Going Back To My Old School

When you hear about high school wood shop programs these days, the news is generally sad. Many schools have stopped offering wood shop programs and are selling their equipment. This sends the message that learning how to make things from wood is not worth the effort. It was a refreshing experience to be invited to speak at Theodore Roosevelt High School’s woodshop classes in Kent, Ohio. The topic I chose was Arts & Crafts furniture. It was a great program that is thriving and moving in an interesting direction.

Troy Spear answers students questions about their current project.

The program at Kent Roosevelt is a part of Wood Links, a partnership between the woodworking industry and educators to provide meaningful training in woodworking. By certifying students’ skills, the goal is to give the students the tools to find work in the woodworking industry. The program is led at Kent by Troy Spear, shown in the photo above, who was recently named the Wood Links teacher of the year. The classes cover a broad range of topics, including AutoCAD, CNC programming and furniture design.

The shop is nicely equipped with a mix of old and new equipment. It was filled with vintage Delta Unisaws, Band Saws, and other old equipment. Those machines are still there, along with the most recent addition, the Altendorf sliding table saw seen in the photo above. Next on the wish list is a CNC router to ensure that these kids are learning on the same type of equipment that is used in the real world.

As I set out to return to Cincinnati, I got one more reminder of life in my old home town, a nice dose of Lake Effect Snow. I was informed by a local radio station that the westbound interstate from Akron was closed because of the numerous wrecks. I decided to head south instead of west to get around the storm and was beginning to grumble about losing time when I looked to the left and saw a comforting sight.

My detour just happened to go by Hartville Tool, and they just happened to be having a sale. You can always count on your luck when life throws you a snowball. . .