Power tools

Today was a full day of activities. Unfortunately I think my body just realized how active I have been lately.  I'm tired but not too tired or tired of what I have been learning.

Two words. Power tools. Today we had a class on the 14" Bandsaw. Parts, uses, safety, etc. They also told us one of the requirements for graduation...that we leave here with the same number of fingers that we came here with!  Not a bad idea. In the shop we each went through taking the blade off and adjusting the various settings. Have not cut a piece of wood yet but looking forward to it.

In the afternoon we had a lecture from a guy from the PNW Tool Collectors Association about planes.  All kind of planes: wooden ones, No. 1's, No. 4's, joiners, bench, block, etc. Mostly old Stanley's that he had for sale (and would love for us to buy). Very interesting discussion on the various models, conditions and what to look for in an old plane.

The day ended in a demonstration on carlin notches. Carlins are fore and aft structural members of the deck system that are required whenever there are openings that cut across one or more deck beams (like a hatch or cockpit). The carlin joint is designed to take the vertical loading as well as compression from the side loading. This may sound very boring to the lay person but this is actually real boatbuilding!