Replies

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Mar 22, 2007 04:40am | #1

   Dan,

   I'm sorry I can't help you with the turning part but I would highly recommend anything you can find that references Tage (pronounced Tay) Frid  for the rest.

    

   Bob @ Kidderville Acres

    

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

2. 
   Diz | Mar 22, 2007 05:23am | #2

   There is a 4H program on woodworking and they have a set of graded books to teach woodworking.  Check with your local Extension Agent about getting a copy.  Our club just started a 6 week program for about 12 kids. 

3. 
   dtraversi | Mar 22, 2007 05:24am | #3

   Hey Dan- Sounds like a hellofaway to spend the summer- I teach jr. highers for a living- remember to plan in a little goof around time to keep the learning fun.
   I remember my 7th grade shop teacher having a weekly contest.

   simple stuff-
   one was.... each kids got 25- 16d nails and a 2x4 cut off... you get 50 swings and the winner has the most knocked home- what a riot!

   or.... cross cut saw and a 1x8 board of pine. 30 seconds on the clock- kids with the squarest cut wins.

   you get the idea- keep it fun and safe and you'll make a few lifers.

   To your original question- I'd contact the local high school and ask the shop teacher to share a curriculum for a beginning class

   Good luck

4. 
   MikeHennessy | Mar 23, 2007 03:00pm | #4

   I once taught WWing to kids this age at a local museum. We started them on on building a footstool -- a reproduction of one in the museum. They had to measure the original, make a plan, and execute it in pine. It involved using a handsaw to cut the stock, a brace and keyhole saw to make the tote, a coping saw and spokeshave to cut the profile on the legs, chisels to cut the shallow, angled mortise on the underside of the top, planes to flatten the stock, a scraper and sandpaper to smoth the piece and finishing with stain made from oil and burnt umber and BLO. All in all, a pretty wide group of skills were covered on this simple project.

   Once they had completed the footstool, they were free to tackle whatever other piece they wanted, again by copying from an original. Some tackled pretty advanced projects and I can't remember one that didn't turn out nicely. They got to advance at their own pace and do what interested them the most.

   Mike Hennessy
   Pittsburgh, PA

1. 
   beo48 | Mar 24, 2007 01:46am | #5

   I agree with Mike... a project that they can work for is much better than practice cutting, measuring.. etc... the quaility of the kids will be greater because of the "attention" that they put on something that they can take home...I usually start my students with a 2x4 block of wood that they are to make into a "bowel" "ashtray, or even a boat... they use chisels and hammers to chisel the mortise,, then use files, rasps and sand paper to finally shape their project... then using a series of sandpaper from 100 to 400 grit... they sand to a smooth edge.. add vegetable oil and polish it with ####piece of brown paper bag. nice keepsake for them.. many of them give this item to their mother..Only real safety issue is clamping the wood solidly to the table... I've had the best luck with wooden screw clamps... (10-12" jaws..then move on to more complicated project... 4-sided box with hand cut dove tails?,,,, anyway, good luck... sounds like fun.. (heck it sounds like my classes)Dennis

1. 
   eddiefromAustralia | Mar 24, 2007 04:29am | #6

   Hi Dennis,sounds like some of my classes, especially the 'bowel' bit. I have some classes cut an animal out of a bit of 4 x 2 and shape it with a rasp. Similar project.Cheers,eddie

5. 
   try50772 | Mar 24, 2007 06:33am | #7

   I teach high school, and teach a class of Materials and Processes. We fous on some metal, wood, and some plastics.

   To do the wood unit we are doing lamps, a great use your imagination project, but we started with a small tool set, a simple torpedo level, with an epoxied vial, a 4" square with a small brass blade, and a great project from Penn State Industries,: a turned 4 in one screwdriver. IIRC the kits were around $6 and every one had a good time putting them together.

   BTW, some of the typical MS level projects I remember were clocks as movements and faces are easy and cheap, the mason jar gumball/candy dispenser, and small cuttimg boards, glued up from off cuts, and cut out in shapes of animals or other interests.

   Good luck!