Warning: pictures are from waaaaaaaay back in 2006...
I attend a relatively new family based church in rural Monee, IL. Since my church lacked the funds for church beautification, it used a plastic folding table for communion. Seeing the need for a more ornate piece of furniture, In 2006 I chose to make an altar/communion table for my Eagle Project.
Through the project, I learned many valuable lessons. It served first and foremost
as an introduction to the process of design, which is a critical component of architecture. This taught
me the importance of prototyping. Along with design come unforeseen problems. This project was
no exception. I had to find solutions for a lack of tools, a lack of donations, a lack of volunteers, design
flaws, and broken components. To resolve these issues, I presented my project to my troop and gave
weekly updates on the project, addressing what specific problems needed to be negotiated. I appealed
to my friends to enlist the help of non-scouting friends and siblings. I solicited the aid of troop leaders
and their available tools and made signup sheets to best coordinate the weekly varying needs. I visited
local hardware stores to solicit donated supplies. Through this store-to-store effort I managed to secure
wood, polyurethane, stain and steel wool for my project.
Because my entire task force was composed of volunteers between the ages of 12 and 17, each possessed different skills, work quality standards, patience levels, and attention spans. I learned how to identify a problem area and to assign the scout to a more suitable task. In the end, my team and I successfully fabricated a gorgeous oak table 50” x 26” x 33” with shelves in the back, casters on the bottom, and stain to match the church woodwork. It remains in use to this day.
