Plant Stand

This plant stand is a fun project because it employs steam box technologies to bend the legs.  It also has a veneered top made up of 4 separate sheets of wood that are only 1/32 of an inch thick.  The pattern on the top can be changed according to ones own desire.  This project only takes 1-2 weeks to build and makes a nice addition to any home.

Lathe Project - Pen

This project is a good time filler for when students only have a day or two to work or are in between projects.  This particular pen is made of apricot wood.  The wood parts are turned on the lathe and the finish is applied on the lathe.  The parts are then assembled.  Students can also turn mechanical pencils as well.  They look the same as the pen. 

Hope Chest

This is a hope chest that I designed for my students a couple of years ago.  The female students seem to really like this one.  The picture is of a hope chest that my daughter made out of walnut.  It is a great project but it does require a full year commitment in order to complete the hope chest.  The top opens up and the bottom portion has two drawers that slide out.  It takes a lot of work but is well worth the investment.  The cost of this particular project is about $140.00.  To buy one of equal quality and value in a furniture store would cost at least $350.00. 

Fish net picture

Here is a picture of the fish net that I talked about in the first blog.  This net is a fun project and hopefully will get put to use catching, not just fishing! 

Cricket Table

This project is one that I learned about in our summer conference for woodworking teachers this past June.  We built a table that has a rotating top with three leaves of the table that drop down when rotated, creating a triangle shaped top from the original round top.  This table was originally designed in England for people to use while watching the game of cricket.  It provided a light weight table that could be transported easily.  It is a fun project and one that I think high school students will enjoy building.  The table in the pictures is unfinished due to the fact that I have not been back to the school shop this summer to apply the stain and finish.  The first picture is with the round top and the second shows the table with the leaves dropped down forming the triangular top.  Sorry about the pictures being sideways, I thought that had been fixed, evidently not. 

Fun project

I have not learned how to put pictures on the blog yet so I will describe one of the fun projects we do in our high school shop class.  It does take some set-up and preparation time but Fish Net frames are a fun project.  The students make the frame from three strips of wood.  The strips are 1/8" thick and 50" long.  Once the strips are cut to size they are steamed in a steam box for about 30 min.  They are then removed from the box and bent around a form that is in the shape of the net frame.  After they dry to the specified shape a handle is made and then the strips and handle are glued together on the fish net jig.  The frame is then sanded and holes drilled for the net to be sewn to the frame.  Of course the polyurethane finish is applied before the net is sewn on.  Students love this project and are always excited to share their big fish stories with me. 

Woodworking Wonders

This blog is for any and all woodworking enthusiasts that want to share project ideas and pictures from their educational woodworking classes.  Of course, anyone else not in Career and Technical Education, is welcome to share project ideas and pictures as well.  This blog is dedicated to the continuing success of High School Woodworking classes.
I hope all will enjoy and be willing to share ideas. 

Thanks, Stephen