Joe Schurer

Intro to Engineering
Truss Build Doc
2/25/16

Project Goal: The goal of the project was to assemble a wooden truss.

Materials:
Safety Glasses
Saw
Wood
Clamp
Protractor
Marker
Drill
Screws
Screwdriver
Sandpaper

At the brining of the project we got a long piece of wood and cut it down to 4 sections
that were each two feet long. For each of these pieces I used a protractor and a marker to mark
down 30 degree angles on each side of the wooden piece. Then the wood was clamped down on
the edge of a table and a saw was used to cut along the lines that were drown prior. I worked
with Ian Cavanaugh and Joe Kunz, and we helped each other with holding the wood and sawing.
We would take turns holding the wood for each other and giving each tips on how to use the
saws. Once the first two pieces were cut I went back to check if the angles I had made would
work out. I found that with the two pieces I had, the third piece would have to be at a different
angle. So I set the two sawed pieces tighter and rested on top of the third one. I then used a
marker to make a new line to cut along so that the three pieces would form a triangle. Having
realized that my first cuts were not accurate enough, I was very careful cutting the last one. Once
I had cut the third piece I found that the triangle would be able to work. From there I used three
clamps to hold the triangle so that it would not move while I drilled it. Once I drilled all three
holes, I went to connect each one to its adjacent one with a screw. I found using the screwdriver
was very difficult, so I went back with a larger bit and made the holes larger. After widening the
holes, I found inserting the screws much easier, and I tried to make them flush. The final step
was to take some sandpaper and sand down the edges so that they would not be hazardous to
handle.