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AppShip1 Photo Gallery

Page history last edited by Alex Finnegan 9 years, 3 months ago

AppShip2 Photo Gallery AppShip3 Photo Gallery AppShip4 Photo Gallery 5-Byker Boat Gallery 6 Joan Dixon Gallery 7-Bede's Boat Gallery

These are some photographs from AppShip1 (the first ApprenticeShip Project), which took place within Blyth Community High School (http://www.theblythschool.co.uk) in the Autumn of 2008.

This page might take a moment to load as it is very long with lots of photos.

Talking through each tool at the beginning of each session, how to hold it and how not to hold it.

Tools are not toys, it seems obvious to say this but each tool has a purpose and only once you understand how to use a tool safely you can start to practice and begin to use that tool expertly.

Even sawing can be difficult, smaller teeth are easier to push through the wood. Grab the handle like you would hold a pistol, the pointer finger steadys the top of the saw and try to keep a straight line from the tip of the saw, through your hand to your elbow. Dont give up, keep trying and keep the spare hand out of the danger zone.

The plane works like a potato peeler to shave a tiny thin slice of wood off. The more wood you are peeling off the harder it will be to push. Keep your arms close to your body and with a firm footing on the floor rock your body forward and back, using the strength of your legs to keep momentum in the plane.

There is a perception that craft activities like woodwork are male activities, this is just plain wrong.

I have worked with many gifted women boat builders, who are just as strong and capable as the men.

If you allow what other people think to hold you back, you might well never try the one thing that lights you up, so give it a try... you may well find you like it!

Here we have the AppShip1 team, ready to build!

Despite it's name the finger sander is not intended for sanding fingers so find a safe spot for your spare hand!

The belt sander is agressive, hold it tight and keep those front finger tips away from the belt.

Marking out the timber for the mast, this traditional mast marking tool has two pins which project from the lower face. There there is a proportion of 7:11:7 between the two pins and the outer guides so that once all four faces have been marked we can plane the square into an octagon (it's like maths but without the numbers). The standard mast gauge can be used even on this tapered mast as the proportion of these pins remains the same through a range of angles. The wood to the outside of the scribed lines is removed to create an octagon section. The corners are then taken off and gradually the square timber becomes a round mast.

The workshop can be a noisy, dusty, sharp place so we have a range of safety gear that protects us.

Wearing a mask can feel awkward at first, put it on- can you smell the glue? If you can not smell the smelly workshop with your mask on- that means the mask is working. A paper mask protects you from inhaling dust but a vapour masks like these shown above are needed when working with anything too smelly. Many of the waterproof glues and paints used within boat building require vapour masks, gloves and goggles to be worn.

Meanwhile back on the mast the corners are beginning to disappear, the spokeshave takes a smaller bite of wood and is easier to push. If you are having trouble with a spokeshave, maybe it is juddering and not taking a clean cut? Start with a firm footing, drop your weight a little. Push your thumbs into two indentations on the back of the plane and holding the handles close to your body push with tense arms like you are pushing all your strength of your legs through your thumbs. Rest only the front edge of the spokeshave on the wood and gradually lower the blade untill it starts to peel a shaving. Spokeshaves were originally used for shaving the spokes of wooden wheels.

When using glue or paint we tend to wear "space suits", these paper overalls are disposable and keep the woodworking aprons from getting paint all over them.

Some tools like the staple gun are the modern equivelents of traditional tools.

I call the staple gun an "electric hammer", again find a safe place for that second hand.

The staples are only used to hold two pieces of wood together overnight while the glue sets.

Here we are practicing pulling the staples out with fence pliers with a little piece of wood to prevent damage to the planks.

Holding the pliers at the very end gives more power for the same hand strength.

With practice you will find a technique which works and we all get stronger with practice (that is why your muscles ache when you have been working - that is the feeling of becoming stronger - no pain no gain!)

Everyone has a turn on the tools that are being used that session.

The Jigsaw requires a great deal of concentration. More than any other tool - find a safe place for your spare hand!

The jigsaw blade pulls the wood up towards itself, so the jigsaw needs to be in firm contact with the wood at all times.

If a gap appears between the jigsaw and the wood the tool will jump up and down and give you a real shock.

Keep a good hold of the tool and release the trigger, never set a tool down until it has stopped and remember that a jigsaw can give you a nasty poke in the leg if it is still moving when you relax and hold it by your side. Don't relax in the workplace always be aware of your personal safety.

If a tool has two handles- that is where your hands go! If a tool has only one handle, find a place for the spare hand.

It gives me great pride to look through these photographs and see all the spare hands in safe positions.

Put the cable over your shoulder and try not to cut the lead!

Using templates to mark out the rudder assembly - this is why we were practicing using the jigsaw.

We either clamp the wood and hold the tool or hold the wood and use a fixed tool (like a bandsaw).

Never hold the wood and the tool at the same time, it is just not safe.

Look under the wood to see where the bench is, if you feel the Jigsaw get much harder to push you may be cutting through the bench too!

While some are making the rudder other are marking out their oar blanks, again using a template.

If you want to attract someones attention and they are using a tool, place a hand on their shoulder or stand and wait in their line of sight. Never shout or distract people who are using a tool as they can seriously injure themselves or others.

Working as part of a team is a great thing to do.

"If we can do this we can do anything"

We use a buddy system where at least one other person watches while we work, this helps to spot potential problems and shares each task, keeping everyone safe.

For a right handed person it is much easier to start a cut on the right and work to the left.

As the mast takes shape the dimensions need to be checked to ensure that enough wood remains and that the "rounding out" process is even and uniform along the length of the mast.

The drawknife being used here is an ancient tool, older than planes and spokeshaves. There is a skill to using the drawknife, but the best way to learn is through practice.

As confidence grows the pace of wood removal speeds up, the drawknife can remove much more timber than the plane or spokeshave, but don't take too much off or the mast may have a weak point.

In this photo the guide line can be clearly seen. Work up to the line but try to leave the line so that you can see how close you are to perfection. Once you plane the line off you are a bit lost, so leave the line but get as close as you can.

After leveling the building box we begin to place the moulds and stem (curved piece of wood on left of picture). I feel it is important to ensure that participants all see the wood in plank and sheet form. I never start preparing the materials before I have the opportunity to point at the pile of wood and tell the participants -"there's your boat!". This is not a pre-made "Airfix kit", this is about raw materials and a tenacious spirit.

Setting up the moulds after leveling the building box and marking the centreline. Each plywood pattern must be perfectly on the centerline, sitting square from above, square from the side and perfectly measured from the bow. If one pattern was 25mm too far forward we would end up with a bulge in the boat. This photo shows the setup being checked by laying a long piece of plywood over the template moulds to see if they all touch, which they did, good work team.

The oars gradually become round, the corners are planed off the square leaving an octagon, the corners are then planed off the octagon to make a 16 sided shape (a hexadecagon).

Check twice cut once, cut the long lengths first as if you make a mistake the pieces should still be long enough to cut the shorter lengths out of.

My job is quite difficult, I have to convince teenagers that hard work is very rewarding. I get a real buzz when I see a young person who understands that the more they put into life the more they should get out.

Timber has a grain structure, sometimes we can see the direction of the grain, sometimes we can even feel it with our hand (careful for splinters though). Grain structure in wood means that often we can only plane in one direction "downhill", think of a birds feather, rub it one way the feather is smooth and together, rub a feather the wrong way and it peels apart and is messy.

To be a craftsperson in wood you must develop an understanding of how to go "with-the-grain".

As we get closer to the final finish the planes and drawknives are put away and we use sandpaper to give a smooth finish.

Best to wear gloves as it is easy to sand off your own fingertips.

The first planks are cut from the plywood sheets joined in the middle with a glued scarph joint.

With the stem piece fitten in place (the curved piece of wood to the right of this photo), the moulds are covered with packing tape to prevent them sticking to the planks, the moulds are only there to give the boat shape and they are not part of the actual boat.

After cutting to shape the plank is "dry-fitted", held in place to check it will fit. We will not be able to adjust the plank once it has glue on it so best get the shape right now as gluing is stressful enough without realising that there is a problem with the fit.

If the plank is a good fit on both sides the first plank can be used to mark out its opposite plank (on the other side of the boat)

With practice you can cut both planks at once (if you know that both sides are identical).

You will only be interested in following one line when you are cutting, so if you make a mistake be sure to cross it out and clearly indicate the correct line. You may be tempted to think " I will remember what is the correct line", but believe me, you will forget, I know I do!

When using a template it is essential to keep it steady and in the same place throughout the marking process.

Often a template can be held on with a temporary staple or three, but if you are cutting planks you will need to remember to fill the hole as the plank may be under the water!

All the safety gear for mixing the glue, we place old mixing pots on the window sil (but not in direct sunlight) so that we can check that each mix has properly cured the next day. Please do not distract someone pouring glue, if they lose count the mix will have to be thrown away.

Mix, mix and mix again, when you think you are finished, start again and be sure to get down into the corners.

The first rule of chemistry is...."Never lick the spoon!"

All areas to be glued are "wet-out", this involves several coats of "neat", unthickened glue.

As this glue is quite watery it gets soaked into the wood, wait about a minute and if it looks dry it needs more glue.

Goggles are important for applying glue as brushes can flick drops of glue, work at arms-length, avoid getting your nose in the glue. Wear a vapour mask when using any solvent based glue or paint. Solvents are not good for the body and we should take all steps to avoid skin contact or inhaling these vapours. If you go into a room where someone is wearing a mask, you should also be wearing a mask even if you are not working on that job.

In these next photos, the plank has been glued in place and preparations are being made for fitting the second plank.

Often using a combination of tools, like the finger sander and the reciprocating (multitool) saw can allow a task to be completed quickly. This is useful as some tasks need to be repeated many times.

We try to work evenly, one plank on each side rather than finishing one side then beginning the other side.

This is because there are forces which are glued into each plank as the wood wants to be straight and we hold and clamp a bend into it. If we only worked on one side we risk ending up with a boat that is curved like a banana!.

There is a type of boat which has a bend like a banana.... the Gondola from venice needs to have a bend as it is only rowed (skulled) from one side and the bend means the boat travels in a straight line despite only being rowed on the right.

Pulling out the staples, this leaves tiny holes which must be filled

You may be doing a very quiet job, but if you are in a noisy environment, wear some "ear goggles"

It is rare that two pieces of wood coming together will fit first time. This process of offering up and marking is a negotiation where eventually each piece of wood will agree to come together.

We use many tools from around the world and our toolbox contains several very specialised tools from Japan such as this "Pullsaw". The teeth of a Japanese pullsaw are flat on the outside having been carefully ground on the inside face. This means that a pullsaw will give a very clean and flush finish. They can be a bit more difficult to use as our western hands have to learn to stop pushing and only try to cut on the pull stroke.

Every team need its social time, some treats and a drink of fruit juice or water. If your group is under performing, put the kettle on and get the treats out.

Using a thin piece of timber to mark where the next plank will "land".

The wood is held in place, checking that the new plank extends to cover the stem / stern (front / back). Be thorough as it is easy to quickly look and miss spotting that the lower edge of new timber is 2 inches shy of reaching the stem. If you have fewer people to help, place clamps on the moulds to support the new plank timber.

Some tasks like marking are better with many hands, if the wood is not held tight to the moulds the shape will be wrong.

It could take a CNC computer CAD designer a week to compute the "net" from two complex shapes intersecting, but in the real world we can trace it out in two minutes. The mass produced world needs the 3D map of coordinates to ensure that automated machines make parts that fit together, all we need is a pencil and an even pressure on the timber to be marked.

Don't forget to mark on the new plank the position of the mould stations and end points (stems), it is easy to put a plank back in the wrong position if the ends have not been marked and no "datum" has been placed. Also remember when marking the edge of the previous plank that you need to add on the plank overlap! - start the marking process by writing "OVERLAP!" on the new plank as it is very easy to forget that the traced line is not the cut line.

When the press arrives they will ask you to stop what you are doing to pretend you are working.

But of course you have no need to worry when the TV cameras appear

- just talk about the parts you enjoyed and be yourself.

So we have painted the hull and here we are lifting and turning AppShip1 for the first time.

All the way up!

Then move clear of the moulds and turn over, slowly and carfully, when the waterproof glue drips and hardens it can form very sharp points which can cut! I had already sanded most of the excess glue off this boat to try and avoid accidents.