Construction Studies day exam 2012!!!!!!

_pure_mule_

Hey guys, thought I would start a thread on construction studies day exam. How's everyone fixed? Any tips to share??

Geographyhater

are you talking about the practical day exam or the theory??? i'm pretty set for the theory ive got the main bits learnt!! teacher didnt give me all of the q1 drawings which i really need !!. how about yourself

Bears and Vodka

I think he's on about the Day Exam as in where you make an artefact in 4 hours :P
I'm 'fixed' well on this, sure all we did for JC Woodwork is make little projects sorta like something we have to do for they day exam so I'd say there is no difficulty, really. Unless you stupidly split your piece of wood, then it's kinda annoying but as long as your marking out is clearly visible and you still have done the work on the other joints you will get most marks!

_pure_mule_

Ye I'm on about the practical day exam in a few weeks! Am I the only one who finds it really confusing to mark out the pieces??

Bears and Vodka

_pure_mule_ wrote: »

Ye I'm on about the practical day exam in a few weeks! Am I the only one who finds it really confusing to mark out the pieces??

It's difficult enough for those that never did Technical Graphics or DCG. All I'd say is use the 3D picture to figure out what's what. And double-check, oh God, triple check your measurments!
The way I do it is:
- Lay out all the pieces flat in the shape of the project.
- Take time to figure out the measurments.
- Face side & face edge. Then mark out all the pieces first. Don't be tempted to mark out, cut, mark out, cut.
- Before making a cut check the measurment a final time. After a piece is done check with the paper.
- Put the joints together as soon as possible. It's best that they are too tight to fit together imo, because then you can chip away at the little bits of it until it fits just right and tight. I absolutely hate loose joints :P
- After you assemble (hopefully) your artefact, don't forget to do a little design on the edge of a piece if asked! So many people forget it!
- Check that marking out lines are visible and you're done! Congrats, you just spent 4 hours and gained about the same number of marks you would for spending endless hours on project + brief! :P

_pure_mule_

you make it sound so easy:P haha but thanks for the help! hopefully it will go well! Best of luck anyway:)

Micheal6

does anyone have any prediction for the 2012 exam yet ?

kilianmanning

Has anybody had their day practical yet? If so what did you have to make?

Bears and Vodka

kilianmanning wrote: »

Has anybody had their day practical yet? If so what did you have to make?

Isn't the exam around the 2nd May for all schools give or take a few days? Way too early I'd say. But our school got the material for the project and the teacher says there are screws there :eek: I don't remember any of the previous projects involving screws :rolleyes: but we're allowed to use the automatic screwdriver anyway. Actually looking forward to this :pac:

QueenOfLeon

Micheal6 wrote: »

does anyone have any prediction for the 2012 exam yet ?

Micheal6, I've moved your post into this years thread.

Micheal6

this may sound strange but do yous boys sit up or sit down while marking out sometimes i feel my marking is more inaccurate when i sit down due to not judging the piece as well as if i had standed up...the project for this year am guessing will be along the lines of 04 05 08 and 09 projects due to the two 230mm pieces which will most likly be sides. the large 365mm piece is rahter big so therefore id say it is the most important piece in it and in turn will most likly resemble the 04 practical exam of the trophy id say!

_pure_mule_

Micheal6 wrote: »

this may sound strange but do yous boys sit up or sit down while marking out sometimes i feel my marking is more inaccurate when i sit down due to not judging the piece as well as if i had standed up...the project for this year am guessing will be along the lines of 04 05 08 and 09 projects due to the two 230mm pieces which will most likly be sides. the large 365mm piece is rahter big so therefore id say it is the most important piece in it and in turn will most likly resemble the 04 practical exam of the trophy id say!

I usually stand up marking mine out but it's what ever you feel comfortable with I suppose! Ye that's good thinking.. Or else you might have to cut the 365 piece in half. Do you know what day your on? If your after me I'll give you th heads up what to expect:)

Micheal6

yeah i guess just hate it when your markings inaccurate becasue it leads to bad shoulder cuts and loose joints how long does it take you to mark out the pieces? , have you done many exams yourself? have they ever asked for a piece to be cut in half after the cutting list ? i think that would be a first if they did!, im on the second day next friday the 4th ! Yeah do and if im before you il do the same for you hey.

_pure_mule_

Micheal6 wrote: »

yeah i guess just hate it when your markings inaccurate becasue it leads to bad shoulder cuts and loose joints how long does it take you to mark out the pieces? , have you done many exams yourself? have they ever asked for a piece to be cut in half after the cutting list ? i think that would be a first if they did!, im on the second day next friday the 4th ! Yeah do and if im before you il do the same for you hey.

Im hoping to get mine marked out in an at max an hour and a half, our teacher said an hour but im fairly lively at cutting and chiseling and all the rest of it so that will take me less time, To be honest I have only done one..thats why I am a bit worried and that one didnt turn out great and it took me ages to figure out how to read some parts on the drawings! Ye the one were doing today you had to cut a piece in half, im not sure what year ill check tomorrow if you like! Im not on until the 11th of May so You'll be first. Would appreciate if you could give me a few hints what to expect though;)

Micheal6

yeah im pretty much the same there have to say ! , yeah same here i did one last year on the 07 project n then one for my pre this year which was the 2010 easel..last years project was easy to mark out however the housed mortised and the amount of tenons to b cut took time..this year hopefully will be different., yes the drawing s can be awkward to read but before the exam you are allowed read to read over them at twenty past nine. ah no i believe ya just curious to know what year so i can be aware of it . yes of course i will il try my best im up on the second day in my school so hopefully il gt tips that night il post up here.

Bears and Vodka

I have mine on the 1st May! Teacher gave us a look at the cutting list for it, all I remember is that there's a dowel in it :P
Anyways if I'm up first from this thread I will tell you what's involved

hmf300

when is everybodys day exam? we havent heard anything yet.

also im a bit lost with my brief, can someone help?

hmf300

subz3r0 wrote: »

I have mine on the 1st May! Teacher gave us a look at the cutting list for it, all I remember is that there's a dowel in it :P
Anyways if I'm up first from this thread I will tell you what's involved

if you get a sheet or a question paper could you please email it on? mine isnt for a week or two as our school got a later date due to no power in the woodwork room

Bears and Vodka

hmf300 wrote: »

if you get a sheet or a question paper could you please email it on? mine isnt for a week or two as our school got a later date due to no power in the woodwork room

I obviously wouldn't get it. They keep them after the exam.

hmf300

subz3r0 wrote: »

I obviously wouldn't get it. They keep them after the exam.

oh i didnt know that. try take a picture with your phone or something. my exam isnt till next week if not the week after and it would be great to know whats coming up

_pure_mule_

Micheal6 wrote: »

yeah im pretty much the same there have to say ! , yeah same here i did one last year on the 07 project n then one for my pre this year which was the 2010 easel..last years project was easy to mark out however the housed mortised and the amount of tenons to b cut took time..this year hopefully will be different., yes the drawing s can be awkward to read but before the exam you are allowed read to read over them at twenty past nine. ah no i believe ya just curious to know what year so i can be aware of it . yes of course i will il try my best im up on the second day in my school so hopefully il gt tips that night il post up here.

sorry i was wrong about having to cut a piece in half, out teacher just forgot to cut it! ye last years wasnt too bad compared to 2010! 2010 looked unreal hard! oh i didnt know your allowed read over them.. what time does the actual exam start at? is it 10? ye that would be brilliant if ya posted them up, if ya havce time pm them too coz they will prob get taken down off the main site!:P haha

Bears and Vodka

hmf300 wrote: »

oh i didnt know that. try take a picture with your phone or something. my exam isnt till next week if not the week after and it would be great to know whats coming up

Yeah and get my result withheld? No thanks.

Nertballs

Has anybody done the practical yet? What's it like? Any help appreciated!

Bears and Vodka

1) There is a thread about it already. http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056609477

2) I'm doing it tomorrow, so if you can wait till then I shall write about my experiences

BrianC2095

<snip description of exam work>

Bears and Vodka

^ yes, pretty much that.

spurious

hmf300 wrote: »

oh i didnt know that. try take a picture with your phone or something. my exam isnt till next week if not the week after and it would be great to know whats coming up

Please don't take (or ask for) any photos of exam work and exam materials in an exam setting.
Doing so will get you banned here.

spurious

subz3r0 wrote: »

Wow the PMs about the practical are rolling in! Is it okay to draw a rough sketch from memory and post it here? While it's still fresh :P

Not really.
The SEC will come a-knocking and I don't think boards would like that.

You may have already crossed the line with what you posted in terms of giving others an unfair advantage.

Did you not have a poster in the room 'Instructions to Candidates'?
Was it read out?

Bears and Vodka

spurious wrote: »

Not really.
The SEC will come a-knocking and I don't think boards would like that.

You may have already crossed the line with what you posted in terms of giving others an unfair advantage.

Did you not have a poster in the room 'Instructions to Candidates'?
Was it read out?

We were given a sheet with 'Instructions to Candidates' along with the project drawing. We were told to read it, but I doubt many did, we got straight into work.

As regards tips yeah I getcha, it's probably in my interest NOT to try and help people. Because if I do the standard this year may be slightly higher than usual and it may be marked a little tougher. But I doubt it.

General Tip:
1. Use 3D drawing to understand the drawing.
2. Take care marking out, check twice or three times! Mark face side, face edge.
3. Even if under pressure don't rush because if you spoil a piece of wood that may upset the whole project and it won't stick together.
4. Don't forget to put a design on the edge of two pieces as indicated!
5. DO NOT remove any pencil marks on the wood. You get a lot of marks for marking out the pieces.

Micheal6

any chance of a rough sketch no ? :L

QueenOfLeon

Micheal6 wrote: »

any chance of a rough sketch no ? :L

No, any posts of sketches will be deleted and the poster will be banned.

Mayo_Boy

would a lot of marks be deducted for not getting it fully finished?

Micheal6

Mayo_Boy wrote: »

would a lot of marks be deducted for not getting it fully finished?

no only 8 marks out of 150 go for the assembly my advice take your time and make sure u get your tenons cut first before anyhting there easy to gt marks in rememeber to chisel against the grain

Dav

Just to note folks - the SEC monitor Boards quite closely every year and this year is no exception. They've already been in touch with me about this thread in particular and have asked me to keep an eye on it. I would urge all of you not to be giving any information out - if the SEC presents us with the correct paperwork for your details, and the details of any private messages you've sent or received about this, we have no choice but to hand it over and that may not end well for you. As a precaution, I'm editing a couple of posts above.

These are State exams folks - serious business.

thomas1891

well..any tips for the writing exam..i had a poor teacher and id say iv about 20-30 already..but kinda nervious for the actual exam..need about 55 points from it

QueenOfLeon

thomas1891 wrote: »

well..any tips for the writing exam..i had a poor teacher and id say iv about 20-30 already..but kinda nervious for the actual exam..need about 55 points from it

Thread here

thomas1891

this is all for the practical..i mean the exam in a few weeks..i really think il fail it

_pure_mule_

thomas1891 wrote: »

this is all for the practical..i mean the exam in a few weeks..i really think il fail it

Learn your scale drawing, that's 2 questions, learn passive housing and learn u values and u wong go too far wrong!

thomas1891

ya i know my drawings pretty well and u values,foundations,sound insulation but thats about it

_pure_mule_

thomas1891 wrote: »

ya i know my drawings pretty well and u values,foundations,sound insulation but thats about it

If I were you I'd definitely learn passive housing. It's not too bad to learn and they love asking it in the last few years! Other than that ur flying I'd say!

thomas1891

ha id hardly say im flying it..i just want to get a C in it overall...what chapter in construction studies today book is that..really thankful for your help

_pure_mule_

I'm not sure exactly what it goes under, it's like all about air tightness, mechanical heat recovery system, geothermal heating, solar energy and all that sort of thing:) of you had time it wouldn't be a bad idea to have look over septic tanks and alternative in the water tank! Out teacher thinks that has a good chance of coming up:)