Networked Learning Project #2 Update

My progress thus far in my Networked Learning Project has made some tremendous growth and I am excited to continue on this unique learning path. I must say, by choosing to construct a new piece of furniture I was extremely excited, however it hasn’t been without its challenges. With any new learning experiences there will always be opportunities to learn from your mistakes and taking pride in your achievements.

I began my project by first making a list of helpful supplies and tools I would need to build my night stand. For those of you who read my previous post I was undecided on which one to choose. I decided that the barn-door nightstand best fit the style of furniture we would need. This project has allowed for much freedom in the decision making process. Because this project is meaningful to me I can definitely seeing how this purposeful task has changed my motivation to want to learn more about the topic. One of the main tools that I came across needing to learn how to use was a Kreg Jig. This interesting and fun name for a tool has caused me much thought and effort in the last few weeks of learning.

The purpose of a Kreg Jig is to create angled screw holes or “pocket holes”. By creating these holes you can then screw your screws into the boards to create a study joint between the boards. Here are a few steps I used/learned along the way.

 

1. Measure wood
   • My piece was 3/4″ thick
2. Set the drill bit to the correct length
   • As you can see from above there is a handy little guide built into the base. You set the drill bit into the groove and adjust the hex bolt to fit the length
3. Adjust the placement of the jig
   • The white numbers on the (left) picture represent how deep your holes will be drilled given the thickness of the wood
4. Clamp piece of wood into jig
5. Fit the drill bit into the guide holes
   • I used the “A” pocket hole as suggested based on the wood thickness
6. Drill holes

The video above shows part of the steps I have listed above. You can see that it is rather easy to do once you get the hang of it.  I drilled about 40 holes in the boards, which gave me lost of time to perfect my skills. In the beginning I will openly admit I was completely lost. Often times I would reference back to various sites to make sure I was doing things correctly. I found guidance in this site for many unanswered questions along the way. This was a fabulous site that showed exactly how to use the Kreg Jig .

Below you can see the before (left) and after (right) pictures of one of the many many pieces of wood I had to screw pocket holes into. Stay tuned as I show how I put the boards together to create my final project 🙂