Eight students, six boxes built and finished. It was a long day in the shop – nearly seven hours with only a few breaks for liquids. I can think of a number of great moments: the first box getting nailed together, the last coat of shellac being applied, the look of what-have-I-got-myself-into as the students tackled nearly 40 linear feet of hardwood for the first time. We captured the moment which stands out most for me in the picture below.
Take a good look at the boy in the white shirt. Take a good look at his smile. He didn’t get to build a box that day. He had to work and work hard keeping up with a manic teacher and seven students as a teaching assistant. He hustled and bustled and sweated through a long day in a shop he didn’t know, with people he didn’t know, with a project he helped design and make happen.
But here he is, seven hours later – still smiling.
I make a few right decisions. Bringing him along was the best one I made that day.
Enjoy a few more pictures. Build something in the shop today.
Click to view slideshow.If you want to build a box, I’ve posted my preliminary directions up here.
Make it safe, keep the rubberside down. And forgive someone today.
