Posts from experience and class activities
After I measured my wood, it was time to cut. First I would do my cross cuts, which were perpendicular to the grain. For this, I used the box saw.
![](https://blogs.scarsdaleschools.org/gmarks25/files/2019/10/4072C741-8D90-44AC-9807-D2902D48EA40-300x164.jpeg)
The first step was to lift up the saw and carefully slide my wood under. The teeth of the saw should rest right on the line. Then I would use a bumper to put on top of my wood. Then I would clamp it down. The bumper keeps dents out of the wood. When cutting, I had to keep the saw level and I had to go back and forth.
After cross-cutting, I had to rip cut. Rip cuts were parallel to the grain. For this, I used the band saw.
![](https://blogs.scarsdaleschools.org/gmarks25/files/2019/10/3FE93BAD-E6E4-46E0-A020-EB1FFA1CB0C6.jpeg)
You had to be very careful because the blade was very sharp and moving really fast. To cut, I had to line the blade up with my line. Then I turned on the machine and pushed the wood through the blade. I was careful not to have my fingers near it, and when I got close, I used a pusher tool/scrap piece to push the wood through.
![](https://blogs.scarsdaleschools.org/gmarks25/files/2019/10/08430A8F-D008-44B2-A106-BFB3784F15D1-300x215.jpeg)