What makes you Happy?

[Jack Mincey]

I large pile of shavings makes my day. One of the advantages of being the teacher. I get to rough out a lot of big bowls. This started out as a 16" poplar Hollow Form a student had worked on one class period already, so I just had to help him rough it out. We turned a lot of the bottom of the blank down to get the HF above the pith of the blank. It is around 14.5" now. Poplar is a very nice wood to turn if you have never tried it. Very large blanks are easy to find in this tree and the color can be nice as well. It doesn't move a lot as it dries. This same student sold one of his open form poplar bowls this year for $150.
Jack
http://usera.imagecave.com/flyrod444/100_0796-copy.jpg
http://usera.imagecave.com/flyrod444/100_0797-copy.jpg

[Paul Douglass]

Jack, great picture. Is this a high school class? Didn't even know they taught woodworking any more in school.

[Bruce Pennell]

Wish I would have had a shop class like yours. 30 plus years ago our teacher taught us how to mount the centers and gave us a spindle gouge and said practice. That was all the lathe work we got to do. We really got moved away from the machines that year 1975, because some idiots in metal shop, whacked a valve off a welding tank, went through a block wall and ended up in someone's back yard, about a foot and a half in the ground. Liability issue's long ago. Sure looks like your students are having fun, and learning at the same time. Thats Great....Bruce

[Bernie Weishapl]

Jack what a wonderful picture. Shop looks great. Wish they had woodworking when I went thru well lets just say long ago. We did have a wood lathe but it was taboo.

[curtis rosche]

have you ever had anyone turn tulip poplar? that stuff stinks bad. how did you get hollowing tools for a school?

[Jack Mincey]

Paul,
It is in a high school shop. N.C. still has a strong vocational program. The local administrators are pleased with our shops turning program. As long as the students do well on their state End Of Coarse test we are good to go. We now have five lathes in the small shop counting two that are owned by the local turning club, "Western North Carolina Woodturners". This club has been a great help in helping our shop in the world of turning. The county came through this year and bought us an 18" band saw that makes cutting blanks a lot easier. I still use my chainsaw behind the shop to prep the wood for the bandsaw or straight to the lathe.
Curtis,
Never turned tulip poplar, but one student turned some stuff out of wood that he got from Fl. It was called Pepper wood and I couldn't stand to be around it when turned. I've made all of our hollowing tools using 5/8" and 3/4" steel rod bought from the local Hardware store and the tool bits are from Enco. I have around $7.00 in each of the hollowing tools.
Jack

[Reed Gray]

Most of the popolar sold is the tulip popolar. Cottenwood on the other hand does stink, kind of like some one threw up.

If I had woodshop avaliable to me in high school, that would have been one class besides PE that I would have gotten straight A's in.

robo hippy

[robert hainstock]

And so are your students. If I had not been able to get 5 credits in HS.shop, I would not have graduated. But I only got to turn a couple things on our ooooold Delta. Thnks for schools like yours that teach something besides standard test score improvement. :D:D:D
Bob

[Paul Douglass]

I still have the bowl I turned for my mother when I was in High School. Got an A+! Only A+ I received in all my 12 years of school (yes, I graduated in 12 years). That bowl is 47 years old!!!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jack....If I'd have had a shop teacher like you and had known how much fun turning was....In the 60's I'd have been taking shop classes instead of those boring but useful chemistry, physics and higher level math courses!

Thanks for making shop fun, interesting and challenging for your students!

[Judy Kingery]

Jack - that's fantastic! Our schools here where I live now have mostly discontinued the arts, shop, voc-ed, much to my disappointment. My highschool (late 70's) was outstanding, I took all the college prep/honors courses AND a bunch of other stuff, jewelry making, sculpture, wood shop, it was absolutely great! So I'm very, very pleased to know you still have a program there and God bless you for what you do for the students, it's important (I've also taught for about 28 years now - but other stuff). Have a good one and again God bless, Jude

[Richard Madison]

Ditto what Jude said, except the parts about jewelry making and ---.

Jack, you and your local turning club are doing a wonderful job. One hopes that your administration and community will continue to support it. Perhaps the next famous new turner will emerge from your class.

[Jim Becker]

Yup, that looks like fun!!! I also agree that teaching is the bee's knees, too...you're a lucky man!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Jack - that looks like it is going to be quite the hollow form!

Since everyone is throwing a little history out with this thread - the only school I went to that had shop classes was when I was in 7th & 8th grade back in the early 60s. 7th grade was wood shop and I turned a potato masher for my Mom. I remember using the lathe and really enjoying the process - but have no idea what ever happened to the potato masher! The memories I have from wood and metal shop was that it was really fun because for the first time we were allowed to work with our hands (and mind) to create something out of materials other than playdough!

Glad to see your school program is being supported by the community! The photos of your students and their projects have been priceless! Thanks for posting!

[Jack Mincey]

Thanks again for the kind words everyone. I do feel like I've had a great job for the last 25 years and am looking forward to the next 5. My love of turning started in high school like a lot of you have talked about. I think that a lot of my students are hooked on it as well.
Thanks Again,
Jack