Week 6

Assembling the cabinet

Today we assembled and disassembled the kitchen cabinet. I have made a Voki that describes the challenges we faced and how we overcame them.

Week 5

Excursion

Today our class went on a field trip to a local cabinet maker factory. We were to take photos and notes of safe work practices, the different types of hardware they used and how the quality of job reflects striving for accuracy.

The company that we visited had a very strong focus on safety. All their boards were stacked away neatly and out of walkways. Workers all had safety boots on, high vis shirts, ear and eye protection on at all times and got work mates to help them lift heavy/bulky items. Knowing that in industry, they actually do care about workplace heath and safety and after interviewing one of the workers I found out that they get in trouble if they don't adhere to safe procedures makes me realise that we are learning about safe work procedures for a reason at school.

Image sourced from  http://chasemanhattanbusinessesforsale.com/Architectural-Hardwood-Joinery-%96-Mid-North-Coast-NSW--37-9.htm

Walking around the shed and interviewing workers, I found that they use both the metabox and tandembox drawer runners that I investigated a few weeks ago. I was told that the type of drawer runner they use depends on the client and where the cabinet is going. Some clients are on a tight budget and can only afford the cheaper runners, where other clients can afford the expensive runners but only in certain drawers in the kitchen (mostly the cutlery drawer). However, some clients are really rich and can afford for all their drawers to have the top of the line drawer runners in them. The same with hinges, some hinges have soft close on them and cost a lot more. 

Image sourced from http://www.marbletrend.com.au/products/Vanities/2/138

The quality that goes into the kitchens that I saw today was impressive. I asked who was in charge of quality control, every worker has to quality check their own work, then when the job is about to be sent out on site, the foreman will give the job a final check. If he notices something that is not right, he will ask the person who made it why it is like that. If they can not give a suffice answer, they will have to remake or fix it. If the same person continually produces poor quality work or makes to many mistakes they will have to meet with the boss and can be issued a written warning. If they get 3 written warnings their employment will be terminated.

Week 4

Our Common Craft video of how to assemble a cabinet.

Week 3

Striving for Accuracy

Today we learnt about the Habits of Mind, Striving for Accuracy. I learnt that it is important for me to work with precision and accuracy, especially in the workshop as it minimises the need for remaking jobs. For instance, if I am not striving for accuracy when I am gluing a job together, I could get glue running all over my job meaning I would have to spend unnecessary time cleaning it off, or I might not glue my job square, which would result in me having to pull my job apart, clean it all up and re-glue it. Also if I am not striving for accuracy when setting a machine up, I might not set it up properly which could result in parts of the machine coming free, resulting in a work place accident.

My partner and I have made a poster to hang in the workshop to help us remember to strive for accuracy. 

Week 2

Hardware

This week we looked at different types of hardware that can be used in a kitchen cabinet. I decided to look at the different types of draw runners that can be used........ I have also made a PowerPoint slideshow explaining the differences between them. On top of that I have also made a PMI chart evaluating the two.

Power point from harvey_flynn

PMI Tandembox Drawer Runner

Positive	Minus	Interesting
·      Exposes 100% of the drawer ·      More modern	·      More expensive than other types of drawer runners	·      They work on ballbearings

Week 1

Whiteboard and Safety Video

Today in class we were introduced to whiteboard. I always had thought that when you cut whiteboard the dust would just irritate you and get up your nose. However I learnt today that the dust that is created when the blade cuts through the board can cause respiratory problems and has even been linked to causing cancers! I also learnt that when using another type of board, MDF, it also poses the same health concerns, plus because the dust particles are even finer when cutting, the dust can absorb into your skin. The reason both types of boards dusts are hazardous is because of the chemicals used in the glues when the boards are being made. To protect ourself from these hazards, dust masks are to be used when cutting or making dust, when cutting lots of board it is a smart idea to use barrier cream on exposed parts of skin to minimise absorption of dust.

We also had to examine a tool that we will be using in the workshop and make a short safety video of the tool. The tool I chose to examine is a chisel. Please watch my video.

 

Video by Harvey Flynn

Image source from 

http://plierstools.en.made-in-china.com/productimage/TMFnxDPJqHVi-2f0j00yvktFNdIwocg/China-Wood-Chisel.html