Compass Project Week 1: Workshop Safety & Building Speed Squares

Welcome to the FHS Pathways Program boat building program at the Compass Project.  Working closely with Shane, Allen, Wendy, Greg and Hannah from the Compass Project, 10 FHS students in grades 10-12 will build a French designed 12' sailing vessel called the Morbic 12.  These students are proud to be the first people in the United States to build this boat.  

Our first week focused on workshop safety and the importance of accuracy and precision.  Students learned about several power tools and saws as well as some of the more traditional boat building tools that they would be using.  Students then began work on building their own speed squares.  We spent time during the week in our classroom at FHS working with the metric system and with some basic physics concepts including Newton's Laws.

The Compass Project Workshop - Portland, Maine

 Elena's ready to get to work...notice her stylish goggles!

 Around the main table as work on the speed squares begins...

Shane, Allen & James learn how to safely use the band saw...

Merry, Marissa and Allen begin work on their speed squares...

James, Merry, Marissa, Elena, Molly and Ahmed learn the next steps in building a speed square...

 Vocabulary word of the week - "KERF" - when sawing wood, a kerf is the the initial "notch" you cut to help keep your main cut straight

 End of session group meeting...