This Week in the Shop: A Bed Frame

UPDATE:  You can pick up PDF plans for this project at http://www.woodshopcowboy.com.  More plans coming soon! A little over five weeks ago, a plumbing issue at my residence caused a rather large flood.  Since then, my family and I have been staying with relatives.  The workshop has been closed for personal projects until further notice.Continue reading “This Week in the Shop: A Bed Frame”

This Week in the Classroom: The 2×4 Shaving Horse

In preparation for a walkin’ cane project, I built a dirty looking 2×4 shaving horse.  It ain’t named Trigger, though I might name it Jimmy Stewart.  Whenever I think of the description “long face”, I think of Jimmy Stewart. I’ll walk you through my build after the jump…

This Week in the Shop: Refurbish A Children’s Bike

The 16″ childrens’ bike project has cleared my outbox.  I’m busy in reflection mode with the students, examining all the different parts of our work for ways to improve the product, teaching and quality next time.  I thought the bike itself came out well: If you’ve followed the blog over the past two months, thenContinue reading “This Week in the Shop: Refurbish A Children’s Bike”

How To: Teach Sawing to a Young Student

I have a perfect record in the woodshop.  No fatalities. I have had two injuries though this year (I average about one a quarter or semester).  Both happened due to good sawing habits gone bad. This picture shows my basic hand-saw set up when I cut a board to size.  I’m right-handed and for south-pawed students,Continue reading “How To: Teach Sawing to a Young Student”

This Week in the Classroom: SNOW DAY!

It’s going to be a snow day in Houston! we canceled school two days early…. The last big piece of work I’ll do this week: I can’t really explain this one.  Context is nothing when you have a big cow sculpture hanging out the back of your truck.  It’s like trying to explain missing homeworkContinue reading “This Week in the Classroom: SNOW DAY!”

This Week in the Classroom: Quality from a Student

Finished only one true project this week in the shop.  Instead of trying to complete projects with the students, I slowed down and tried to focus on the journey, and focus on quality.  What does it look like in my shop, and do I  facilitate it, or do my students discover it for themselves?  WhatContinue reading “This Week in the Classroom: Quality from a Student”

This Week In the Classroom: New Tools and Old Tools In the Shop (It’s Not What You Think)

Just got the best new, free tool in the woodshop today.  It looks like this: It’s a printed out (thank god the paper-waster nazi wasn’t around) version of the ENTIRE trilogy of Mission Furniture and How to Make It published by Project Gutenberg via Popular Mechanics from 1910.  The students flip through it and findContinue reading “This Week In the Classroom: New Tools and Old Tools In the Shop (It’s Not What You Think)”

This Week In the Classroom: Progress in 2011

What a  student-driven,  project-based learning  can result in: The joints look remarkably tight in this photo, and the stain quite even, but don’t be fooled.  This is about as rough as work gets.  (Not including the Clock, which may be finished and rejected this week…)   It was the first attempt at an entire project likeContinue reading “This Week In the Classroom: Progress in 2011”

This Week In the Classroom: Curriculum Plan for Spring of 2011

Good week for struggles and not-quite-there-yets in the woodshop this week.  Three projects left the floor complete.  The first, chalkboard that has been wind-blown, vandalized and otherwise destroyed three times.  We’ll see if it sticks this time. The other two projects I failed to take a picture of.  On Mon or Tues, I’ll put upContinue reading “This Week In the Classroom: Curriculum Plan for Spring of 2011”

This Week in the Classroom: The Butterfly Bench & Butterfly Growers

I missed Monday and Tuesday this week – my wife was in the hospital with a parasite.  Luckily, the parasite left on his own and we’ve named him Jack.  Jack is our second son, born on Sun 13 at 5:30am.  A whopping 8 lbs.  A beautiful boy. But this blog is about woodshop & teaching. Continue reading “This Week in the Classroom: The Butterfly Bench & Butterfly Growers”