Oneway and Robust...

Yesterday 9 Robust lathes and a Oneway were delivered to the ESSA wood shop. The Oneway is placed in the teacher position and the Robust lathes will be for student use. Brent English personally delivered the 9 Robust lathes from Wisconsin and the Oneway was delivered by a local craftsman who sold it to the school. We had volunteers on hand to assist with the moving.

We also began making moldings that will be used to cover seams in the plywood walls. We made hundreds of feet of molding using the carpenter's table saw and my small router table clamped to a work bench. The moldings are a good way to use the narrow strips offcut from trim pieces used to case the many windows in the shop. So by applying trim we'll make the shop just a bit more beautiful, and waste less in the process.

It is an amazing thing to see the wood shop moving toward its finished form. More power tools will be delivered next week. A volunteer asked me about our tools selection strategy. It's my belief that students should learn on tools they can afford to buy for themselves. This does not mean cheap tools. But a great lathe, and a good bandsaw can be purchased for less than what a young man or woman would squander on much less important things.

A great lathe and a good bandsaw can keep a person making beautiful and useful things for family and community for many years to come, and grow in character and intellect at the very same time.

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