Fun with the drill press and band saw

Today was a throwback to 6th grade shop class, and I discovered that after 8 years, it's probably a good idea to re-learn how to operate potentially dangerous machines.

One of the most important rules in operation is to be aware of yourself and your materials at all times-never be careless or put yourself in a position to get something caught in the machine. It was also emphasized to use the buddy system, whether it's having someone close by to spot you are whether the other person is actually holding on to a particularly long piece of material that you're working with. Also, make sure you and others around you are wearing safety glasses to avoid any nasty situations. By moving slowly and being cautious, operating the band saw and drill press wasn't extremely difficult in the end.

The drill press created a nice, clean hole through the metal, which could vary in size, but that was about all it could do. It was great for that very specific purpose. The band saw had some more opportunities for creativity, granted designs were created using straight lines. I couldn't use the band saw to make a curved edge, but it did create a series of clean lines. Both machines were relatively easy to use, but I believe that I could have more creative freedom using a larger piece of material.

My vision first was pretty complex, incorporating a series of cut out triangles in order to create a "British flag" shape. However, I realized that a more intricate design would be very difficult to achieve with such a small square of metal. I then changed my design to a more simple hourglass shape consisting of 4 diagonal cuts.

The end result was pretty close to my original design, with the exception of a little flaw where the middle part of the hourglass was much narrower than intended. All in all, it was a fun day in the shop!