This fall, I became a full-time woodshop-esque teacher in a private school for students with neurological differences. It’s been a wild ride. My first order of business has been to outfit and carve out a woodshop on the campus. As we don’t have much access to electricity, I’ve been concentrating on hand tool mastery and supplementing projects with my personal shop tools. We also have made a commitment to use recycled materials when possible. Every piece on these tables is recycled: the bases and top supports are pallet lumber, the center posts are salvaged studs or oak used by oil riggers, and the tops are wainscoting from local office buildings and reused moldings.

These two end tables are the result of three weeks worth of work by 3 different groups of young men. Often, we would work for an hour or so, take pictures and notes and then send that information to the English dept for the young men to write up a how-to article. At the end of the project, both pieces sold for $75 – enough that we have a shopping trip for a new power drill & bit set, Japanese hand saws and who knows what else. I’m extremely proud of my kids – I think they did great work.