Day 6: Josey

    We started off the day with the most dangerous part of our J-term: Woodworking. The morning consisted of an introduction to the different power tools we would need to use, including the jointer, planer and table saw. We also practiced using each of these with some scrap pieces of wood, which resulted in some smooth sides and edges of wood. After we finished this introduction to woodworking, I moved my focus back to my diorama to finish assembly before I made the frame. I added a new layer with flowers and a butterfly this morning, bringing my diorama up to eight layers. The flowers add another color to the diorama and another layer of detail to look at. By using the same assembly method as I had on my shadowbox I was ably to get the assembly done fairly quickly.  I had done with my shadowbox, by layering the foam core and and construction paper. Although it did require fitting pieces together sort of like a puzzle to make up for the lenght of the longer side, since this project is rectangular. After getting my diorama assembled I was very happy with the way it looked all put together in color, each day it seems to get berrer and better and I can't wait to see what it looks like with the frame. 

Glued together diorama

    Since the assembly was done it was time to start working on my frame! First I started by adding up the measurments to figure out how much I needed, which required factoring in the width of my diorama and space for an acrylic window, a backing, and a lip. Next came the exciting part: it was time to use the jointer. This tool specifically flattens one side and one edge by running them over a spinning blade multiple times. Because the piece of wood was so long, it was more difficult than it was when we practiced, but after a few tries I was successful in smoothing out parts of my wood. Next came the planer, which by using the already smooth side to my wood I could create another smooth side. It was very satisfying to see the difference that was made just by running them through the machine once and giving the wood a smooth soft edge. 

Planed and jointed wood for my projects

    Although I had used both thes tools when I took design tech, it still took a little bit to get familiar with them again and remember how to use them, and also to get readjusted to the loud noises and frightning blades. Eventually though, I was able to finish up with the first step of creating the frames for my projects!