty smoothly with not much erasing and remarking to do.

Yesterday and today we were into the manufacturing stage and got a fair bit done. Most of my finger joints are up to scratch and it all fits together quite nicely. I had a little mishap last night while chiseling out the rebate on the ends, the corner snapped off but it was glued back without any dramas. While chiseling the other end of the rebate this morning I took my time and had no problems and it ended up pretty good.

Apart from the workshop, we also spent some time yesterday researching different glues used and presented our findings to the class. Today we also had an assessment based on the first task which I found OK but couldn;t answer the question about how o work out the true length of the leg. Need some revision.

Back to the drawing board

Today we started off finishing off our portfolio from the saw horse project and got it into a logical order. This is what we'll be basing our next project's portfolio on and also those of the on-site training.

After morning smoko we were back on the drawing board planning our next project, the tool box. As a group we decided on some standard parameters for the tool box. It will be 780 long, 230 wide and 360 high. After that we had a bit of freedom to design the partitions and sliding tray as we liked.

Tech drawing is always something I have struggled with but I definitely felt more comfortable this time round. Am looking forward to finishing the drawing and planning so I can get stuck into the construction side of things and I'm really hoping it will turn out a bit tidier than the last job.

wednesday

Back at tafe and finally managed to finish the saw horse project. I found it a great exercise as not only is the finished product practical to our work, it also allowed us to hone our hand skills, develop our problem solving skills, use calculations relevant to our work (pythagorus) and provide us with the framework to present our on-site training.Although my finished product was far from perfect, I understood exactly what I did wrong and how I will go about it differently when I make it's pair at home.Am looking forward to starting the next project, the tool box, and now we know what is expected of us in terms of planning and proving our work and knowledge, the project should run smoother and quicker.

Friday

Last day of our first block of TAFE today. We continued working on our saw stools and also finished up our photo story on the power saw which i'll hopefully be able to post soon. Making the saw stool involved planeing down the legs to size (by hand) and marking out the legs with the bevel and cutting to size.

Thursday

This morning we continued with our plan view and side elevation drawings of our saw stool. I was far more confident today with my drawing compard to yesterday and I think it turned out pretty well. The drawings included cuttings list and lengths of timber, and we had to work out plan lengths and true lengths of the legs which involved using pythagorus. Just last week I wouldn't have had a clue how to do these calculations but I seem to have got my head around it now so I'm pretty pleased.

After lunch we started creating a 'photo story'. This is a presentation on the computer usings photos, written and audio commentary. The topic was the correct and safe use of power tools and Daniel and myself were allocated the circular power saw. I thought it was a great activity as it was much more engaging than just reading and studying about how to use a power saw safely and it has also given us a new way to present and prove our on-site work.

Saw Horse Project

Today we started on our saw horse project, which involves creating a portfolio which is going to include things like material lists, site safety maps, costings and project sequencing among other things. The main steps involved for the project sequence were Planning, Set Out, Manufacturing and Assembly, and for each of these steps we planned what tools we would need, safety issues that may arise and what control measures we would put in place to prevent and accidents or injuries. This will be like a practice run as this is the format we will use for our larger projects this year like eaves and cieling frames. This took most of the morning.

After lunch we started drawing up a plan for the saw stool. I have never been any good at drawing so this is proving challenging but interesting.

Ka Boom

Today was spent continuing working through the workbooks in the morning and then after lunch we were treated to a really informative and interesting presentation from a bloke from Bell Fire.

Jim Ponsonby (bell fire) was obviously really enthusiastic about what he does which of course makes it much more interesting for those listening. He covered the different types of fire extinguishers and for which fires they should be used and explained the rating systems on each one of them. These ratings indicate how effective they are for certain types of fire. The type that stood out above the rest was the D.C.P. (Dry Chemical powder) as it is effective in extinguishing A. B. C. and (e) type fires or Ordinary Combustibles, Flammable liquids, Gas and Electric fires. The presentation also included a demonstration.

Monday

Today we started of in the classroom where we did some work in the work books. We covered measuring and marking equipment and some hand tools. It was quite interesting to see the range and different types of tools (5 or 6 different types of planes) and when and what they are used for.

We then went on to work in groups to plan and present information about a product that we use at the work place. We started this research on our first day here working individually but presented our findings as a group today. The group I worked in presented e-beams and we covered things like the different sizes it comes in, PPE needed when handling or using this product and how to install it.

We also went back to the workshop in the afternoon to continue working on our joints. I had a second go at the bridle joint and it came out much better than my first attempt, probably due to paying more attention in the marking out stage and cutting more carefully.

Workshop Day 2

Today we moved onto some more complex joints including housing and bridal joints. A bit trickier and sometimes frustrating, but I'm getting more confident with what I am doing and really enjoying it.

I'm starting to get better at the problem solving part of this, when things aren't coming together quite square or flush, working out which part to adjust and how to adjust it to make it work.

The picture above is an example of a through bridal joint which we did today.

Workshop Day 1

Great to be in the workshop after 3 days on the computers. Today we worked on the different joints, using hand tools and practicing our hand skills. Here are the steps involved for one of the joints we did:

1. Collect timber and plan.
2. Choose face side and edge and mark.
3. Mark out the joint on the timber according to the plan.
4. Cut (or chisel) out joint.
5. Fit and and adjust if neccessary.


Tools Used:

• Tenon saw


• Chisel


• Hammer


• Dove tail saw (for dove tail joint)


• Vice

Safety Equipment:

• Clear safety glasses


• Long trousers


• Steel capped boots

Safe work practices followed:

• Keep the floor clear of offcuts to avoid tripping hazards.


• Chisel away from the self and keep two hands on the chisel.

Some hand tool techniques to remember:

• Use long saw strokes


• When cutting timber down vertically, angle in vice so you can see two lines then reverse. See picture below.

What we did today

The focus of today was to set up and familiarize ourselves with email and blogging. Throughout the course the idea is to use these tools for communication between teachers and students and to log our activities and share ideas and information. The activities we did and logged were directly relevant to our work and studies (ie. attributes employers look for in a new apprentice and working in a team). We also had a quick math sesion which I found quite helpful, and looked at learning styles and effective communication.

Team Work

We defined teamwork as working together towards a common gaol. We decided on some guidelines an effective team should follow:

• co-operation and agreement on all decisions


• respect and listen to each other


• each team member must contribute

The Challenge

Our challenge was to work together to create a structure from straw and tape stong enough to hold a six pack of 400ml water bottles.

First we agreed upon a simple design and then began the construction. While we all worked together reasonablly effectively, there could have been more communication when it came to allocation of tasks.

What Employers Want?

Based on three interviews with employers of apprentices in Perth.

Steve Cook
Looking for apprentices with a desire or passion for a particular job, not just people who want a job just for Jobs sake. He wants apprentices that are willing to learn, understand the cost of training to the company and puts in appropriate effort to meet labor costs.

Ray Hall
Places value on knowledge of maths, drawing and experience in the trade. Adequate school marks in areas relevant to the trade is important as is politeness and puctuality.

Rod Slater
Wants people who are commited to strengthening weaknesses through further education. He also believes an apprentice should have respect for both themselves and the employer and who are honest about mistakes.

Test