Peg Game Project

     We spend most of November working on the Peg Game Project, a brain-teaser which causes players to evaluate, predict, and strategize.
     Made from 2x6 lumber, students can now compare this common construction material to 1x6 used in the Birdhouse.  The overall shape of the Peg Game is an isoceles triangle; students may compare this to the right triangles in their Birdhouse roofs.  After a discussion of ergonomics I teach the file and rasp which students then use to round off sharp corners and points, making their work more user-friendly. 
     After discussing particle size and density, a variety of sandpaper grits are introduced.  So far, only 80 grit has been used; students now have access to sixteen different grits ranging from 36 to 600 and can select the best one for the task at hand, be it rough clean-up, fine-tuning, or somewhere in between.
     Students tackle basic geometry when marking their peg holes; investigating how the diamond works, students learn how to construct a layout that is both spaced and aligned perfectly.  After a lesson titled "History of Hand Drills" and a rather intense drilling safety demonstration called "The Boring Lesson" students bore their own peg holes using a hand-held power drill.  Much estimating and testing goes into achieving consistent depth, and the search for a way to "un-drill it a little" produces some very creative engineering.  I teach precision drilling on a press with the next project; I want students to learn the more difficult method first. 
     The Peg Game is stained rather than painted like the Birdhouse.  This allows students to compare these two types of preservation; specifically, altering properties of the wood versus covering the wood with another substance.
     Our next project, The Marble Game, is in some ways similar to this one and so we move through it rather quickly.  Grades on these two  projects  are averaged to determine students' Second Quarter grades. 
             -Mr.Reifler

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