Tag: plywood

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Home #Makerspace: The DIY Folding Board

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Some things are impossible, such as unicorns, bipartisan agreement on the greatness of bacon and getting small boys to fold their clothes.  While I didn’t do the impossible this week, I certainly made it easier to master.

Folding Board

A folding board is a cool little device that helps you fold clothes quickly.  This is great for young children and people with mobility issues as it minimizes the physical effort while maximizing effect…it makes folding fun.  Better yet, a folding board can be made with plywood, cardboard or any other stiff, flat material.  There’s no need to spend $20, just use some scrap wood.

Here’s a picture tutorial of how to fold a T-shirts.

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This Week In the Shop1 Comment

This Week in the Woodshop: Footboard, Pt. 2

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Last week, I showed everyone the biggest project sitting on my workbench.  This week I completed the footboard just in time for Valentine’s Day.  I celebrated its completion by buying my wife a dozen roses, and taking her on not one, but two, dates in one weekend. But I’m back in the doghouse, I mean, woodshop now. I hope you enjoyed the pictures.  I designed the footboard with dovetailed (and splinted) carcass, rear panels from birch ply floating in dados, solid wood support beams on the ends. Finishing this guy was an adventure in and of itself.  I discovered a rule about … Continue reading This Week in the Woodshop: Footboard, Pt. 2

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This Week in the Shop: Plywood Storage & Lights & New Workbench

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Since I moved into my new digs in April, my shop has undergone a number of changes.  I blogged about the move-in and of course I went and changed it immediately. First, a couple bright spots.  Not long after I unloaded everything I realized two very important things about home ownership.  One, you can put holes in whichever wall you want, where ever you want, when you want.  Two, it’s expensive.  But not these lights.  Remember to buy the bulbs and make sure you wire’m up according to  fire code.  I’m a midnight rider now. My new bench looks a … Continue reading This Week in the Shop: Plywood Storage & Lights & New Workbench

Classroom Project, This Week In the ClassroomLeave a comment

This Week in the Classroom: Boomerangs and Chalkboard Slates

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Two projects really took off this summer – chalkboard slates and boomerangs.  The boomerangs, of course, took off a little bit more. Back in the fall I built a bike barn.  It’s more of a third-world shanty, but it housed the bikes and kept them sort of organized.  Either way, I picked up a large number of cedar shingles as a roofing material.  Time got away from me – I never roofed the barn.  Instead, I used the shingles to create these cool little chalkboard slates.  I used an exterior paint as primer, then covered them in green chalkboard paint. … Continue reading This Week in the Classroom: Boomerangs and Chalkboard Slates

Art Car, Classroom Project, Community Watch, Education, This Week In the Classroom1 Comment

This Week in the Classroom: Art Car

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For the past three spring semesters (way back to my work at Citizen Schools) I have led a team of students in the design and construction of an Art Car.  An Art Car, if you don’t know, is an embellished vehicle of some sort.  Last year, I ran a sharkcar, the year before, a gatortruck.  This year, I received permission to use the school bus.  We run our car in The Houston Art Car Parade every second Saturday in May. Of course, whatever I did had to be removable.  Nothing like a challenge. Over two months my students designed, cut out, painted … Continue reading This Week in the Classroom: Art Car

This Week In the Shop1 Comment

This Week in the Shop: Tangled Up (Dining Set) in Blue

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In the past few weeks, I’ve had the chance to photograph my completed big fall project from 2011.  I put together the table base over a few weeks in August and built the top over a couple weeks in September.  I don’t remember much, other than my wife traveled overseas during that time.  I remember my stomach tightening when she said “well, the country is in a state of emergency, so I might need a bodyguard” and the guys  at the lumberyard telling me “a great story” about said country which involved his friend being smuggled out of a military dictatorship. I built the … Continue reading This Week in the Shop: Tangled Up (Dining Set) in Blue

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This Week in the Shop: Fixing the Couch

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My wife bought a beautiful used Craftsman couch for the new house.  Unfortunetely, the previous owner had two young boys.  Boys, as any parent knows, have an instinctual hatred of nice things.  My parents used to run around my house yelling “this is why we can’t have nice things” at random intervals throughout my childhood life.  Often, I would not actually be engaging in destructive behavior, but they thought judicious over-use of the saying would compel me into good behavior. I am now the father of two young boys.  I believe they didn’t yell that enough at me!  I got … Continue reading This Week in the Shop: Fixing the Couch

CAD Lab, Classroom Project, Education, Technology1 Comment

STEM Project: The CO2 Rocket Car

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This is my favorite project from this month’s STEM Fair.  A student of mine decided to build CO2 Rocket cars.  I loved building one of these in middle school.  I distinctly remember my simple teardrop design coming in last and remarking – well, that’s unfair.  I didn’t know I could do THAT! – when I saw the winners thin, stretchy, leggy thing.  I looked like a duck next to a greyhound. Last time, my teacher bought a kit.  This time, I chose a simple design for this piece – a pine wedge cut from a 2×4, 1/4 inch dowels as … Continue reading STEM Project: The CO2 Rocket Car

Classroom Project, This Week In the Shop, Tool Safety1 Comment

Student-Built Seesaw (He see-d, he saw-ed, he fell down)

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Yesterday, we completed a physics demonstration: The adjustable see-saw.  This seesaw has holes drilled into the balancing beam, allowing students/users to experiment with the capabilities of numerous levers.  You just shift its position along the beam and viola!  Instantly, a foolish grin hits your face as you try to balance anew.

More pictures after the jump…

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