Here are the parts of our back scratcher. As with most of our work, fixing is achieved by belting 6mm dowels into 5.5mm holes. The handle is well suited to batch production but the body of the scratchy bit took a while. Each had to be individually marked out. It was the least efficient part…
My friends wouldn’t stop playing with this toy. For me, that is enough evidence to call the project a success. Most of the workers in my group do not interact easily with other people, so their play didn’t consist of shooting each other. They found enormous satisfaction in the challenge of loading a ball and launching it…
Fairy Furniture Grand daughters leave grandpas with the privilege of doing cool stuff. Here is the furniture with which she can join Alice at afternoon tea in the backyard. Even though this is made from decking boards, a life outdoors will see the timber eventually split and fall apart. So, a decision has to be…
This blog is the work of a retired woodwork teacher, me. A wonderful career of making cool things with kids has loaded my head with lots of stuff to make and share. Lessons are an Act of Sharing My inventive/creative work continues through opportunities to share what I enjoy. There are customers at a wood tools shop where I work part time….
I Broke a Promise… …but I also made a discovery. When I began doing wood projects among my disabled friends I made some promises to myself. The promises were a personal, but unwritten, statement of policy. I promise to: do work that is engaging because the thing we make is interesting, never to do all…
Three Variations of the Same Theme There is a tradition in Melbourne secondary schools that has twelve year olds in their first woodwork lessons making a pencil case. Regardless of how ordinary the results may be, these things end up with magnificent decoration. During boring lessons they are canvas for expression of everything from undying…