Wood for Mini Bat, and Jig

On Friday I met with Cowell and we found some wood for a mini bat. I got my bat dimensions off of rawlings.com and am just going to halve that in order to make a mini bat. I marked off the wood and can start working with that next week! Also, regarding my jig, Cowell suggested that I employ some help from one of the technology students versed in inventor, the computer design program to design a sketch for my jig so we have something more solid to work with. Next week I need to start turning the small bat and get the jig set up so I can sharpen my tools.

Jig Sketch

I'm no artist when it come to drawing things, but this sketch comes with good intentions. After conducting research on jigs this will be the simplest one to make. Essentially it is a piece of wood with a slot for a screw to be attached to an adjustable arm that I can move freely to obtain different angles. On top, a "box" with holes is glued on to hold the tool in place while it is held against the grinder. This should prove effective and I will bring it to Cowell tomorrow so we can get it put together.

Partner Research

Out most recent assignment for WISE was to partner up and do some research for someone else's project. I partnered up with Rachel Sally whose project is molecular gastronomy. That is basically cooking things that appear to be one thing but taste like another, it is a progressive and very tasteful way of presenting food. Her topic is so foreign to me that I had to ask her for an idea of what to look up. She asked me to research el bulli. I thought it was a person but I was surprised to find that it was one of the most famous restaurants in the world and they are the leader in molecular gastronomic cuisine. There was a lot of interesting information about the restaurant and what they do, I would recommend checking it out: www.elbulli.com.

Clean Grinder and Next Steps

Today I cleaned up the grinder an got it ready to go (picture below). After that I talked to Mr. Cowell about what is coming up next. My next steps are: 1. Getting my wood. 2. Sharpening tools 3. Gluing together a blank for a second mini bat. I'm coming to the point in my project where things are starting to fly by and my progress will be coming in full stride, this is what I have been preparing for all semester.

Wood Blanks Found!

After some price shopping online today, I found nice grade A ash that is 2.89x37". This is a suitable length and width for me to turn a 33" bat with a barrel diameter of 2.625". The website I found with the cheapest wood is http://www.woodbillets.com/products.asp?cat=11. They are selling grade A ash for 19.95 per billet which I think is very reasonable and the best price that I have found. I am meeting with Mr. Cowell tomorrow and will see what he says about the wood and hopefully I'll get it ordered this week.

NPR Reflection/In Class Realization

We listened to an NPR excerpt of Brian Grazer, a successful film producer who regularly pushes his comfort zone. He talked about pushing his comfort zone in order to keep his life interesting. He said that it is important to do this in order to live your life to your potential. I can relate this to my wise project because I think I am pushing my comfort zone and this is allowing me to learn more than I ever thought I would. Also today during class Ms. Lord was throwing some dates at us and I realized that the year is wrapping up quickly before my eyes. I realized that I need to step it up a little bit, order my wood, get the grinder going and then start work on my bat. I have decided on my type of wood and how long I am going to make my bat so now what lies ahead of me is making the bat. I feel that it is time to progress in order to get my project done before the end of the year.

Community Contact

Unfortunately, Mrs. Turks husband doesn't have any ash large enough to suit my needs. However she did reference me to other local mills, Danby hardwood and a hardwood store in preble NY. So there still a possibility that I may be able to get some local wood. I will look into both of these leads as soon as possible.

Practicing Journal Entry

This article is all about the importance of practice. Practice applies to all things in life, we can't be good at everything right out of the gate, but like the saying goes, practice makes perfect. As an athlete, I am we'll aware of this fact and understand the necessity of practicing my skills in order to enhance my abilities, but this doesn't just apply to sports, it comes with everything. But currently, I will implement it into my WISE project. Most importantly to woodworking is practice, Mr. Cowell has always told me that woodworking only gets better with practice he even said one time "why do you think all the good woodworkers are old?" This is very true and only strengthens the fact that I need to practice as much as I can in order to be able to make my bat. Also I after reading this I realize that I will need to push my comfort zone in order to accomplish new things. This journal entry was supposed to go in earlier but it got lost in translation, I am happy to report however, that I have already been implementing these things, both pushing my comfort zone and practicing as much as possible.

Possibility for Wood

Circling back to my possible community contact toward the beginning of my project: Mrs. Turk, a woman within the district who is often in Mr. Cowell's room during our meetings, is married to a man who has a sawmill and dries and processes his own wood. I talked to her today and asked if she knew of he had any ash that was about 36 inches long that I may be able to use for my bat. I am hopeful that this works out because I would be much happier to support a local business, if it is affordable. She said she would check with her husband tonight and meet with me tomorrow to let me know.

Grinder with Attachments Found!

Today I went to meet with Mr. Cowell and he proposed an idea to me that I hadn't considered, that the department buy a jig they can use on the grinder to sharpen tools. So I started looking on the computer again for jigs to purchase. After a while of searching I said to Cowell that it'd be helpful to see the grinder before ordering a jig. So he took me into a tech room where there were supposed to be a grinder, but it seems to be broken. So Cowell and I went into the room with the lathe in search of a grinder and we found a super old grinder under a whole bunch of dust and dirt, with attachments for sharpening! So up next on my agenda is getting that grinder cleaned up and running so I can get my tools sharp and ready to go! Pictures to follow.

Wood Type and Reflection

I have decided that I will use ash for my baseball bat. It is a durable wood and will be nice and smooth to turn on the lathe. I have also decided to turn a 33 inch bat. This is the length bat that I use for baseball and I am comfortable with that size, also I think it will be better to have a wood bat the same size as the metal bat that I swing everyday. Unfortunately, I will be unable to meet with Mr. Cowell this week so I am on my own. But I have some goals and know that I need to learn all about sharpening my tools so I can get started with that when spring break ends. Also I need to find some sort of instructions to build a jig and a supply list so I can work with Cowell to get that assembled as soon as possible.

Sharpening Tools, Making a Jig, and What's Next

This weekend was a little bit of a wash because my family and I were traveling to visit my older brother and I didn't have any opportunities to work on my project. But after conducting some solid research today, I found a great resource for sharpening tools and constructing a jig. It is a tutorial blog with many pictures and step by step instructions. The link is: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-sharpening-lathe-chisels/. This will be very valuable to me in learning more about my tools. Next I will research what type of wood I will use and do a little bit of price shopping.