Day #4 - Tuesday June 28

This morning we awoke around seven thirty, got ready and headed down to breakfast at eight (which it was at every morning). For breakfast we had crepes, French toast, Guatemalan yogurt, homemade granola, and assorted fruit. After breakfast we all assembled and boarded the boat. We arrived in San Marcos and took our daily route to the work site. We began working on the projects that were still works in progress. My partner Payton and I worked on sanding out the pattern we made for the benches that are for the local school. While using a jigsaw to cut out the flower pattern on the other bench leg we discovered a long end check (a crack coming from the top or bottom of the wood) we talked to Nate and he helped us come up with a solution. Eventually we ended up using a bow tie; which is when you draw a bow tie; or sometimes known as a butterfly on your wood with the crack in the middle and you chisel out the wood within the bow tie outline and you hammer in an identical shaped bow tie, then you cut off the top and sand it down. After lots of work we got the bench to be sturdy so those children at the school will have a reliable bench to sit on. Anne another lady working with us cut hole patterns in the other bench legs because we needed to repair the legs for the broken benches from the school. After Anne cut the patterns and we finished sanding our bench legs we took turns sanding down the wood. We used either hand held sanding techniques or the electrical sander. We used three different types of sand paper we used the 80 which is the grittiest, the 120 which is the second smoothest, and the 220 which is the finest sand paper. We use the 80 sand paper to sand away the rough imperfections on the wood. We use the 120 either after the 80 or if the wood is relatively smooth to begin with. Then We use the 220 last to make the wood super smooth. For a hand held sander we use a block of wood small enough to hold and you wrap the chosen sand paper around it and when we use the electric sander we attach the sand paper on it and clip it in and then we guide it steadily to sand away the stuff we don't want. We then headed down to lunch which we ate at Konojel, San Marcos' nutrition center. We had vegetables, rice, tortillas, tamales, and Hibiscus tea. After lunch we all worked together to carefully sand down everything and make things even we stained them. We take this substance and a cloth and we wipe the wood, it's called staining because it gives the wood that darker color and it also is a great protector for the harsh environments outdoors. After the wood pieces were drying some girls from our troop and Fatima; a local, helped make the table top of a table they started making yesterday. Claire and Kennedi finished the table frame and then they stained it and let it dry, and then we added a second coat to the bench leg pieces. To make a table top you have to glue pieces of wood together. After an hour of the glue drying we took chisels and chiseled off the soft glue. After an hour of drying is the perfect time to remove glue because it's not too soft and not too hard, so chiseling the glue off the surface is no problem. A little before we finished chiseling the bench pieces were done drying and we could use them to repair the broken benches. After the pieces were done we attached them using a screw driver and we checked if the benches were sturdy and when we got them study using a hand planar we tried carrying them to the school. Much to our dismay the school was closed. On our way back to the work site one of the dogs escaped from the work site; Charlie has a total of eleven dogs and a few he is looking after. After a few failed attempts at yelling in Spanish for the dog to stop, Ellen swiftly ushered the dog back in using her be-known dog skills. As we were getting the dog back inside we were careful not to let out anymore dogs. A dog with a blue collar was near the door with the other dogs, as we tried to get it further inside Lucas, Charlie's son who is helping us with the carpentry asked,
            "Who's dog is that?" We all paused in our tracks. Ellen then asked the question we were all wondering
            "Is that not your dog?" Lucas shook his head. We all looked at one another and laughed and then we all ushered the dog out of the door pointing it in the direction of the path. That dog clearly belonged to someone else in San Marcos.
             After we took the boat back that evening we played cards with Nate and Corrinne; a couple of adults that are working with us on the work site, while we waited for dinner at seven o'clock. After dinner we played some more card games and read a couple chapters of the books we brought along with us (ranging from Harry Potter to The Sun Also Rises). Before we went to bed at ten o'clock we set out our clothes and prepared for the day ahead of us.