BCITO Buildability

Hello everyone!

The last blog concluded a final plan that is ready to execute. This week we are more than ready to get this project underway. Our Woodwork Department supplied us with 18mm thick sheets of plywood where we begun with a prototype arch that was measured to what we thought was suitable for the 7 arches that we planned to make, as well as making efficient use of the materials that were provided. A huge thank you to Mike Walsh & Ross Mcdonald for those materials to get us started.

Our aim was to have the prototype accurately measured so that during implementation, all 7 arches will be 99.99% symmetrical otherwise we'll run into future problems. Speaking of problems it's guaranteed that you'll run into them here and there. It's all about trial and error which is a fundamental method to problem solving. As we used the prototype to trace out additional arches we couldn't achieve a symmetrical outline on the plywood sheet. After many retraces and measuring we figured out that we could simply trace up to halfway of the prototype then flip it and reflected this to complete the other half of the arch. Eureka!

As far as tools go we used jigsaws and sanders and a very special and useful wooden marking gauge. This marking gauge has been used at Lytton High for more than 15 years, probably one of the oldest tools the woodwork department has! It's sole purpose is to mark out a line parallel to the edge, something we've all learnt to use effectively this week! Safety is also an important concern while being in the workshop so glasses and earmuffs were worn throughout the day. However, we cannot forget the good ol' BCITO hats for cosmetic purposes. :) Below we showcase a brief summary of what we've done this week along with a timelapse of Thursday where we did a full day of hard work! We also have delayed our team introduction for the next blog so I encourage you to stick around and good luck to everyone that have started.