People tell me that the reason we don't seem to be growing railway modellers is that kids don't learn woodwork or metalwork at school any more.
I did a term of woodwork and here is the result. A car shaped lump of pine. The wheels go round, sort of, the red line was obviously masked but I didn't bother to do this when painting the wheels, or taking them out for that matter.
It's quite a pleasing object so I can't throw this away, but can anyone explain just how my abilities as a model maker stem entirely from making it? Or could it be that a lack of practical skills taught at school isn't the only reason da kidz don't make toy trainz any more?
In that brief term you would have experienced drilling holes square to a surface,clearance fits, interference fits,drilling the hole centrally in the wheel( use of the drill chuck in the tailstock of a lathe)? marking out, sawing square and at the slope, planing square and at the slope, surface finish , masking and applying some type of surface protection.Not bad for a piece of material that must probably cost the tax payer less than that was spent on a packet of crisps at break time. Bring back Woodwork teachers.. any fule kno that.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of discussion about this on woodworking forums as well. The general consensus is that woodwork is generally so badly taught in schools that it's better if we don't bother.
ReplyDeleteI suppose there is an argument that you can teach people that they can be creative despite not being musical, but a normal school is the last place to try that sort of thing.
Dermot - You overestimate things. I will have cut the block on a bandsaw, drilled a couple of holes in this, and the dowel wheels then threaded more dowel through for the axles. I don't think our school had a wood lathe! No planing or surface finish other than sandpaper.
ReplyDeleteI expect we raced them down something but can't remember.