Woodshop at local school. Ideas.

[Timothy Wolf]

I checked out a book from the library a while back, I can't remember the title (I know I am an incredible help) but it was about getting wood for projects for free and then had some neat projects in it made from the free wood. Pallets was one of the the main sources, I used to work at Sam's club and we had pallets made out of decent hardwoods that I wanted to take home but they wouldn't let me, The author recommended going and talking to motor cylcle shops about the crates and pallets the motor cycles arrive in. He said they would often be made out of exotic woods if the motor cycle is imported. I would also look to other woodworkers or shops that may have a scraps of wood piling up, possibly offer a tax deduction for wood donations. If anyone can help me with the name of that book, I couldn't find it on Amazon (because I don't remeber the title)

[Greg Portland]

Biff, where are you located in Oregon?

There are various WWing guilds in Oregon and many of them are very supportive of local school programs. If nothing else, they can give you some pointers & let their member's know that you need tools.

Some things my shop class did (funding was about the same 20+ yrs ago):
1) Raw materials are often free if you're willing to pick them up. Find local builders who will have 1/2 sheets of plywood, 2x4s, etc laying around. While there are less projects in a rural area you may have local sawyers who are willing to donate some time if you supply the trees. This could turn into a field trip experience for the students. Our school accepted tree donations and had the sawyer mill the wood (taking a portion for himself). It was a win-win... the home owner got the fallen tree out of the yard (+ tax deduction), the sawyer got a tax deduction + some wood, and the school got a bunch of lumber for free.
2) Make everything possible (already suggested above). Marking gauges, tool jigs, etc. make good class projects.
3) Spend a lot of time @ auctions / yard sales and have the students refurbish the old planes, chisels, and hand saws. Some people may prefer the tax writeoff value versus the amount of cash they'd get on the sale.
4) Have the kids each build a project and hold a crafts fair to sell the items (or piggyback onto an existing fair). The kids get some of the $$$ and the program gets the rest.

[Tom Walz]

I did some checking and I am in.

Really cool project and school. Up in the coastal range of Oregon.

Dirt poor. The only way they have a Phillips screwdriver is if an instructor brings one from home.

Tom

[Timothy Wolf]

I was thinking about this a little more and remembered that I get some scraps from a friend that does hardwood flooring. You might also look at seeing if someone needs an old barn torn down or something like that

[Guy Belleman]

Setting the kids into a business mode for a month is a good part of woodworking. I might suggest to make a project where each student comes up with an idea to get one set of tools or a fund raising project. One student could call every Sears for donations, while another calls every Lowes, etc. Our cross country team raises almost a $1000 each year just doing a one day car wash at the school. Refinishing projects and small items to sell might also be ideas. Budget, research, design, planning, and presentations can all be part of the student task. Let me know if you need a project guide and grade rubric, as I can adapt one of mine very quickly. Keep us advised of how this all turns out.

Also, rather than building a woodshop that can do it all right now, I would target various modes. For instance, I might personally target getting about 10 mini-lathes and start classes on turning small items, like pens and christmas tree ornaments. After that, then branch out to other areas. Build a program and it will grow. Kids like hands-on programs, even though many schools are getting rid of their of auto and wood shops, and going to computer labs.

Guy Belleman
Science, Math and Technology Teacher
Edgren High School, Misawa, Japan
email: guy.belleman--at--pac.dodea.edu where the --at-- is an @

[Biff Johnson]

Fellow Woodworkers,

I can't thank you enough for all your input! Several members on this board have made substantial contributions to this school in the form of cash, used and new tools and supplies, not to mention a wealth of great ideas! You have no idea the difference your generosity has made! Students and staff had big smiles today!

I'd like to share some photos of the shop classes in action today. The high schoolers are working on independent projects while the middle schoolers are finishing up small bookshelves.

The school is Triangle Lake Charter school, located about 40 miles NW of Eugene, Oregon. This is a very small community that is extremely tight knit. Generations of families have gone to this school and many of the teachers and staff have children or grandchildren in the school. The school is the epicenter of the community.

With your help, we hope to take these kids to greater levels of woodworking and build basic skills that will last them a lifetime. Our goal is to take them from rough lumber through finished product in a safe manner.

I would value your opinions on what brands are the best buy in used equipment? We hope to raise enough to purchase a sliding miter saw, a cabinet table saw with quality fence and guard, band saw, jointer and belt sander. Some members have offered used equipment, maybe others will be able to assist with shipping or delivery?

If you have any questions or would like to assist please contact:

Tosh Dickenson c/o Triangle Lake Charter Schools
iwouldworkwood@gmail.com
(541) 998-3359

http://www.blachly.k12.or.us/

[Paul Steiner]

Biff,
Sounds like you are off to a start. Here are some things I have learned in my years of teaching.
1. Contact your local Lions club, they are big on eye care and I bet they will donate safety glasses.
2. If you have 50 students and you find 50 6" 2x4 cut offs in a dumpster you have a class project. Its all about your creativity.
3. Next find out the policy on repairs in the county. My county pays for repairs to machines and it does not effect my budget. Your county may have a similiar policy that no one takes advantage of.
4. Serve the school, find out what the school needs and build it. You would think students want to take projects home, but actually they would prefer to have their work on display where their friends can see it. My students have built podiums, bookcases, picture frames, benches, shelves, chairs, etc. Find a project for the school and if it takes 5 sheets of plywood order 3, 4 or 5 extra for a class project. Even with the extra you will be able to do it cheaper and better than anything that could be ordered out of a catalog.

These are some things I have learned and I did not see posted yet. Good Luck, pm me if you want some project plans I use.

[Biff Johnson]

Just an update, I inquired about a CL ad for a gentleman selling custom milled hardwoods. Turns out he owns a small milling outfit and generously donated a bunch of alder and some hardwood cut-offs. It's great to see people supporting this program!

[Biff Johnson]

Received a fantastic load of packages from Tom Walz today. Thank you Tom, Jerrimy and Augusto for your generosity! For the first time, kids weren't waiting to use the only drill! There were screwdrivers that worked! There were drill bits with sharp edges!!!

If anybody else would like to contribute in form of tools or supplies, here's some other items we could sure use. PM me for info and I will remove the item from the list. Thanks everybody for their donations, kind words and sound advice!

Supplies:
Wood screws of all sizes
Wood glue and bottles
Finishes and supplies...stains, oils, putty, etc.
Nails of all types
#2 screw gun tips and bit holders
Sandpaper
Wood!
Craft supplies and hardware (magnets, hinges, latches, paint brushes, nuts/bolts, etc)
Elastic hair ties
Storage boxes for supplies
Gift cards to Home Depot, Lowes, Woodcraft, Sears (all within 45 miles of us)

Hand Tools:

Set of forstner bits
Drill bits 1/8 to 3/8
Carving tools
Files...mostly rasps
Mallets...rubber, deadblow and carving mallets
Router bits
Set of wood chisels
Bar clamps 6" to 36"
Shop aprons
Woodworking vices
Scrapers
Putty knives

Power Tools:

Tablesaw or a guard/fence system
Router table
A couple random orbit sanders
Jigsaw
Bandsaw
Belt/disc sander
Cordless drills
Pocket jig set
Belt sander
Wood burning equipment (I don't know why kids are so fascinated with burning wood???)

[Darrin Davis]

I am a high school woodshop teacher in the Texas. We are very fortunate to have a healthy budget for our woodshop and metal shop classes but we also get federal grant money each year through the "Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Grant." You need to be talking to your school's CFO and Superintendent and ask why in the world your school is not enrolled in this grant program. The total federal money within this grant is well over 1billion dollars. (maybe that's why our gov. is going broke but that's for another discussion) Our high school of about 550 student receives, annually, 22,000 dollars from this grant. This get equally divided between 4 to 5 departments each year. You do the math! Maybe your pencil pushers behind their desks need to actually step up and take care of their programs within their schools and quit playing games on their computers all day! Sorry for the rant. I kind of wear my emotions on my sleeves when it comes to administrators that have struggling departments within their schools and so much can easily be done about it.

[Biff Johnson]

I wanna be your volunteer, Darrin!

Thanks for the tip...I will follow up on it. I got tired of waiting for something to happen with this program so I'm just forging ahead! (With a lot of help from Creekers!)

[Biff Johnson]

Thank you to: Paul DeCarlo, Snook's Saw Service, Carbide Processors Inc and Eastside Saw!!!!

[Steve Mellott]

If you belong to AAW ($38/year), apply for an Educational Opportunity Grant. Last year, the AAW (American Association of Woodturners) gave our local woodworking club $1000 and we bought 2 Delta Midi Lathes.

Steve

[Biff Johnson]

Thanks for the tip...I will check them out!

[Biff Johnson]

Found a w-working teacher forum where one of the school shops building little folding camp tables once a year and sells them. Super simple design and basic materials. Anybody else have an idea like this?

Thanks!