The Ability to Adapt

The ability to adapt and change is a very important ability in business. Over the course of the semester we as a class were faced with many instances where we had to adapt to circumstances. The biggest example of needing to adapt came from the table we came to call the Problem Child table. The first major instance where we had to adapt our standards occurred when we were getting ready to glue up the table. A better way to glue up the table presented itself in doing a spline with inserts to glue up the table inlay. We simply glued up some brackets to use in conjunction with the clamps.

When we started applying the clamps, we realized that the brackets would not be sufficiently strong to withstand the pressure of the clamps. The brackets were breaking and we needed them immediately to clamp the table together. Our solution was to nail the brackets back together since the glue was not strong enough to hold them together. Then as we brought the table together we had to find a device on the fly to straighten out the table top. We were able to find some 2x4’s to do the trick.

The table top seemed stable enough, however as time went on we found the table was warping. The top began to curve toward the top area and was uneven. The solution was to attach braces that

bowed the opposite was as the warping, so that the table top would be pulled back to flat. In order to attach these braces we had to create a flat surface on which to attach. To achieve this we had to

create a jig that could span the two flat surfaces on the bottom of the table and allow us to drop a router where we wanted the surface. It took a decent amount of time to make the jig as we had to make sure the part where the router was passing would not compress.

Once area was cut we had to make sure that the hardware would not go through the surface of the table. To achieve this we had to grind the screws down and drill holes into the table, leaving enough depth as to not disturb the surface. Another challenge the table presented was how the mortise and tendons held together in dry fit. One of the aprons would not come off of the tendon in dry fit, which was not acceptable due to the need to glue. We were able to use wedges to loosen the apron.

Overall as a group we were able to overcome the many challenges we face by adapting to the situation.