Most students would shrug off the idea of going to school on weekend mornings, but the members of the Manchester West High School FIRST robotics team look foward to drilling holes in pipes, shortening metal brackets and cutting wood.

Building a robot has to start somewhere, and about 10 students at Manchester High School West spend Saturday, Jan. 20, laying the groundwork on building a robot for the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology robotics or FIRST, competition this spring.

The school’s team – the Power Knights – is building a robot to put “ringers” on a 24-pronged cylinder.

The ringers are rubber inner tubes, like sleds, said Chuck Romero, 15, a sophomore from Bedford.

“We came up with an idea to put the ringers on, but we can’t tell yet. That’s top secret,” said Romero.

Tom Provencher, 16, a junior from Bedford, who is in his third year on the team, acts as drive team coordinator, making sure the chassis and other parts are in place.

With a lathe, he grinded about 10/1,000 of an inch off a metal hub. It wasn’t perfect yet, so he took off another 3/1,000 of an inch.

“We work with some pretty tight, small amounts that are pretty hard to comprehend,” he said.

This is the 14th consecutive year the school has competed in the FIRST competition, said Ed Forcier, the team’s teacher advisor.

Forcier said he puts 800 to 900 hours into the competition each year, and the students all put in about 20 hours a week during construction and planning.

“It’s like a small company, there’s opportunities for everyone to do things. There’s a job for everyone,” Forcier said. “I’m like the CEO.”

Students, along with parents, raise money for the team to compete twice a year, including a $900-per-person trip to Chicago this year.

Thirty students and about 10 parents will be attending this year, Forcier said.

“We really couldn’t do this without the parents fundraising. If it wasn’t for them, this wouldn’t happen,” he said.

The team is also sponsored by FCI Burndy and HomeSeer Technologies, both of which donate $10,000, Forcier said. Altogether, with robot-shipping costs and entry fees, the team spends from $50,000-$60,000 a year.

But for the students, it’s all about building a robot, even on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Matt Silvia, 14, a freshman from Bedford, worked a lathe, putting quarter-inch holes through metal cylinders on Jan. 20. He said he enjoys the hands-on activity.

“It was always something some of my older friends have done and I liked the whole metal shop thing. So, I thought I’d try it and it stuck,” Silvia said.

On March 13, the students will compete in the BAE Granite State Regional at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester. Admission is free, Forcier said.

Seth Bishop, 15, a sophomore from Bedford, was working an upright mill, cutting notches into cylinders for the drive wheel axle. He was part of the team that competed in Manchester and Los Angeles last year.

“It’s a lot of fun, we fill up an entire half of the Verizon center,” he said.

During each competition, three students control the action. A driver moves the robot, an operator works the subsystems -- like forks or an arm -- and a third puts the balls or ringers into play, Bishop said.

The controllers are usually seniors, he said.

Of the 56 students this year, 40 are from Bedford, 13 from Manchester, two from Hooksett and one from Goffstown. There has been an influx of girls, too, said Forcier. There are 12 girls on the team this year.

For more information on the Power Knights team, visit http://www.powerknights.com