Day 8 (Jonah) Saw Maintenance and Wall Board Work

 Today taught me more about the drill press and saw my wall boards be improved and expanded. I came in this morning and cut more spare maple into half-inch strips before setting up the Miter Saw outside to cut more angled pieces to fill in the remaining spaces in the frames. Not long into the process, Mr. Grisbee advised me to add another long strip to a section, as the vertical slats below were too short, and this could allow me to salvage them and save wood. My work was interrupted again shortly after, when I learned that the Miter Saw's zero-clearance insert was due for a replacement. The zero-clearance insert covers the blade well of the saw and helps with precision cuts as well as preventing kickback. As the primary user of the Miter Saw, I was conscripted to help with making the replacement. The current insert was removed from the saw, and I watched as Mr. Grisbee expertly cut a replica using wood of the same thickness using the table router. Then I helped attach a router bit to the Drill Press and center over the existing insert with the new template underneath. The press was activated over each screw hole to engrave into the new insert. This process was repeated with a thin drill bit to cut all of the way through the wood. After some issues getting the screws to line up, the insert was attached to the saw, and I pushed the blade through to create a slit that fits the blade perfectly. After lunch, I continued cutting the pieces and filling the boards. After a while, I ran out of wood that could accommodate the cuts I needed, but I could not cut any more half-inch strips as the table saw was outfitted with the dado blade, so I had to wait. While I waited, I played Jenga with Ryan using my scrap wood and reject cuts, which formed a jumbled tower, which made for an interesting game. As of now, I am still waiting for the table saw and will likely be waiting for a long, long time. Overall, today was filled with interesting lessons about the Miter Saw and Drill Press, and waiting, lots of waiting.