router lift

Yesterday at ESSA I finished installing a router lift in one of the router tables. The router lift makes changing  bits and adjusting router height easy, and most woodworking schools have them, though I've never felt the necessity of having one in my own shop.

At Clear Spring School I started my students making boxes. Boxes? they asked. Yes, boxes, I replied.  They come into the shop with all kinds of things they want to make. The important thing is that they develop skill and are thereby empowered to do whatever they want. They're not there yet.

I made things easier for them by milling and cutting the material to size. There were plenty of difficulties to be found in bent nails, wayward nails sticking out in the wrong places, and misaligned parts. There was also the challenge of listening and following instructions.

I learned that making of wooden skates on Wednesday led to some after school speculation, with at least one student wondering how to solve the problems with her skates. Most of the speculation involved how to better attach the skates to feet. Getting a student to wonder how to do things and how to improve things, even outside of wood shop is one of the objectives. We want children to observe closely all that surrounds them.

Make, fix, create, and assist others in learning likewise.