Session 5: Shaping and Certification

Session 5

Shaping and Certification

Key Concepts

Cutting and Shaping a Curve

Being Cleared, Tool by Tool

Every Cut You Made Was Straight

Your frame is four straight cuts and four right angles. The miter saw is very good at that and cannot do anything else.

Its blade drops through the work in one plane. To follow a line that bends, the work has to move instead.

That is a different machine.

The Vertical Band Saw

A continuous blade running down through a table. It is always cutting downward, into the table, which is what makes it safe to steer against.

The Vertical Band Saw

Guard down to the work. The blade guard drops to just above your stock — a finger's width, no more. Everything above that is covered.

Hands stay beside the blade, never in front of it. Feed with steady pressure and let the blade do the cutting.

Never reach across the blade to clear an offcut. Shut it down first, every time.

Turn the Work, Not the Blade

The blade cannot steer. It cuts in one direction and always will.

So how do you follow a curve?

Turn the Work, Not the Blade

You rotate the stock on the table so the line arrives at the blade already pointing the right way.

Force the wood sideways into the blade instead and it binds, twists, and can pull the blade off its wheels.

If a curve is too tight to turn into, stop. Back out along the cut you already made and come at it from the other side.

It Keeps Spinning After You Switch It Off

A band saw blade coasts for a long time. Off is not stopped.

Stay at the machine until it has actually stopped moving. Do not walk away and leave a coasting blade for the next person.

A Sawn Edge Is Not a Finished Edge

Look at your curve straight off the band saw. It is rough, it has facets where you adjusted, and the line wanders.

Sanding is not decoration you add if there is time. It is the step that turns a cut into a made thing.

The Stationary Sander

A powered belt or disc that removes material fast. Faster than you expect — it will take your line off in seconds if you lean on it.

Light pressure, keep the work moving, and check your progress against the line constantly.

Work the Side That Pushes Down

On a disc sander, the disc travels downward on one side and upward on the other.

Sand on the down side. It presses the work into the table.

The up side lifts and throws it. Same machine, same grit, and the only difference is which half you touched.

The Circular Saw — Watch Only Today

Demonstration, not practice. It is the tool that goes to the work instead of the work coming to it, which is exactly what makes it less forgiving.

You can get certified on it later, on your own time. Nobody uses one today.

Certification Is Per-Tool, Not Blanket

Passing today clears you on what was demonstrated today — the miter saw, the drill and impact driver, the band saw, and the sander.

Certification Is Per-Tool, Not Blanket

Jigsaw, circular saw, and rotary tool are not on that list. You come in during a free period, get shown, practice supervised, and get signed off the same way.

Your project decides which ones you need. Start that before you need it, not the morning you do.

Watching Isn't the Same as Doing

Three states, and you are tracked at all three: shown the tool, practiced it supervised, cleared to use it alone.

Sitting at shown counts for nothing. You are not cleared until you have run it yourself with someone watching.

What You Are Building Today

A phone stand. Two pieces: a base, and a back that leans at an angle you cut.

Curve on the band saw, smoothed on the sander, piloted and screwed together with yesterday's tools.

The Lean Angle Decides Whether It Works

Your phone rests on the base and leans against the back. Nothing clamps it — gravity holds it there.

So what happens if the back is nearly upright?

The Lean Angle Decides Whether It Works

It tips forward and falls out. With too little lean, gravity pulls the phone away from the support instead of into it.

Lean too far the other way and it stays put but you cannot see the screen.

You will know within a second of setting your own phone in it. That is the test.

What You're Graded On

A phone stand that holds your phone, shaped and assembled by you
A curve that is sanded to the line, not left as it came off the saw
Safe operation and a station reset, same standard as yesterday
100% on the certification quiz

What You're Graded On

The quiz is repeatable until you pass. 100% is not a punishment — it is the standard, because partial safety knowledge is not safe knowledge.

Next Time

Session 6: Caliper Use & Precision

You have been eyeballing lines for two days. Next session you find out how far off close enough actually is.

'F' → Fullscreen

Build

Same rule as yesterday: no step starts until your instructor has demonstrated it.

Task 1: Set Up and Lay Out

Safety glasses on. Sleeves, hair, and phone secured.
Collect your two blanks: one base, one back. Both are cut to length already.
Trace the curve template onto the back piece. Draw the line dark enough to see from the band saw table.

Task 2: Cut the Lean Angle

Set the miter saw to the angle on your cut sheet and confirm it before cutting.
Clamp the back piece and cut the bottom end at that angle. This is the angle the whole stand depends on.
Let the blade stop before lifting.

Task 3: Cut the Curve

Lower the band saw guard to just above your stock before switching on.
Feed steadily and turn the workpiece to follow the line. Do not twist the stock against the blade.
Cut slightly outside your line. You are sanding to it next, and you cannot put wood back.
Shut down and wait for the blade to stop before clearing your offcut.

Task 4: Sand to the Line

Sand on the down-travelling side of the disc. Confirm which side that is before you touch the work to it.
Light pressure, work moving. Stop and look at your line every few seconds.
Break the sharp edges on every face. Nothing should be crisp enough to catch.
Run a hand over the curve. If it snags anywhere, it is not done.

Task 5: Pilot and Assemble

Position the back on the base, set back from the front edge as shown on your cut sheet.
Clamp, then pilot up through the base into the back piece on speed 2.
Drive construction screws with the impact driver. Confirm forward first. Seat the heads flush.

Task 6: Test It

Set your own phone into the stand and let go.
Does it hold, and can you see the screen?
If it tips forward, say why before you change anything. Record it on your sheet.

Task 7: Reset the Space

Offcuts cleared, sanding dust vacuumed or brushed down.
Band saw table and sander table wiped clear.
Bits out of chucks, tools and batteries returned.
Have your instructor confirm the station before you leave it.

Checkpoint

Certification quiz, closed notes, 100% to pass and repeatable until you get there.

It covers only what was demonstrated across these two sessions: the miter saw, the drill and impact driver, the band saw, and the stationary sander. Nothing on it is a trick, and nothing on it comes from a tool you have not been shown.

Reflection

Answer these on your own. Reflections are individual, even when the rest of the session was team work.

Name one place your band saw cut wandered off the line. Say what you did with the workpiece at that moment, and what you would do differently to keep the cut on the line next time.
Set your phone in your stand. Describe what happened. If the back were 10 degrees closer to upright, what would change, and why — in terms of what gravity is doing to the phone.
Name one tool you are not cleared on that you expect to need later this semester. Say what you have to do to get cleared, and when you plan to do it.

Submit

Turn in your phone stand with your name on it, your build sheet, and your individual reflection. Your certification is recorded once you have passed the quiz and your instructor has confirmed your station is reset.

Activity Complete