I am a Line Plugger.

My orientation went well yesterday. We watched a movie and took a test on what was covered in it. We were allowed to take notes and use them on the test. It was not that difficult. I began my very first day of work today at the plywood plant. I finally learned exactly which job I would be doing.

I am a Raimann line plugger. I control a machine which punches out the bad knots in very thin sheets of wood and replaces the hole with a non-knotted plug. I control the plugger/punchy-outy part (I don't know technical terms yet) with a foot pedal. There is a second foot pedal which controls a tape dispenser so if the edges of the board are cracked I can tape them.

The job is not too difficult, but I still have to learn which knots have to plugged and which can be left. I also have to learn how to keep the wood at the highest grade possible. The number of knots and plugs and cracks changes the grade. The most difficult part for me is dealing with the size of the sheets. They're 8' by 4'. They're not heavy, but large. I'm not tall enough to punch both sides of the sheet, so I have to spin it around each time. Veterans make maneuvering the sheets look easy, but it is not. My arms are even a little sore.

For the first few hours today, I actually just sat in the break room because everyone was too busy to teach me. My supervisor told me I couldn't leave the room until I was properly trained, but I really needed to go to the bathroom as I had coffee before work. I got paid to sit in a chair, but it was a bit uncomfortable.

I spent all of the afternoon being trained. I have more training tomorrow morning, but I don't know when I move to my own machine. I also am off Friday through Monday because of Memorial Day weekend. I can see how the job will quickly become boring, monotonous, and that time will pass extremely slowly when plugging., but all this was expected. I think my paycheck may make up for it. It'll be a couple more days of work before I know for sure.