New project for my students

[BHunter 1,700]

Every year I restore a Wheel Horse with my class. This year’s project is a C105. My students are getting good at bringing Wheel Horses back to life. I really enjoy passing my knowledge down to the kids. Some of them have even started their own collection of wheel horses. 

[ebinmaine 67,623]

 

I'm in 

 

[rjg854 11,387]

Very cool idea, a terrific hands on experience  

[Guest 88vic]

I cant even express how much I love this !  

[BHunter 1,700]

2 minutes ago, WHEELHORSEFAN*16 said:

I cant even express how much I love this !  

Thanks. It’s really rewarding to see the kids work on the tractors. I have the 1st year students do the degreasing and disassembly,  the 2nd year students do the prep work and the 3rd year students paint and assembly . There is a lot of teamwork to complete the project. All the kids like to bring their family members in at our open house and show them everything they are working one. 

[Pullstart 62,912]

Awesome Bob!  Keep us in the loop now, will ya?

[ZXT 2,401]

I wish I had a shop teacher in HS that let us do cool projects like that! In my class, it was pretty much rotating tires and doing brake jobs.. I was pulling and rebuilding engines by the time I was in HS so it wasn't very interesting and I didn't learn anything.

[BHunter 1,700]

17 minutes ago, pullstart said:

Awesome Bob!  Keep us in the loop now, will ya?

You got it buddy. 

[BHunter 1,700]

17 minutes ago, ZXT said:

I wish I had a shop teacher in HS that let us do cool projects like that! In my class, it was pretty much rotating tires and doing brake jobs.. I was pulling and rebuilding engines by the time I was in HS so it wasn't very interesting and I didn't learn anything.

That’s a shame you didn’t learn anything. I try to keep it interesting for my students. If I see that they have skills, I give them advanced tasks to do. This year’s new students didn’t even know what a Phillips head screwdriver was or what way to turn a wrench to remove a bolt. Kids aren’t very hands on anymore unless

its with their phone but I’m changing that. 

[ZXT 2,401]

1 minute ago, BHunter said:

That’s a shame you didn’t learn anything. I try to keep it interesting for my students. If I see that they have skills, I give them advanced tasks to do. This year’s new students didn’t even know what a Phillips head screwdriver was or what way to turn a wrench to remove a bolt. Kids aren’t very hands on anymore unless

its with their phone but I’m changing that. 

Good on you for doing that! What you're teaching them will likely help them throughout their lives... and maybe even save them some money!

[SylvanLakeWH 25,600]

Very cool!

 

And you picked my favorite!

 

My C 105 says “Hi” to her cousin!!!

 

Love the Black Hoods!

 

 

 

Edited December 11, 2019 by SylvanLakeWH

[953 nut 55,320]

Thank you!

 

[The Tuul Crib 7,336]

 That is a great thing you're doing as well! 

 You don't see many high schools having any shop classes anymore. I'm sure it has something to do with lawsuits and insurance regulations. Sad.I took all the 

shop classes  available back then .

 

[WHX?? 48,828]

10 hours ago, BHunter said:

but I’m changing that. 

Not enough thumbs for that statement! 

 

1 hour ago, The Tool Crib said:

don't see many high schools having any shop classes anymore.

So true @Achto and I talk about that all the time and recall our years in HS shop classes where they had auto mechanics, power mechanics, machine shop, welding, wood working you name it. Heck we even had a small but effective foundry in my machine shop classes! 

 

1 hour ago, The Tool Crib said:

sure it has something to do with lawsuits and insurance regulations.

and budget constraints. Seems like the schools nowadays monies are sucked up by trying to keep up with changing technologies. 

[Achto 27,604]

I'm very happy to see what your doing!! I think every one should have an opportunity to learn some type of mechanical skills.

 

It seems like for a period of time classes were more focused on training kids for office type jobs and skilled labor took a hit because of this. Right now skilled labor is in high demand, if you are a machinist, welder, mechanic, etc good paying jobs are not hard to find.

Edited December 11, 2019 by Achto

[Achto 27,604]

10 hours ago, BHunter said:

This year’s new students didn’t even know what a Phillips head screwdriver was or what way to turn a wrench to remove a bolt.

 

I know some design engineers who still don't know these things.

[8ntruck 7,016]

I'm a mentor for the local high school's robotics team.  Each year the team designs, and builds a robot to compete in the FIRST robotics worldwide competition series.  Similar experiences with the kids - what tools do what, which way to turn bolts, basic lathe, mill, and hand tool operation etc..  We assign the upper class team members to work with the under class team members with teaching/management type tasks to develop leadership skills.

 

I'll bet that rebuilding a Wheel Horse is much less expensive than building and competing in the FIRST robotics series.

 

Good program.  Thanks for running it.

[CCW 1,295]

I am now a retired Tech Ed teacher and it has been years since I taught in an auto shop.  Just as well as cars and I do not get along well.  A tractor though would be a horse of a different color.  It amazed me in my last few years how few students could measure to an eighth of and inch.  Of course i grew up with a hammer in my hand and started working maintenance when I was fifteen.  The demand for machinist and welders here in CT is through the roof and it is hard to convince kids and parents that these are valuable jobs.  Industrial machine shops today are nothing like they were when i was a kid.

 

Keep up the good work.

[Pullstart 62,912]

In my Junior and Senior years, I took Auto Tech at the county’s vocational school.  As a Freshman and Sophomore, it was wood shop in my home High School.  My senior year I also worked Co-Op at a local tool and die shop, so I was fortunate enough to become quite versed with bridging the gap from thousandths to eighths to brake jobs and engine rebuilds.  Though I’ve worked with my hands since I can remember, having Christmas and birthday toys disassembled and reassembled a few times before that day was over, I have to hand it to my shop teachers and instructors for the majority of the base skills I’ve gained over the years!  

 

My senior schedule was to work from 5 or 6 am until school’s lunch, go to one class, then drive to the skills center.  From home to auto shop was a good 45 minute drive and my auto instructor’s wife was in college in another state... so after school was out, we would often stay and work on projects until 6 or 7 at night, probably 4 days a week.  It was a kid like me’s dream school schedule!  

 

I also have to say, I was not always the best kid.  Those teachers had some thick skin putting up with hundreds of punks like me over the years!  You fellas teaching the trades probably know plenty of young Pullstarts!

Edited December 12, 2019 by pullstart
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[bds1984 1,435]

On 12/11/2019 at 7:23 AM, The Tool Crib said:

 That is a great thing you're doing as well! 

 You don't see many high schools having any shop classes anymore. I'm sure it has something to do with lawsuits and insurance regulations. Sad.I took all the 

shop classes  available back then .

 

 

I've been teaching HS Industrial Arts for some time now and I can tell you that it is more of a budgeting issue than anything else.  Fewer tax dollars coming in translates to budget shortfalls which means less dollars for the elective classes in schools.  My classes are always the first to be cut because of that and I lived that after a layoff in 2012.  The most frustrating part of education (aside from politicians who know nothing about it) is the mentality that everyone HAS to get a college degree to be successful in life and the helpless apathy of a growing number of students.... drives me nuts!

[Stormin 9,981]

52 minutes ago, bds1984 said:

 

  The most frustrating part of education (aside from politicians who know nothing about it) is the mentality that everyone HAS to get a college degree to be successful in life and the helpless apathy of a growing number of students.... drives me nuts!

 

 That is very true over here in the UK as well. Some of the apprentices who worked?? in the engineering dept at the factory, I was at for my last 20yrs I wouldn't have paid with washers. Maybe they had a fist full of certificates from college, but when it came to getting their hands dirty....

 

[The Tuul Crib 7,336]

 There really needs to be more apprenticeship programs in this country or else we will be in a sad state of hurt soon. Like what This Old House is doing. I think

Mike Roe is involved as well. 

[Tractorhead 9,064]

That is a great Thing you did,

So you given the Kids the Flame of knowledge, not only the ashes of finalized things.

Another good was, that they learn to appreciate the older things.

 

That‘s a real great Thing you did to the Class, thanks for your Time you‘re spent for them.

a rare flower in our pickup and Trash World .

 

i‘m in and followed thankfully your Project.

 

 

[tom2p 2,394]

On 12/10/2019 at 9:34 PM, BHunter said:

Every year I restore a Wheel Horse with my class. This year’s project is a C105. My students are getting good at bringing Wheel Horses back to life. I really enjoy passing my knowledge down to the kids. Some of them have even started their own collection of wheel horses. 

outstanding !

 

and need more like you !

 

also encouraging when many engineering students participate in projects and clubs like formula baja and formula sae (pictured below)

 

opportunities for kids to learn these valuable skills can be limited at home etc - so teacher or mentor especially can play a vital role 

 

 

 

 

[BHunter 1,700]

29 minutes ago, tom2p said:

outstanding !

 

and need more like you !

 

also encouraging when many engineering students participate in projects and clubs like formula baja and formula sae (pictured below)

 

opportunities for kids to learn these valuable skills can be limited at home etc - so teacher or mentor especially can play a vital role 

 

 

 

 

Thank you. 
I agree. It’s great that we can give these kids the opportunity to learn about and apply learned skills to interesting projects. 
 

I like what you’re doing with formula club. Very cool.