LÜBECK REPORT Presentation of the Leonardo Project in Lübeck from 16th to 21st November 2014. Most of the teachers and students arrived in Lübeck on Sunday afternoon. After a safe trip by plane, train, or by car, everybody was welcomed in Klassik Altstadt Hotel and the students went to Jugendherberge Alstadt, not far from our place. After unpacking our luggage and having a little rest, we met each other at 7.00pm at Theaterklause, a restaurant situated close to our hotel. We got a meal and talked about the last time we saw each other in Colmar in September. We had a lovely night and around 10.00pm we went back to the hotel, looking forward to going to Emil Possehl Schule on Monday morning. Monday 17 th November We came to the school at 9.00am and as usual, we had a wonderful and friendly welcoming with Hans Janßen, the coordinator of the project, Andreas Frenz, the Head of Department, and Jan Gerke, joinery teacher. Coffee, tea, cakes, biscuits and chocolate also fulfilled the tables to wish us the best for this week.
We talked first about the organization of the first two days, and especially about the fact that this time, there would be two projects to focus on, and consequently two distinct groups. The presentation of the first project to realize is a stool made in ash with the traffic light man on the seat plate. The second project to realize is a turning plate you can put on a kitchen table for instance, made in beech and pine. Let us present you the process of realization of this latter object. After talking about the organization of the realization of the products, everybody started working. First, we went to the wood workshop to take the beech timbers, and we started to cut each of them at the numerical circular saw. From each timber, we could cut approximately 5 to 6 pieces. Then we took each piece of timber, cut all of them in 6 to 8 thinner pieces. After this process, we planned each flat piece to get them a better angle. In order to get them the same thickness, we measured each of them and we used the thicknesser to remove some matter. All these different processes took a long time during the day.
At 12.00pm we had the lunch break and we decided to go to a Chinese restaurant ( Mr.Wu ) where they serve a full and marvelous buffet. Everybody was really satisfied about this lunch. At 1.00pm we resumed our work. In order to get a plate shape, we glued the flat pieces altogether. We used clamps and the press to get them fixed for 20 minutes. It was already 3.30pm: before leaving to go to our appointment at 4.00pm, we cleaned a bit the workshop.
At 4.00pm: we had the opportunity for those who wanted to go and climb on the 10 meterclimbing wall. Some did it, some went back to the city to visit around. At 7.00pm, the teachers and the students went to a restaurant called Schiffergesellshaft, based in an old house from 1535.This is one of the most beautiful and prominent medieval buildings within the city of Lübeck where the banquet tables and benches are still the original ones. This place has also the particularity to get some numerous ship models suspended from the ceiling, the oldest dates from 1607. We had a beautiful dinner in this remarkable place.
Tuesday, 18 th November After our arrival at 9.00am to school, we split into two groups to talk about the next steps of work to keep on. Jan explained us exactly what to do and which machines to use. The day before, we had glued all the flat pieces, and the next step was to take a hand planer knife to scrap the glue off the surface. After this process, each piece was cut to the numerical circular saw: we had to cut some 41 centimeter square, some others to 25 cm. After this process done, each square piece was sanded with the belt sander in order to get them smooth. Then the students drew some lines on each piece in order to get the center point. They had to be really accurate and cautious! We used the vertical drilling machine to drill the center hole, but only on the 25 centimeter square pieces. The next step was to put a dowel into the hole in order to fix and to well maintain the template whose function was to draw the groove. Thus we could use the hand router safely. At 11.30am all the grooves were done. As far as the 41 centimeter square pieces are concerned, we had to use a hand drilling machine instead of a vertical drilling machine because there wasn t enough depth and place to drill these large pieces in the center. Then we used the CNC router to draw the central round shape (180cm diameter) on the top of the turning plate. At 12.00pm we had lunch outside the school, in SB Restaurant Hausgemacht until 1.00pm. Then, we went back to school to visit the car department where 220 students study in this twoyear new building. We also had the opportunity to meet the Headmaster of this school, Mr Jörn
Krüger. We resumed work at 1.45pm to keep on our realizations. On each large square piece we did the same process: putting a dowel into the hole so as to fix and well maintain the template whose function was to draw the 8 round shapes (6.8cm diameter) on the top of the turning plate. Thus we could use again the hand router in the safest way in using clamps as well. We did several tests first before starting to do it properly on each plate. Working with the hand router on small surfaces can be difficult to get a smooth result in one go. Consequently, Jan created a very clever small tool made of a rounded shape piece drilled in the center, with a dowel stuck in the hole used as a cap and on the flat surface of this piece, some sand paper glued. A very useful and easy item to use to get the finishing! This process of work took all the afternoon. Meanwhile, Jan and some students were working on the CNC machine to cut the round shape which matches with the groove. At 4.00pm, we stopped working; the students were free for the rest of the day and invited to meet each other at 7.00pm at Café and Bar Celona. As far as the teachers were concerned, they had a break in a lounge bar, Highlight Bar, until 6.00pm. Then, there was a joiners meeting in Emil Possehl Schule, invited to meet a relationship manager of Mafell Company, Alfons Zender, who presented some different hand tool machines like electric hand circular saws, duo dubbler or sanding machines. They had also the opportunity to get a dinner: sausages, potatoes and beer.
Wednesday, 19 th November This morning, we visited a joiner company called Baras. This company employs 5 joiners and two apprentices. This business was created in 1975 by Hans Baras, and since 2003 his son Stefan Baras, has worked in this joinery. He is the second generation of this business.
During the visiting of the joinery Mr Baras explained us what his company produces (kitchens, furniture, desks, doors, windows and so on). He also showed us the different parts of his workshop (from his wood stock to the finishing room) and the various machines they work on, like for instance the edge banding machine, the automatic drilling machine and the board circular saw. At last he made different demonstrations on the automatic drilling machine to show us how the machine works quick and neat to drill, put the dowels and glue in the same process for example. At 9.30am we arrived at school and we resumed our work in two groups. We had to sand every round shape on the top of the turning plate, and the large round shape too. For this, we used a hand sanding machine, and for the smallest round shapes we took the little item Jan had built to use it as a drill in the drilling machine. This part of the job was quite hard and very long because it was a bit shaky. We also tried to do it with razor blades, or sanding paper in order to get a better result. At 12.00pm we had a lunch at Mr Wu until 1.00pm. Then we went back to work. On the one hand, we had to cut each 24 centimeter square piece in a round shape, and to do it we used the CNC. On each round piece four holes were made with the vertical drilling machine, these holes are of course necessary for the rotation function of the turning plate. On the other hand, each round piece was sanded to the sanding machine, then we used the molding router machine to get the outline in a rounded edge.
The part with the groove was sanded as well, and later the vertical drilling machine was used to draw the four drillings in the groove in order to get the little lead marbles located in the rotary system. In the meanwhile, some other students worked on the main plate: they used the sanding belt machine to sand the circumference, and then they used the molding router machine to get the outline in a rounded edge. All these different processes of work were very long, it took us the whole afternoon until the end of our school day at 4.00pm. At 4.30pm we left school to go back to the city center, or to the hotel. We decided to meet each other at 7.00pm in a restaurant Ratskeller situated in the very heart of Lübeck. We were served traditional gastronomy. Then we went to a bar for a drink until midnight. Thursday, 20 th November We started school earlier this morning in order to get enough time to finish our project. Indeed we are going to visit the tower and the roof of Marien Church from 3.30pm until 6.00pm, so we have to leave the workshop earlier than the other days. This morning, we had to keep on working on the round pieces: we used again the vertical drilling machine with a special drill in order to get the outline on each hole in a rounded edge. This process will allow the lead marbles to get enough
space to rotate, and not to be blocked. In the meanwhile, on each other side of these pieces, we drilled 8 small holes to put some small door bumpers as a finishing. Then, we went to the belt sanding machine to sand each of them. The next step was to fix one turning plate elements (the main plate+ the groove ring part+ the rotary element) to check whether the rotation system works or not. It did not work well, so we had to sand each round pieces 1.5mm less. We checked again, and we concluded that the system could only work well if we did not drill completely the screws. At 11.30am we finished the whole ten pieces. At 12.00pm we had a break and we ordered various pizzas to eat at school. After the lunch, we discussed in the workshop about each product made by the students, what they liked and disliked during the week in the workshop. Then, at 1.30pm, the teachers had a discussion on different topics like the report typed during this stay, the next project which will take in Colmar and the report they re writing altogether Safety on Woodworking Machines. At 2.30pm, we left school to go to visit Marien Church.
The guide presented us a wonderful tour of the church which was built between 1250 and 1350.It is situated at the highest point of the island that forms the old town of Lübeck. Then we went at the very top of it to get a beautiful and magic view of the city At 6.00pm we finished the visit and we went back to the hotel for a little break, before leaving to go to a restaurant in Kanalstrasse Seaside. We were 14 people and we spent a lovely time altogether, talking, laughing, enjoying our time altogether. Friday, 21 st November After packing our luggage, we arrived at school at 9.30am. This morning was dedicated to the report, working on the different rules of safety on woodworking machines which are allowed or not in each country (especially on the circular saw and on the drilling machine).