I've got a couple of boys in the woodshop who are making a tool tote. The plans call for dovetails and there was a dovetail fixture in the back room but no instructions. Since I don't know shit from fat meat about cutting dovetails, I did an internet search and found the instructions but after wading threw those, I figured out that we didn't have the proper dovetail bit, straight bit or guide bushing. Those came in yesterday and after once again looking at the instructions and the new pieces, and some serious head scratching, I finally figured out how to work the whole affair. I went down on my lunch and put some scrap in the fixture and gave it a go. I need to adjust the depth stop for the one cutter a little, but other than that, it looks like I might be a woodworker after all. I'm going to have the boys cut some scraps about the same as the sides of the tote and do another run through. If everything looks good, we'll tackle their project.
While they were waiting for the dovetail parts to come in, I made up a fixture for them to drill 50 holes in a block of wood. A former student/gym member is getting into reloading of pistol ammo and mentioned that he needed some boxes to keep the cartridges in. The fixture's pretty simple to use. You put pins in the one set of holes to the left of the block, snug the block up to the first pin, drill the hole, remove a pin, snug the block, drill. When you get the first series of holes drilled, flip the block over and repeat. When you get those done, remove the spacer block on the backstop and repeat the drilling using the other set of holes in the fixture, etc. It's kind of boring but it kept them busy doing something useful for a couple of days. We're going to make a few more of the blocks and then make a little shelf unit/box you can stack the cartridge blocks 4 or 5 high. Maybe put a hinged front or a slide dealie of some sort so you could take them to the range safely.
The rest of the group is still working on making footstools/scrap wood. I'm still amazed that most of these guys have never made anything before. They haven't developed any sort of spatial reasoning or the ability to follow oral instructions even with an included sketch. It's just a real good thing that our school still offers some shop classes. I had a couple of my guys take the entrance exam to get into the Pipefitter's Union about a week ago. I've seen the prep booklet for the test and most of the guys in that woodshop class wouldn't stand a chance. Damn shame, too. Some nice kids but most of them couldn't pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were written on the heel.
I picked up the wood for the sides on the boat Tuesday before Open Shop. Might be about all I get done on the thing this week. I had a meeting after school yesterday and I have another this afternoon. I'm planning on leaving the gym early tonight to attend another meeting later in the evening. This one will be at the town hall. The Big Cheese for regional transportation planning will be hosting the meeting. It's scheduled to be about bicycle lanes, paths and such. I want to hear what's what on this stuff. Maybe get my two cents worth in. From what I've read, this guy is pretty bicycle friendly. There is no more efficient means of transportation than a bicycle, other than a fish, that is. It'd be good for all of us to get a few cars off the road and to get some much needed exercise.
I blew the dust off the VW the other night. I'm going to try and get a little bit done on that in the near future. Make it my Open Shop project. Might not get much done but it's a plan. It was pretty busy the other night. I even welded up a couple of little pieces for my buddy so he could mount a Ducati 125 Bronco motor on his engine stand. I'd never even seen one of those motors before. He's got a complete bike he's going to try and get running by May. That's pretty cool - looking forward to seeing that when it's done. Maybe even bum a test ride from him.
2 comments:
"I'm still amazed that most of these guys have never made anything before. They haven't developed any sort of spatial reasoning or the ability to follow oral instructions even with an included sketch."
Struggling with this myself... Some kids catch on real quick. Others- We've gone over rulers and measurements and parallel line development time and time again, and even WITH oral instructions, written directions, a step by step guide on the internet, and friends helping, some of them STILL manage to make "scrap wood" (in my case- recycled metal). We're making progress... Slowly... Wish we had more time in our trimesters though. Seems like we just figure things out and start cranking out some cool projects and its time to get a new group skooled.
I'm just afraid it's a sign of the times. When I was growing up just about all of the men in the neighborhood did their own tune-ups, fixed their own lawn mowers, put a new cord on a lamp, etc. We kids living in the country all grew up around tools and used them to make forts, push cars, repair our bicycles, etc. When you grow up around it, it just seems natural to make things. Some guys, like you and I, maybe went a little overboard, but every kid should be able to do at least a little carpentry and mechanical work. It's just a good thing that there are still some good old fashioned shop classes around to give them a little bit of a handle on making and fixing. I'm especially glad there are still some young guys like yourself to keep fighting the good fight.
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