Before we left on the break me and Jiapsi showed some freshman how to use the lapidary to make jewelry we did not have to much time to explain but I believe that most of them were really engaged. First we should them the proper way to use the table saw. We had them were a lab coat and goggles so they would not get wet or have shards of rock thrown back at them. We told them that they needed to have the plastic cover over the saw down so nothing would fall into the saw or get cough on it. We had some of them try to carefully cut there bigger rocks to a rough shape of what they wanted. Then with the shaping wheel on the lapidary they started to shape their rocks to the way they wanted it, whether that was squaring it of or rounding it off the edges. I think we helped them to better understand the tools as well as how to keep the equipment in good condition. I had fun helping them.
A good friend of mine Jiapisi has been work to better understand how to make jewelry from stones. He has been study up on different kinds of stones he has shown be a couple of interesting rocks such as Rose Quartz, Obsidian, Quartz, Red Jasper and here some are :: He learned how to use a lapidary machine and when we got one he showed me how to used it too. With a lapidary you are able to shape, smooth, and palish rocks to make jewelry. I then after learning how to use the lapidary machine. The lapidary machine is similar to a grinding wheel except it has the grits on the top not the sides, you are also able to use a lapidary machine to polish stones as well as shaping them. Lapidary machines have different wheels for different tacks on for grinding and shaping others for smoothing and polishing. It has a small dipping cup that needs to constantly cover the wheel with water it needs to always have water. It helps it smooth rocks better and it helps to keep the wheel in a good condition. For the excess water and clay that comes of the stone there is a funnel to another cup you need to make sure does not over flow constantly empty. I then found a stone I liked: from the bucket of rocks one of the teachers had found at his new house. The stone was rose quartz, it was to big so using a table saw Jiapsi helped me to cut a piece the size I wanted. From there with the lapidary machine I sanded down the sides and got all the bits of rocks of it that was not Rose Quartz. The day after that I rounded the edges the way I wanted them. After that grueling process I had my stone the way I wanted it and then I got the other wheel for the lapidary meant to sooth out stones. I was difficult because others were still using different wheels for other jobs on the same lapidary so I had to wait until they were done. I still need to palish it now and after that I will make it a necklaces. Its funny most of things I make in this class tend to be necklaces.
For this next step of the rocket project my goal was to build a model rocket from a kit with my friend
D Issac. This rocket will be different from the air compressed ones I have made in the past. This rocket will be able to hold a standard model rocket engine. It will also need to be able to eject a parachute and be retrieved. We followed the instructions carefully nether of us had put together a model rockets before so it was difficult but slowly the pieces came together. First we tried to find out what the different pieces were for the main body was easy but to attach the parachute was a struggle, we needed to ask Morgan because she had done it before she showed up where to attach the shock cord and how we need to use the small piece of paper in the instructions to attach it. Once we had the rocket finished my partner and I drew a couple designs on the tube. Here are some picture of our rocket: |
Mario AlexanderI am a 10th grade Student at High Tech High. Archives
May 2015
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