Step Two: Choose shape, make template
Step Three: Plane plank
Step Four: Cut shape with band-saw
Step Five: Sand, Sand, Sand
Step Six: Drill holes for trucks
Step Seven: Final Sand
Step Eight: Finish
Step Nine: Install trucks
Step Ten: Avoid having board confiscated by dean
Seems pretty straightforward? From eight in the morning to three in the afternoon, many of the
students were applying finishing touches to step six. Having spent close to an hour planing a plank
of cherry, I had initially thought that we might be behind schedule for having only four days to work.
Hardly any of use spent more than ten minutes eating lunch, we were so eager to get back to construction.
Some of the kids even stayed an hour after school to put their finishing touches on their work. Experience wasn't necessary, only safety. Once the kids got over their initial intimidation of the sophisticated -and potentially dangerous machinery, they worked with both a sense of ease and professionalism. It's refreshing to see these students using tools and techniques that many won't find themselves doing in a lifetime, especially when you know you can build upon them and apply them in an infinite number of uses.
There's an almost zen-like approach to the methods we used, especially with sanding. The look of the
wood-grain in the final product is quite gorgeous.
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