Tag: Education

CAD Lab, Classroom Project, Education, This Week In the ClassroomLeave a comment

This Week In the Classroom: Sketch Up Projects at the Middle School Level

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In support of my Mathematics and Technology and Computer Applications: CAD courses, I’ve offered a number of Sketch Up projects for students to complete.  In Mathematics and Technology, my students created eukaryotic animal cells while in Computer Applications the students created square, triangle and hexagon – based tessellations and designs.  Two resources I used heavily in the design and implementation of these projects:  Google Sketch Up 8 Hands – On: Student Coursework and the GeomeTrick series both by Bonnie Roskes of http://www.3dvinci.net. Ms. Roskes projects have a real wow factor in the classroom.  My students would shout my name to show off their work, … Continue reading This Week In the Classroom: Sketch Up Projects at the Middle School Level

This Week In the ShopLeave a comment

This Week In the Shop: One Block Projects – Book Ends

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A little while ago, I ran a book review on One Block of Wood.  I recently made a pair of bookends using Ms. Tolstrup’s plans out of salvaged pine and live oak.  Hope you enjoy the looksee.  Read a good book this week. Especially books on pirates! Make it safe & keep the rubberside down. Continue reading This Week In the Shop: One Block Projects – Book Ends

Community WatchLeave a comment

Come Build the Simple Tea Box @ TX/RX Labs Dec. 1st

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The good folks at TX/RX Labs invited me back for another weekend of teaching woodworking.  This year, I’ve asked to build some Christmas gifts. We are building the Simple Tea Box – and I’m sending one to the winner of my “First to 30” likes raffle on WoodshopCowboy’s Facebook Page. So like WoodshopCowboy on Facebook, sign up of for a class at TX/RX Labs… …and make it safe & keep the rubberside down. Continue reading Come Build the Simple Tea Box @ TX/RX Labs Dec. 1st

Why I Do This3 Comments

Why I Do This: Monday Nights

woodshopcowboy

Why I do this is a continuing series of education..er…ahhh…editorials.  If you don’t like ’em, check out my projects!  I do a lot of woodworking here, but I do more teaching in real-life.  Teaching, whether a reader on these blogs, or at TX/RX labs, or at my work, is what I really love.  I’m a self-proclaimed I-might-be-ok-at-some-point woodworker.  I’m a wicked good teacher.  Once in a while, I’ve got to say my piece about the craft of teaching. Just helped put my children to bed. Nothing special, really. Probably the same thing your doing, probably the same thing any number of … Continue reading Why I Do This: Monday Nights

Tool PrimerLeave a comment

Popular Woodworking Editors Blog: Your Guide to Butt Hinges

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Stamped vs. Extruded vs. Cast hinges • Inexpensive hinges are usually stamped out of thin steel or brass plates. • Extruded hinges are molten metal forced into a die under high pressure. They are thicker, sturdier and more expensive. • Cast bronze hinges are among the most expensive — bronze is melted and poured into a mold, resulting in a perfectly smooth surface and perfectly aligned pins. via Your Guide to Butt Hinges.   Some great information on type, countersinks and placement of butt hinges.  Check it out.   Make it safe & Keep the Rubberside down this week! Continue reading Popular Woodworking Editors Blog: Your Guide to Butt Hinges

Classroom Project, FurnitureLeave a comment

Check Out the Shutter Table Project on Recyclart.org

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Recyclart.org is a site dedicating to showing off recycled and salvaged projects from readers around the world.  If you’ve followed WodoshopCowboy for a while, you know I make the most of the Houston ReUse Warehouse’s offerings.  Here’s another shot at how my boys and I used louvered shutters and fence posts to create some pretty sweet little coffee tables last semester.  Check it out there or at the original post here… Remember to make it safe, keep the rubberside down this week and like WoodshopCowboy on Facebook! Continue reading Check Out the Shutter Table Project on Recyclart.org

Classroom Project, Education, Outdoor & Environmental, This Week In the ClassroomLeave a comment

This Week in the Classroom: The Poor Man’s Tripod (For Taking Panoramic Outdoor Pictures)

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My school is undergoing a little bit of construction…and by a little bit, I mean a cool of five mil of construction.  We just needed a little documentation of the facts. I’m going to use this photography stand (and yes, I walked around with my shirt like that all day)… I put a 1/4 coarse threaded bolt through a board, flipped it around and stuck it into the post.  You can see the crossbeams at the bottom giving the piece a little stability. …and the results are pretty spectacular. Make it safe & keep the rubberside down this week.  Remember … Continue reading This Week in the Classroom: The Poor Man’s Tripod (For Taking Panoramic Outdoor Pictures)

Why I Do ThisLeave a comment

Why I Do This: Invest in Teaching and the Return on Adventure

woodshopcowboy

I think we need a new measurement for tracking the success of our maker ventures, a new yardstick. I propose “Return on Adventure” via MAKE | Maximizing Your ROA (Return on Adventure). There’s been much discussion of the value, in dollars and sense, of a good teacher, via What is a Good Teacher Worth? – NYTimes.com. I’m a builder of things.  As a child, I built models and dioramas and train sets and miniatures.  In college I built poetry and plays, papers and rhymes.  I built a piss-poor set of ethics also, but that’s a different post.  Now, I build furniture at  … Continue reading Why I Do This: Invest in Teaching and the Return on Adventure

Tool Primer, Tool Review4 Comments

Tool Primer: How to Select and Use a Circular Saw

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Invented in 1923 by Edmond Michel, the circular saw remains a basic portable tool for any homeowner/woodworker nearly 90 years later. Skil77

The Model 77 hasn’t changed much, but worm-drive saws such as the 77 have become the realm of framers, carpenters and other tradesmen and women who make a living with the tool.  For a weekend warrior like myself and many others, we use  a sidewinder.  The sidewinder came about from  Porter-Cable in 1928.  In the next post, we’ll walk through selecting ourselves a proper circ saw and I’ll point you in the direction of some internet resources which show you how to use a circular saw.

Continue reading “Tool Primer: How to Select and Use a Circular Saw”

Classroom Project, Education, Outdoor & Environmental, This Week In the ClassroomLeave a comment

This Week in the Classroom: Block Printing & Stamps

woodshopcowboy

As my students have become more competent with tools in the past few years (and cripes, does it feel weird to say years…) I’ve gotten the chance to think:  what would be really cool to do next?  What would be just flat out awesome? Here’s my answer:  wood & lino prints designed by the student, for the students work.  My summer crew churned out about 30 different wood projects and many pieces deserved something special.  In the third week, I took the plunge and bought $80 worth of tools.  We spent the next few weeks cutting as many designs as we could and experimenting … Continue reading This Week in the Classroom: Block Printing & Stamps