Boat School, week 1

So everything seems to be going fine with boat school. Its been an adjustment. Having to be up early, having to actually be on time (go figure). All challenges on top of the fact that I've never done any real woodworking, so learning the tools and understanding what the instructor means when he says things like preserve the line and blowing corners out. All the work is in detail and I don't consider myself a perfectionist. Everything for me is making do as best as you can with the tools, materials, people and animals you have at any given time. And this is the same, just drilling down to a different degree of precision, which I'm beginning to feel like I'm getting to get the hang of. I have no idea whether I'll be a boat builder or luthier, but I'm enjoying the foray into unknown territory. Even my landlord has been skeptical of this little jaunt, but she seems to be coming around, which is good, considering how much I like living here.

Most of the days right now we are practicing making joins using two pieces of wood, say two by two. We then carve a small square out of both pieces, but only halfway through the wood, so there is a backing to it. The two pieces should fit together well, with the edges lining up to each other and flat across the plane. As simple as this sounds, its not that easy at first. You have to draw out lines using a ruler (tri-square), then cut along those lines with a japanese cut saw. This looks like a small machete with teeth. If the lines don't match, or the cut is off, the pieces won't fit together cleanly. If it hasn't been cut enough, you have to work at it with a sharp chisel to plane it down so it does fit. If you've cut too much, you start again.

With each project, it takes me usually about three tries to get it close to correct. As I do more, I pick up more on what the instructor was talking about, what he was looking for, how it makes things work. Its funny, I've done the same thing when training people for work, and they often don't do the things I've told them to do, which may seem arbitrary, but really does make a difference. Now I'm that guy. The learning curve feels steep, but I'm determined to get it and I am seeming to get it. I've gotten through most of the joins, and the class is now moving on to making our own tools. One is a small device which looks like a small wooden pocket knife, but is actually known as a bevel tool, used for measuring angles. Another is a bevel board, which is kind of like an alphabet for boatbuilders, a flat piece of wood with notches and lines indicating the plane of an angle, from 0 to 50 degrees. You can imagine how this might be challenging for someone with my inclinations, but I'm getting my head around it. Soon we will be making hammers and a toolbox.

Anyhow, that's all for now. I'll try to get some pictures of the things I've mentioned. For now words will have to do.

Hope all is well.

Love,
Jamie