You may have noticed the wheels we use on projects in the Clear Spring wood shop. We make them ourselves from round ash and hickory scrap that comes from a handle factory in Missouri. On Monday I drove up and filled the back of my Subaru with as much as I could imagine using over the next two years or more. I cut them into thin rounds on the table-saw and then drill axle holes on the drill-press, using a jig I developed to hold them at center on the drill-press table. In an hour or less of my own prep time, I can make enough wheels to keep a number of children inventing vehicles for hours. If we were to buy wheels at the local hobby store or through a mail order catalog, they would cost a lot of money and not allow the same degree of creativity as the ones we make.

Today I fly to Detroit and will be teaching at the Sterling Heights Woodcraft Store on Friday and Saturday. I'll post some photos from the class. The wisdom of the hands isn't only for the young. But what you develop while young can be yours for a lifetime.