member_225 Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 I just paid 500$ for a reserved seat this november, the starter kit for 75$ and a 6 pack of soap for 40$. I was wondering if the starter kit/ preparation kit comes with a pack of soap? Do I have 6 in total now or more? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BScDMD Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 I believe the kit came with a 6 sticks of soap. But that was in 2013, might've changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
member_225 Posted July 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 I hope it does because I definitely need more than 6 soaps to practise with but don't want to drop another 40$ on top of the 500....money doesn't grow on trees Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dent2020 Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 https://www.cda-adc.ca/en/becoming/dat/information/preparation/ This has a list of everything included in the $75 preparation kit. For the MDT, I would recommend at least 12 pieces of soap, the resell value is still pretty good (~$5-6/soap) Here are some tips to conserve soap: - Set aside 1 bar to practice all your techniques on. Carve both ends only (do not carve the middle) of this piece so you can maximize the soap. Make smaller flutes/notches (~5 cm). For the flutes/notches, you can use all sides of soap by carving a triangle/square end. - For your practice pieces (7-9 pieces), carve mainly FLUTES for the ends, even if the design asks for a notch. Why? - Flutes are harder to carve than notches - You can turn a flute INTO a notch, but cannot carve out a notch then piece together a flute again The only downside of carving a flute all the time is that you get so used to carving flutes (and ignoring the notch design) that you might end up messing up on the real MDT and carve a flute instead of the requested notch. However, that's why you should save 2-3 soap for your "real" practice carving (follow the exact design - regardless of whether it is a notch or a fluted end) Here are some practice diagrams from the CDA site. Very high chance that you will see one of these designs on the real MDT, just with different measurements. They normally have a normal flute/notched end and one complex end (triangle/square. NO spheres or pyramids recently) and a one-sided notched middle section. https://www.cda-adc.ca/_files/becoming/dat/mdt/MDTGradingCriteriaPatternsforDistribution.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
member_225 Posted July 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 https://www.cda-adc.ca/en/becoming/dat/information/preparation/ This has a list of everything included in the $75 preparation kit. For the MDT, I would recommend at least 12 pieces of soap, the resell value is still pretty good (~$5-6/soap) Here are some tips to conserve soap: - Set aside 1 bar to practice all your techniques on. Carve both ends only (do not carve the middle) of this piece so you can maximize the soap. Make smaller flutes/notches (~5 cm). For the flutes/notches, you can use all sides of soap by carving a triangle/square end. - For your practice pieces (7-9 pieces), carve mainly FLUTES for the ends, even if the design asks for a notch. Why? - Flutes are harder to carve than notches - You can turn a flute INTO a notch, but cannot carve out a notch then piece together a flute again The only downside of carving a flute all the time is that you get so used to carving flutes (and ignoring the notch design) that you might end up messing up on the real MDT and carve a flute instead of the requested notch. However, that's why you should save 2-3 soap for your "real" practice carving (follow the exact design - regardless of whether it is a notch or a fluted end) Here are some practice diagrams from the CDA site. Very high chance that you will see one of these designs on the real MDT, just with different measurements. They normally have a normal flute/notched end and one complex end (triangle/square. NO spheres or pyramids recently) and a one-sided notched middle section. https://www.cda-adc.ca/_files/becoming/dat/mdt/MDTGradingCriteriaPatternsforDistribution.pdf Sorry if this question is stupid but what is a notch? Is it like the back end of the first pattern on the DAT website (the link you posted)? Sorry I never practised or read about this before. Edit: Also, should I start practising carving now or wait about a month before the exam date? I don't plan on buying any more soaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dent2020 Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 Notched end - right angle cut-out Fluted end - sloped end For example, looking at the first design on the CDA patterns Right end has 2 sloped fluted sides (facing the top and bottom) Left end has a notched semi-triangle (right angle cutouts to form two sides of the triangle) I'd say space out your practicing in the month before the exam. You get really frustrated when you carve 3-4 in a few days, especially since each takes 1/2 hour. Besides, if you cram too many into a short period of time, you don't learn as much from your previous mistakes = waste of soap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
member_225 Posted July 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2016 Notched end - right angle cut-out Fluted end - sloped end For example, looking at the first design on the CDA patterns Right end has 2 sloped fluted sides (facing the top and bottom) Left end has a notched semi-triangle (right angle cutouts to form two sides of the triangle) I'd say space out your practicing in the month before the exam. You get really frustrated when you carve 3-4 in a few days, especially since each takes 1/2 hour. Besides, if you cram too many into a short period of time, you don't learn as much from your previous mistakes = waste of soap. Thank you so much, I really like your advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DentMB Posted July 18, 2016 Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 I understand that the soaps are expensive, but if you really want to do well on the MDT, you're going to need a lot more than just 12. I would use 12 just to practice how to make flutes and notches because although you may get a basic understanding doing a couple, you won't get to the point where you'll be getting almost perfect 90 degree angles, or perfectly angled flutes. You'll also want to do one practice (mock) carving that you time (30 mins) every second day leading up to the DAT. I began preparing 2 months ahead of time. In the first month I did one every 3 days so that was an additional 10 soaps, and the month before I started doing one every second day which means an additional 15 more. In total you'll need 12+10+15 = 37 soap stones. So in my opinion I would get 6 packs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
member_225 Posted July 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 I understand that the soaps are expensive, but if you really want to do well on the MDT, you're going to need a lot more than just 12. I would use 12 just to practice how to make flutes and notches because although you may get a basic understanding doing a couple, you won't get to the point where you'll be getting almost perfect 90 degree angles, or perfectly angled flutes. You'll also want to do one practice (mock) carving that you time (30 mins) every second day leading up to the DAT. I began preparing 2 months ahead of time. In the first month I did one every 3 days so that was an additional 10 soaps, and the month before I started doing one every second day which means an additional 15 more. In total you'll need 12+10+15 = 37 soap stones. So in my opinion I would get 6 packs. I'm going to start with just 12 but if I see that I need a lot more practise than no doubt I will go online and buy more. Thank you for your advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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