Woodworking: The Next Generation
George VondriskaDescription
George’s daughter, Ginny, spent her final semester of high school on a woodworking Work Study in George’s shop. George and Ginny take this opportunity to talk about what Ginny learned in this program, and what kind of woodworking skills she gained. Ginny talks about her favorite aspects of working in the shop, including learning how to make an electric guitar.
Why kids?
The overriding theme here is the importance of involving young people in woodworking. Not only is it rewarding for them as they gain new skills, it’s also rewarding for you as you help them grow. Ginny provides her perspective on what’s important in keeping a young person interested, and George talks about the goals he had with teaching Ginny about working in the shop.
Keep them engaged
According to Ginny one of the best ways to keep a young person engaged is through the choice of woodworking projects they work on. You may have your own agenda, but be sure to pay attention to what interests your helper if you want to keep them coming.
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4 Responses to “Woodworking: The Next Generation”
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So cute. People say, "If you like sanding, you need help"; but I think there's a Zen to sanding—hand sanding that is. Safety first.
I am a volunteer wood shop teacher at a high school. I am fully aligned with George and his daughter’s observations that while the teacher’s primary interest is in teaching good and safe practices - to keep it interesting and motivate the students, there needs to be some great projects, not just process. We have done WWGOA’s wooden tongs. They have been a hit. I designed a “wooden cube” puzzle that requires precision rip and cross cut technique but uses only a little material. Picture a 3x3x3 cube so 27 cubic measures. Rip a 3/4” thick board into 3/4” wide strips. Need a board at least 27” long,30 to 36” is better, to account for Kerf. Cross cut 3 each to 2.25”; 2 each to 1.5”; 14 each 0.75”. The students glue whichever pieces together as they wish to result in a cube when the pieces are assembled . The only rule is only side grain to side grain gluing. Great exercise on precision cutting and glue-up. I bought several dozen small trigger clamps at Harbor Freight. Or blue tape works for clamping. Hilarity results if they later can not solve their own puzzle.
What woodworker doesn't hate sanding? I know I do.
What woodworker doesn't hate sanding?