November10
Today was the last day of tech.đ I finished decorating my automata, which was all I had left. I even had time to make a solder person:
What was somewhat hard about decorating was that my plane was constantly wobbly. I have used so many tools during this project
- scroll saw
- soldering iron
- pliers
- hot glue gun
- scissors
- wire cutters
I think it looks awesome! Here is video of it in motion:
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November9
Today was my second to last day of tech. Luckily I was able to get so close to finishing my automata. All I have left is to finish using paint markers to decorate. I also can cover the inside if I want to. Here is what I did over the last few days:
- On Tuesday I made the body of the plane and started soldering my solder person.
- On Wednesday I finished soldering and added wings to my plane.
- Today I added and soldered wire to the wings and base so the wings would flap.
Here is a picture of my automata:
It is not so clear but it was the best picture I could get.
Tomorrow is the last day of tech (đ) so expect a lot of blog posts.
November4
You know I like to keep you in suspense about big projects, right?But you know I would tell you eventually, right? So here is the new big project:
We are making automata!
So far I am pretty much done with the inside of the box:
Here is a video of it in motion:
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I still need to add the crank, so you might have noticed it was not so easy to turn. Other than adding a crank, I need to make the top. I will make a plane out of cardboard and a solder person to fly it. Hopefully, I will be able to make the wings flap, but we will see. If I need more time, Mr. Calvert said I could come at lunch or after school. Hopefully I will be able to finish it in class, because I donât want to miss recess and it is very crowded after school. I am so excited for tech tomorrow!
November4
I probably had the most fun in tech during October. There were so many fun things. My favorite was making the flashlight! Here are some other fun things:
- all the solder people I made
- the new project
- the towers
You may have noticed that there arenât many things I did. That is because we spent a lot of time on the two big projects:
- the flashlight
- the one I will tell you about in my next post but is currently a surprise
The quarter ends on November 9th. So, I only have a week left to finish the new big project!
October27
This week in tech we finished our flashlights, and started a new project! On Wednesday, Mr. Calvert started the day by giving us a little time on our flashlight. Then he told us all about our new project. I had finished my flashlight a while ago so I decided to go back to the block towers.
It took a few tries, but I think it came out really good. I know it doesnât look even on both sides, but I did the best I could.
I bet you want to hear about my new big project, right? I can tell you this:
- it involves a solder person
- we only have two weeks
- I am super excited!
Read more about it in my next post.
October22
Even though I had finished making my flashlight a few last week, until about thirty five minutes ago it wasnât official. Maybe I should back up. In tech the last two days, I was helping another kid with his flashlight. Today Mr. Calvert took a picture of me with my flashlight and said I could take it home. He also said that he wasnât going to test to see if it was waterproof. You may be thinking what happened thirty five minutes ago (give or tak fifteen minutes). I put my flashlight in a pot of water to see if it was waterproof.
My flashlight is waterproofâď¸
October22
…how to solder. That is the end of the sentence I started in the end of my last post. So first you have to shape your wire. Then you position it in the third hand (two clips to hold the wire). Once you have set everything up it is time to start soldering. Make sure you have a long enough piece of solder (wire that melts easily). Heat up the area you will solder (the amount of time depends on the thickness of the wire) so the solder will flow easily. Then touch the solder to the tip of the soldering iron right where you want the connection and the solder will melt connecting everything. Then you hold a wet sponge on for about a minute and you are good to go. Other tips are:
- be careful when soldering wires to something that has plastic (the plastic would melt)
- go slow the first time (it is a little scary)
- make sure you clean the soldering iron (it gets smoky and smells bad otherwise)
- it doesnât hurt too  let it cool too long (it burns if you donât let it cool enough)
- wear safety goggles (keep your eyes safe)
- you can add more solder but you canât take any away (go slow when adding solder)
- solder is conductive (keep in mind when making a circuit)
October21
Last Friday, everyone who finished their flashlight, helped someone who had a lot left. I helped someone by explaining how to use the drill press, show him how to strip wire, describe the best way I would manage time, and guide him with soldering. I was not the only person helping, there were about one third (I maybe completely wrong about the amount of people) of the class helping. But talking about soldering reminds me. To tell you…
October18
Today I decorated  my flashlight!
I colored it gold and yellow. It looks so good. I canât wait for tomorrow when it will be dry.
Yesterday I put my circuit in my pipe!
Mr. Calvert helped me put in the light, and then I put the cap on and put the switch in. Next I hot glued a cover over the switch.
Waterproof?
So all that is left is for Mr. Calvert to test it to see if it is waterproof. I feel confident that my flashlight is waterproof. If it isnât waterproof, then I have a lot of work to do.
October17
Today in tech I continued my flashlight project. We started pretty late but I had enough time to finish soldering and test it. It was my first time doing soldering with more then just metal.It worked on the first try! Tomorrow I will put the circuit in the pipe and add the cap on the other side. Then Mr. Calvert will test it to see if it is water proof. I am so excited for tech tomorrow!
It passed the test!
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