Bringing the school shop back from the cript!!!!!!!

[Clarkkent]

Today I just started a new bench build for the school shop. Its going to be a 3'6" x 6' assembly table with a torsion top. The top will be 2 - 3/4" mdf sheets sandwiched between 2-1/2" x 3/4" maple plywood strips. The legs are going to be made from 4 - 3/4" x 3" laminated together to make one solid unit with the inside 2 layers deleted where the cross members go so that it makes a makeshift mortise and tennon.

I have wanted to try to build a bench this way for a while now. Just havn't got around to it yet. I use plywood strips to build the benches in the shop because it vastly reduces the material costs and yet can make a very sturdy base. If I was really honest it is like 95% about saving money on materials. I can buy shop grade 4' x 8' x 3/4" maple solid core plywood locally for $41 a sheet at the wholesaler. The stuff looks wicked with a coat or two on danish oil then a couple of poly top coats.

I will take some pictures during the construction and post them on here so you guys can see what I am trying to accomplish.

I am going to chronical my journey bringing the high school woodshop back from the deep end so to speak... it was in dire straights when I showed up this year from just lack of respect and abuse... There are some crazy funny stories or things I have seen... Such as on Monday the wood working techer opens a can of stain and starts stiring it with the scredriver he open it with! Ha! Today I was moving some tools and I found it laying with the chisels... or maybe I should call them cheese graders because they are jagged enough to be used as one... anyway there was the screw driver coated in stain still... he never even wipped it off... hahahaha... I mean you just have to laugh...

Here is a list of things needing to be done over the next couple of months...

-Build lumber rack... started this one already is half finished... the lumber used to just sit on the floor in a pile... a really big pile with foot prints on the wood everywhere.

-Build clamp racks... this one is done... just built 3 more on Sunday... they used to just lay in a pile in the corner.

-Build a rack to hold a roll of newspaper end... this one is done... we use the paper to lay on the bench for glue ups staining etc...

-Tune up all the equipment/power tools... started this one... I have spent many hours on this project already... cleaned polished and waxed all table tops, new blades for the bandsaws, repaired the oscilating sander, tuned up and adjusted the table saw, cleaned multiple layers of glue off the clamps... in stead of cleaning them they thought they were broken and just threw them in a pile.

-Build a table saw sled... actually 2 one small and one large... the large one is built. it can handle a full 2' sheet. The small one to be started at a furture date.

-Build a taper jig for the table saw... this one needs to happen soon because the kids are building tables right now.

-Build 4 new workbenches... one started now... the other 3 need to be done asap... if ya lean on them... they lean to... Are ya picking up on what i am laying down here... basically they suck. The tops travel about 2-3 inches in all directions... ha nice!

-Build a rack to house all the screws, hardware etc...

-Build 4 wall cabinets to house the palm sanders, tape measures, squares, layout tools

-Build a sand paper rack

-Build a new mitre saw bench... I am going to make a video of the one we have... you guys have to see how much this thing moves... it's like trying to cross cut a board while standing in a boat on a choppy day... ha!

-Build a new stand for a scroll saw... this one is done... has wheels and everything... it's pretty groovy.

-Build a box/table to go on the drill press table with a removable/replaceable insert... This one is done.

-Build a bank of drawers on wheels to go under the drill press...

-Build a stand for the oscilating sander...

-Build a dust collection box for the lathe...

-Rebuild the shop vacuum system... I asked the shop teacher why aren't you using it... he replied.... wait for it... "it is to noisy, you can't hear anything with it on" that is a direct quote. Ha! That is a perfect reason right? (whats really funny is there is a huge box of ear plugs on the shelf with about 3 inches of dust on it) Maybe he thinks they are stale mints or something like that?

-Build a enclosure/cabinet for the dual bag vacuum system we arlready have with some foam on the inside to reduce the sound...

-Build a new portable lumber rack on wheels for the small stuff.

-Build cabinets in the finishing room(has a ventalation fan and everything)... which is not currently used as a finishing room... instead it houses the planer and what used to be a 2 foot pile of shavings. The finishing currently gets done next to the table saw in the shop.

-Do a bunch of fund raising in order to buy a new table saw, some more clamps, some chisels, some sanders, drill bits, hammers(the teacher bought framing hamers for the woodshop) could work right?, a couple of block planes, a smoothing plane, a jointer plane... ok so we don't have any planes... except for the 2 block planes we have... I am certain they were used on boards with nails... hence the 1/16" groves in the blade, Ok basically we need to raise money for just about everything.

Currently I have all my tools there. it really helps the kids out a lot. They have been amazing at looking after them... of course that might have something to do with me telling them if they didn't I would send them through the planer...

What we do have thats good is a dewalt sliding compound mitre saw, a decent lathe, 2 band saws one delta 14" its ok... and a very old craftsman... its somewhat ok, 2 good scroll saws, one Delta that needs rebuilding, a rigid floor stand drill press... its new... not the best but it was like 220 dollars, a somewhat decent vacuum system just needs to be hooked up, a rigid oscilating sander, a craftsman disc sander 6", a 22" delta thickness planer this one is good but needs new knives(teacher ran a board through with nails in it...nice!) We have a delta air filter system... teacher dosn't like to run it though... guess why... wait for it... you guessed it... because it makes to much noise! 1 decent bench, i built that one 5 years ago and it is still rock solid.

So there ya have it... that is my starting list of things to do. I do not get paid to do any of this work, I am strickly volunteer. Currently I spend about 30 hours a week in the shop. I have the time right now because I am in between contracts(waiting on my next construction project). They have a budget of $3,000 dollars a year for the wood shop. This has to buy all the materials the kids use, new tools, tool repairs, the materials we use for shop upgrades, shop upgrades like airlines, duct work for the vacuum... you get the idea. that sure dosn't go far.

I am determined to get this shop back up and running... I have been there 3 months already and it is vastly improved already. The kids are excited about wood working and it is starting to show in their designs, work ethic and results. I am a firm believer that all it takes to make a change is to forget the past set a new goal in a new direction and never look back. Your movement will always draw attention... positive attention and people will start to get excited.

So any good fund raising ideas you have, or ideas on how to get tools cheap etc... I would love to hear it. I better get to bed here... i just read my post and I have a lot of work to do... ha!

[rmac]

Sounds like a lot of work, but a lot of fun, too. Are you involving the kids in all these shop upgrades, or are they off working on their own projects?

-- Russ

[Clarkkent]

No the kids are doing a variety of projects. Grade 7 is building co2 cars(a seriously outdated project if you ask me). Grade 8 & 9 are building cutting boards & chess boards. Grades 10 - 12 are building furniture such as chest, dresser, bowls on the lathe and long boards made from 1/8" Baltic birch laminated sheets.

To be honest when it comes to the shop stuff I find it much easier and faster to just do it myself. Not to mention there really isn't anyone interested in helping... Plus this way during class I spend all my time focused on teaching the kids. So yes the kids are focused on doing their own projects...

[jHop]

CO-2 cars are just now hitting Boy Scouts, so that might not be as outdated as you think. As for fund raisers, what about having everybody do chess pieces? Then sell the pieces as sets.

Other craft ideas that are simple enough to batch out would be candle sticks, something I call a candle fan (got the idea from a weekend woodworking book, here. It's the photo on the top row, middle photo). Now that I think of it, pretty much anything in this book would be both a good project and possibly good fund raisers.

The Troop I'm working with is also looking at fundraisers. We've been directed to peanut sales, candy bar sales (typical), the occasional food fund raiser. If you could combine food fundraisers with utensils, dinnerware, serving ware, and place settings that the kids make, that might be an added bonus.

If you get a chance to walk through a Boy Scout Shop (can you tell what I've been doing the last three weeks?) you'd see a whole lot of little craft ideas. Most of these are aimed at younger kids, but there's a couple of ideas that work across most generations. The majority of these projects that are available are in the nature of neckerchief slides (think bolo tie slides, but with larger holes) that get assembled or carved - or both. There's also a bunch of bird houses, a couple of insect houses that need assembled, and one or two other items that appeal to the larger crowds. If you come up with wood projects that top this (and I'm pretty sure you can), you'll get more buzz going.

One thing I remember from my shop class was a set of shelves we had to design and make. Simple butt joints, small size, small footprint, built to whatever specs the kids wanted on their own. If you motivate them enough, they might be able to make a fleet of them and tell them they can sell them off. Whatever funds they bring in goes into their "account," which they can tap into for lumber purchases. (example: Johny sells five shelves at $25 apiece. After materials costs, he earns $12 per shelf, totaling $60. He can then use this to purchase figured walnut for a project, or maybe get a plane or set of chisels for himself.)

[Clarkkent]

jhop

The chess pieces is a good idea but thats an area of wood working I have never done before... carving. I wouldn't know where to start. Makes sense though we make chess boards why not chess pieces.

Some good ideas there... i like that candle stick... its cool... and kind of contemporary.

I was thinking about shelves last week... but the floating shelf style. those sell very well locally. They are almost always made from cheap particle board but the real wood ones you never see. In the last 3 years my customers have been asking for them more and more in the houses I build for them. looking back I put them in every house I have built in the last couple of years.

Some great ideas you had there... thanks for the post

[Torch02]

The chess pieces is a good idea but thats an area of wood working I have never done before... carving. I wouldn't know where to start. Makes sense though we make chess boards why not chess pieces.

With the exception of the knights, the rest of a chess set would be 95%+ turning with carving only for a few small details at the top of some pieces.

The pawns, rooks, & bishops could be 100% turned.

You'd probably want to do some carving/filing for details on the king & queen.

[Clarkkent]

I didn't realize that. Do you know approximately how long it should take to make a set?

[Torch02]

I didn't realize that. Do you know approximately how long it should take to make a set?

Sorry, I can't really say, as my turning experiece is just a smidge above zero.

[Clarkkent]

Ha! Your a pro compared to me... Mine is right at zero! In fact I can count on both my hands how many minutes I have spent using the lathe. I am going to learn here pretty soon. I have the local turning guild coming to my shop to teach me. I want to learn how to turn pens. So I can teach my students.

[allencrane]

I've been turning for about a year, mostly pens and wine stoppers. The size for a Wall Street pen is actually about the same for a chess piece. As slow as I am, each blank takes me about 30 minutes from wood to finished polished piece. That's still 16 hrs for 32 pieces, but there is probably a way to do multiples with the repetitive shapes (like getting 4 pawns or 2 bishops at a time from a single piece, etc). Maybe you could use that as an upper bound, and halve it as you get faster, so 8-16 hours per chess set.

[Clarkkent]

Allencrane,

Wow that is a while. I have trouble getting the kids to finish their chess boards as it is in the time that is allotted for each semester. We just do not have enough time to allot for the kids to spend that much time on chess pieces.

I like the pen idea because it means that a student can finish a single pen in one block of classes. This way I can schedule a different student on the lathe for each block.

The kids really dig the pen idea. Plus I think It's great for them able to come away with something they will have and use for a long time. Or they make as the perfect gift. The added bonus is it gets them to finish a project and get that feeling of pride that comes with accomplishing a project.

It's really important to be able to do things In the shop that maximizes the use of each piece of equipment. This way there are fewer kids standing around waiting in line to use a needed piece of equipment. Also it builds momentum... The less time a kid is standing around the more likely he or she is going to finish their project on time.

[jHop]

I'm trying to remember back to my shop class...

I know I had more fun in metal shop than wood shop. Metal shop, we made coat hooks, screwdrivers, tool trays (I screwed up mine, but I still have it), and one "other project" that utilized some of the skills we had learned. Mine was a battery terminal puller, even though I goofed on brazing the second puller and made the bracket too large. It worked well as a steering wheel puller, from what my father said.

Wood shop, we had twice the size a room as metal shop, there was a lot of very large power tools, and all I remember us doing was one small shelf set that we weren't allowed to use power tools on to make. We weren't even allowed to cut out the boards ourselves.

All I can suggest is smaller projects that have minimal glue ups, or if a glue up has to happen, it either happens on 1) sub assemblies that can be put together later, 2) weekend length glue time, or 3) VERY quick dry time (like 5 minute epoxy).

Pens definitely fall into this category; I've never had a pen take longer than 5 minutes for the epoxy to dry. (this has backfired, as it has dried attaching the blank, tube, and bit together, or once the cleanout tool...) I'd suggest that the students who do the pens start by cutting the blanks to size, then to length, then moving to a workbench to rough up the brass tube. A trip to the drill press to drill the blanks out needs a moment with either clamps or a self-centering device. Take the parts back to a bench for the epoxy period, putting epoxy on the brass tubes and putting them into the blanks.

This could be the end of day one, or a pause while they clean up their workspace.

Day two could start by them collecting their blanks, cleaning out the tubes and squaring the blanks, mounting them onto mandrels (keeping in mind different styles have different bushings - I'd suggest everybody making one common style). Next, you have mounting the mandrel on the lathe, checking everything is in alignment and no bumps by tools / parts, then roughing out, then shaping. Final rounds would be sanding and finishing.

On a great day, I can turn a few pens in an hour or two. Thirty minutes would include the cleanup time per pen. The caveat is that I'm using precut blanks, in that they are already cut into strips and all I need to do is cut them in halves (or almost to the length of the brass tube, anyway), drill, and square them. If you include cutting the blank out of stock instead of using blanks already prepared, the kids should be able to do one pen in a class.

If they have to cut their own blanks, you can stretch that project into two class days. Split the class up so they do a couple of other projects, so that different groups are doing different things. (You should know that better than I, since you're spending time there.) Maybe have a side project of a pen block, some sort of desktop block with a hole drilled into it so they can stand the pen up to display it.

Take a look at Penn State Industries' catalogue for ideas. As for a common pen they can all make, I'd suggest either a slimline kit or an Ultra/ Cigar style kit. The slimline would have two pieces to turn; the Ultra usually has just one.

I'd recommend against acrylic or resin for their first pen project, too.

Maybe this would also be a good time to go over sharpening turning chisels...I'd definitely check with RogerT before going further on lathe instruction...

[Clarkkent]

Jhop thanks for all that info... I am basically going to adopt all of what you said except for the letting the kids cut their own blanks. I will let them cut them to length but not to width on the table saw. This is of course for the grade 7-9 class. As for the 10-12 class for those that I feel are responsible and aware of what they are doing they can make their own blanks.

Pen blanks are just to small of items to let kids learn how to rip on a table saw. I much prefer they learn on larger projects where the wood is not so close to the fence. If that makes sense.

I really appreciate the time you took to reply to my post. It helps a lot!

[jHop]

For clarification sake, one of the things I'm referring to when i say "cutting the blanks to size" is cutting them to length. This can be done with a hand saw. If you feel brave, you could introduce the different types of saws: Western Miter, Western cross cut (general / panel saw - especially as overkill), Western Dovetail, and Japanese style. Not having any Japanese styles, I can't mention types/purposes.

I also, but not frequently, refer to cutting the blanks to width. This can be a rip process, or a resaw process followed by a rip process. Maybe a demonstration, and everybody gets a blank to work on?

If you are going to do a demonstration, perhaps you could start with a 4/4 stock piece, rip it into 1" by 1" strips, followed by cutting them to 6" lengths - perhaps a good time to introduce a cross-cut sled. Then, hand them out and allow them to get a hand saw. Pass out the Brass Tubes from whatever kit you are using, so they get the practice of measuring to length. They can rough cut the blank using hand saws (I usually use a Stanley Miter saw with the plastic Miter Box, but that's my tool set) before setting the blank up for drilling and gluing.

A word of experience: use hand drills or hand cranked drills when you use the cleanout and edge squaring bits. DO NOT USE THE DRILL PRESS. I've gone through two sets figuring this out... (they say with age comes wisdom... I say with the larger bills of replacing mistakes comes wisdom )

[Clarkkent]

Jhop,

Very good heads up on the drill press tip... or should I say the don't use the drill press tip!

My dad once said to me... a dumb man dosn't learn from his mistakes, a smart man learns from his mistakes and fixes them but a wise man learns from someone elses mistakes and then hires the smart man to do all his work!!!

[dwacker]

Here is a simple project for high school kids.