In the Shop

This morning began at around 5 a.m. as I had to be in the shop by 7. They have us divided into two groups and each week we alternate the times we are in the shop. For this first week, my shift is from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. Next week it is 2:30 until 10:30. This week will be a toughy. The good news is that I absolutely love working with my hands and this experience is made even more pleasurable by the fact that I have never, in my life, worked in a shop as amazing as this. But let my photos do the talking.

This is the shop. Not the building the shop is housed in, mind you, but a three story shop. It is amazing. On the ground floor is the veneer workspace including the oven we will be using to dry the glue in our laminating process, on the second floor is the metal working shop and on the third floor is the woodworking studio. All of these are amazing places to work with some of the most phenomenal tools I've ever used.


This is the wood shop on the third floor. So clean, so shiny, so full of the best tools. Seriosly, not KU, not Cornell, no school I have ever seen is this impressive.






Ok, today I worked all day on this table saw. This table saw is the sexiest thing I've seen since I left Megan at Charles deGaulle. Seriosuly, I think I love this machine. Completely supportive, counterweighted, just awesome. Digital readouts display the length I am cutting. Just a pleasure to work on. And I worked on it to turn...



this into....








this.








The next step is to glue these two sizes together into two seperate large pieces. I will then shape them with the ban saw in order to make a proper mold for my veneer. I will update more as I get through the process. In the meantime, I am exhausted and have to be up at 5 again tomorrow. So until I have more to show, I'm going to bed.

TW