Metal Shop Projects

Q: What was your favorite project from Mr. G's class?

A: My favorite project is definitely the penny battery flashlight. This was the very first project I did for Mr. G's class.

Q: Why was this your favorite project?

A: This was my favorite project because I had the most fun making this. I especially had fun when I had to scrape the penny on sandpaper. At home, I would wrap tape on my two fingers, and stick the penny on the tape. Then, I would scrape the penny extremely fast.

Q:  What tools did you use to create this project?

A: The picture above shows the interior of the flashlight. As you can see, it shows some of the materials used. The materials that were used include: a toggle switch, LED lights, a circuit board, pennies, and sand paper.

Q: What skill did you learn from creating this project?



A: One skill I learned is making a penny battery. I also learned to connect wires from the penny battery to a switch, and LED lights. With these skills, I learned to make a homemade flashlight.

Q: What mistakes did you make in this project?

A: The mistake I made was when I was wiring the battery to the switch. Originally, I tried to use copper wire to connect the battery to the toggle switch and the circuit board. However, it didn't work out. In fact, the flashlight would not even turn on. Then, I decided to use small, thin wires to connect everything. Luckily, it worked, and the flashlight turned on.

Q:What research did you do to learn more about the project?

A: I did research when I was first learning to make a penny battery. The picture above shows a screenshot from a video I referred to when making the penny battery. Here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxT5CqFyIXs

Q: What is your second favorite project?

A: My second favorite project is definitely the brake roll shear machine. It was very fun to use and very easy to use.

Q: What was your favorite tool or piece of equipment that you used in this shop?

A: My favorite tool to use was the metal hole puncher. It just felt really cool to punch a hole in the metal as if it was a piece of paper!

Q: What tool did you want to learn, but you didn't get a chance to try?

A: A tool I wanted to learn would be the pistol grip air shears. The pistol grip air shears seemed really interesting to use. However, I never had the chance to try it out myself.

Q: What advice would you give a student that is coming to this class?

A: The advice I would give is to definitely wear gloves for almost any machine. Gloves can prevent you from getting injured. One time, I accidently touched a hot piece of metal without gloves, and I regret it to this day. My finger got burned and I had to put some burn cream on it. Thankfully, Mr. G had some in his classroom, and my finger is all better now. Another piece of advice would be: if you get injured at all, tell Mr. G, because he can most likely help you out.