open letter to all academeians

General Discussion
1

why don you get an

18’blocck of two .5

styro?

seminars at school ?

fundraisers ?

all school surf team ?

teachers squad ?

english department vs.math dept ?

kicking Phys ed’s arse ?

science dept.trophy… ?

take over abandonded rooms ?

drip r r poxy on the linoleum floors ?

diaplay boads in the cafeteria ?

make three 18’ paddle boards ?

to train the swim team ?

what a dream point of departure ?

all boards work within the limits of the rider .

stretch yer limits .

…ambrose…

is spring time the time to foment the REVOLUTION?

all the world is watching

whom will it be?

a chinese industrialist.a german lawyer

and a French parlimentarian

all are concerned…

2

an underground swaylockian?

a micro-evolution…

as far as my arm can reach…

oblivious to capitalistic profets…

who really cares about the rest?

3

Ah ha !!! “Hey, this is private…” Stimpson J. Cat.

Ha - I had a good “LOL” over the thought of dripping resin all over my class room. Ah - if only the water were warm… The seal skin need (aka, wet suits) is just another $$$ drag. The local “surf club” is 4H sponsered and seems to be a deal between the jock coach/teacher/tow in guy, and his tow in/surf shop owner friend who make sure everyone has a “good fitting wetsuit” by giving em’ a deal on suit and board rental from the shop…

Oh it’s more than I can bear at the moment… spring break and the surf looks… I wish I cared about snow boarding still, but as it is I’ll clean the shead/garage and get ready for the next board.

4

We did stuff like that in my old high school

metal shop with real machine tools and not erector sets

wood shop that could do furniture starting with slabs of wood

Monuments to cast iron scattered around the floor, with Walker Turner or Milwaukee-Delta on the nameplates

Tools that our fathers and uncles had learned on.

and then there was the instructor’s project room - molds for fiberglass boats and the Link Trainer he was building.

There were five instructors in the shop department, for a graduating class of 75 boys, grades 7-12.

Kids came into the shop, 12 years old and junior high, that owned better hand tools already than some working carpenters I know now

and could sharpen them too

Grandfathers and fathers and uncles and cousins had taught 'em, kids could earn a day’s pay.

Not playstation, not video.

Shavings and sawdust.

Swarf and slag

And then they learned the big stuff,

thickness planers heavy and powerful

Jointers like a solid iron aircraft carrier model

table saws with no plastic in 'em

Bandsaws and blade welding from

dark blue sharp coils

lathes, pale gray and Rockwell, well-oiled

Vertical mills, chewing a little more keyway with every turn of the crank

Welders spitting blue sparks and puddles of yellow-glowing liquid steel

surfboard making? too easy

how about an engine rebuild

or putting a 40’ trap boat together again

they did those

or a dining room set of mahogany, with inlays

drawn with T-square and triangles and french curves

wood chosen, selected, matched

jigs and patterns

planed, sawn, joints cut

fitted, glued, scraped, finished

all gone now, sold off.

Shop teachers retired

everybody is going to college, i guess

get degrees in psych or business

open up crafte shoppes that fold soon

wouldn’t know a mortise from a mortar

a tenon from Pavarotti

they have a tech school now

i have worked with some of the instructors there

not in the schools but out on jobs for real

that 12 year old kid from a generation and a half ago

could have taught them a lot about roofing,

let alone fine woodwork

Only dinosaurs know how to make things now

and fix them.

the zoops and zings from the kid’s rooms,

as they conquer swarthy invaders on a cathode-ray screen.

or converse online with potential molesters

as i fix things and make things

and get sawdust on my scales in the workshop

fossil, i guess

doc…

5

downright poetic, Doc.

Got me thinkin’…I bet down through the ages, guys our age have felt the same way.

“Damn kids, making swords out of BRONZE!!”

“Can’t use an astrolabe, what’s wrong with you?”

Oh well, that’s just the way it goes.

I’m going out back to make a buggy whip now.

6

Hey Doc, don’t worry too much. Well ok, worry, but there are bright spots of light.

Last summer I had to resheathe & roof my garage. Once the 9 10’ sheets of ply were tacked in the corners, the kids came up with me for nailing off. No guns here. The 5 year old managed about 3 nails in an hour, but the 7 year old emptied his belt’s pocket more than once. He’s a 7 year old kid who can swing a 20 oz hammer (handle cut down a little) and drive 8d sinkers. No green vinyls; no milled faces here, either, my apprentices don’t leave half-eaten waffles on their work.

They both have free reign into the shop for scrounging in the wood bin, all the handsaws and hot glue guns they want. They tend not to make the same mistakes twice. They’re ok with the cordless drill & screwdriver and a small jigsaw, when I’m there.

No cable TV, no microwave in our house. We do real cooking too, not just opening & warming. My wife sews & knits and I can get by with needle & thread too.

I make all our furniture & do all our painting (although I hate it) inside & out. Hire someone for the yard? You’re kidding, right?

Yeah, we don’t quite fit in, here in the socially-conscious East Bay hills. But we’re not the only ones, either. I have a quite a few neighbors who, like me, did their own remodels. And all our kids help, when they’re not riding their bikes around the block.

If my kids become plumbers, electricians, or finish carpenters, they’ll earn as much (in this part of the world) as your average doctor, lawyer, accountant, engineer, or pharmacist, and a lot more than a teacher, a scientist, or even most bankers. And they’ll do it without student loans. And all that would be just fine with me.

Fighting obesity, talentlessness, ignorance, and entitlement one house at a time.

PS all my stationary power tools are cast iron, and none have any plastic, except where I’ve had to replace motors…

7

It doesn’t have to be the responsibility of the academians just someone with the initiative to do something good and who knows maybe you’ll end up making a business out of it like these guys:

http://www.roarockit.com/index.php

I love their story and the resulting business they started it shows me the possibilities of what could be done in our little vacuum-bag-sando-obecalp space if someone just spent the time or made the effort cause it’s using pretty much the same technology Bert showed us in his thread just dealing with a different product but same audience we’re trying to reach. No reason why kids can’t learn how to make theri own roof insulation epoxy-coated Obecalps in wood shop.

Just an observation but alot of us here seem to be in this to make a scam out of it and put an extra dollar in our pocket while we live the so called “lifestyle”. I get the sense sometimes that the “giving” here is really all a disguise to obtain the “getting” we hope to achieve by becoming the next Brewer, Velzy or Yater…Maybe that’s what this is all about…obtaining the dream versus anything else…

I was so impressed I bought one of their kits just haven’t had the time to open the boxes yet.

BTW you can learn alot about cold forming wood under pressure using foam molds (like rocker tables) by going through their website. The tech used is not just for play but for serious woodworking as well.

Take a look:

Snipped from their website:

Quote:

About Roarockit

Ted Hunter and his wife Norah Jackson were windsurfing on the beautiful island of Maui, when Ted got involved doing volunteer work at the Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center, a non-profit gathering place for artists.

Ted, a teacher and artist, was asked to teach skills to a class of teens.

As he had never taught such a young age group before, he had a challenge ahead of him — what to teach them? Norah suggested building a skateboard deck, as it involved the bending of wood, something Ted was well known for using in his sculptures.

His intimate knowledge of windsurfing board construction was also helpful.

The class was a success, and each of the 25 kids made a professional quality skateboard deck using what Roarockit has named, Thin Air Press (TAP) technology.

Ted and Norah have now created kits to bring the TAP technology to every person who wants to build a skateboard deck themselves. Not only is this a learning experience for kids, but also provides serious riders the ability to create, customize and refine their own skateboard decks.

The Roarockit TAP technology is easy to use and the possibilities are endless. It doesn’t take more than a second to realize that you can become an entrepreneur and build boards for your friends using this kit, or simply build them to suit your riding style. Our goal is to share this technology with everyone and we also hope to learn how you have used and created new directions for this exciting technology.

The Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center is located on the beautiful summer estate of Harry and Ethel Baldwin of Hawaii, Maui’s first family of pineapples. Pineapple fields still surround “Kalanui”, and the sweet smell of ripening fruit fills the air. Ethel Baldwin was an artist who enjoyed bringing her friends around to share her passion. The Hawaiian name Hui No’eau means “gathering place for artists” which is what she did back in 1934. Her vision still lives on today as many students of all ages enjoy the facilities of the “Hui”.

The main house is a grand mansion, and houses a gallery and other artist’s facilities. There are a number of smaller buildings such as the carriage house, where the printmaking, jewelry and woodworking shops are.

Wright Bowman, a local master taught me most of what I know about woodworking but we thought we were just conning him to get out of his drafting class. Both skill sets were invaluable in the long run when I think about it some 30-40 years later. Sometimes you can get into more trouble working with just your brain and your mouth than you can with your eyes and hands.

8
Quote:

Only dinosaurs know how to make things now

and fix them.

the zoops and zings from the kid’s rooms,

as they conquer swarthy invaders on a cathode-ray screen.

or converse online with potential molesters

as i fix things and make things

and get sawdust on my scales in the workshop

fossil, i guess

doc…

Hey Doc…

Think about it and take heart:

eventually though many years after you pass your essence will become the fuel that powers the mindsets of the generations to come well beyond the ignorance you see today.

It’s all a big circle and there’s always hope

things just may not happen in our lifetime that’s all…

the waves can wash away your stick drawings in the wet sand or the sand castles you’ve built but you’ll aways know in your heart the beauty they possessed while they were once there… Goes for a lot of things in life…

9

I grew up in the transition stage after what Doc was talking about. generation X and Y they say . . . They had a field out (remember the movie sandlot?) and my elementary school was a chainlink fence climb away from the field and my neighborhood. The field, had grassy area, a huge dirt mountain, and large trees on the outside.

We played, summers rocking because it got dark around 10 PM (so it seemed), ball sports, or hide and go seek, in that field in all the neighborhoods around kids came. Go cart races in carts dads and moms helped build, speeding in bikes or scooters. I had tons of inner tubes and a tire repair kit & pump in a backpack on me at all times. Groups of kids on bikes, skateboards, roller blades, roller skates, scooters cruising around . . . Hungry and mom’s not around, we need to get back to the fort for guard switch . . . ramen and leftovers to make a killer soup, back in 10 mins. Gulp down the juice, with lemon juice squeezed and Mark’s last 2 capri suns for the day.

This thing called Nintendo came out, but the fondest memories we carried were not defeating Ganon and saving Princess Zelda. It was that time the Weileska’s rott had escaped and we outbiked it past the baptist church, then jumped and climbed the baseball cage (when they built the 30 ft / 2 meter ones ). Or when bike trips to the local Y, and seeing who could escape with the largest cannon ball splash with out upsetting the lifeguard (older brother of one of the kids). The tree fort restoration . . .

Now its call mom or dad for pickup. Backpacks come with playstation 3 controllers, not inner tubes. Tree forts? Not when you can uplink with other kids and go pixle bash with real auto rifles, and theater surround sounds. Hungry, use your cell phone and your $20 for food (plus your $50 allowance), call the pizza guy, its probably so-and so’s brother, maybe get a hookup.

It’s changed. I overhead some coworkers saying how the Halo 3 chat was rocking and how Immortal one (spelled 1m0124L 0||3 ) fell from Charisma’s blade attack. What can I say? When my fondest moment was that 10 minute window of evening glass off, and I hooked a wave, bottom turned, and sliced the top off the lip. I just say, “went to the beach, it was nice.”

I feel there should be a balance. Schools should have that shop Doc was talking about and teachers willing to show their arts. Maybe have a mentor apprentice thing . . . interview and credentials is taking you out and seeing how you work, not how pretty you look or how slick you talk . . . from time and experience spend doing something, not from a piece of papel that how much facts you memorized and years spent doing so. . . Slow things down, you don’t need 3 cars, Bose THX . . .

Put down the game controller and spend a day outside. Talk to someone then formulate your judgement, instead of based off his car he drives. Look at her not the curves (I’m guilty like most guys).

Must chase my dreams, what I believe in. I’m starting to understand how a worst day in surfing is better than the best days at work.

Oneula, interesting idea . . . vac bag system with a bike like pump and bag system . . . maybe see if they can make one (or get the pump and DIY a bag . . . ). Gots me thinking . . . what you’re saying. Bert style without the machine . . . Sometimes a solution is so simple its overlooked. A reverse bike pump . . . Build that skateboard and skate the crap out of it you can see how it lasts.

but wait must focus on task at hand. learning to build a balsa weapon chambered style for me . . . building my squadron.

10

i currently teach at a middle (jr. high) school that i attended years ago.back then it was all about shops-full force electric shop, metal shop(casting, welding, buliding go-carts, shelves,etc),drafting, woodshop(boats and a few boards) and even a full- on homemaking class(washer/dryer, sewing machines, stoves and ovens).we also had several art classes to choose from including crafts class-made some cool stuff in there.it’s all gone now, even the last remaining art class.options are band or technology class.in fact, my classroom is in, what use to be, the electric shop.it’s a sqad day when a kid can’t even fix his own flat tire…

11

I remember mr.Lee,multi purpose

i forget the print shop teachers name

and a couple

other required classes all shop

and the monkey pod whale,2diimensional,

I made at aliomanu intermediate.

Mr Nakahoku?

my adult shop pursuits

including surfboard building

are all self determined.

so cool to have had a shop class

to make a balsa board…not me

or a boat wow. i should have been so lucky

or mr Bowman as a teacher what a life oppertunity.

we are all blessed in diffeent ways

…ambrose…

12

Hi Matt,

I also teach at a middle school here in L.A. I have about 400 students a year and am given under $2000 for materials. If you do the math that means about $5 a kid. We obviously don’t make furniture…or surfboards.

I have been able to incorporate my interests into the curriculum- I am required to do a “multicultural unit” and chose Polynesian culture . It’s pretty simplistic and I focus mostly on Hawaii- a little history and culture. I chose a few Hawaiians to teach them about- Kamehameha, Lilioukalani and Duke Kahanamoku. I also talk about Eddie Aikau. One of their projects is to design surfboard/skateboard graphics. Some of them are pretty good. It made me think how really boring most surfboards are. These kids don’t surf so the have no preconceptions of what a surfboard should look like. Some day I should post some of their work.

Also, Onuela, if you’re reading this I’m always looking for instructional material about Hawaii, written at a 3-8 grade level (I teach 6-8 grade but most of my students do not read at grade level). If you ever see any, let me know. Maybe we could work something out.

13

please do post some of their work!

14

I’ll ask my nieces since they overhere during spring break keeping us company.

They might have some left over stuff from their elementary school days at the Kamehameha Schools.

The oldest and her freshman class just kicked butt at the annual song contest the best result of any freshman class in 100+ years…

Why is this important?

because culture returns with the revitalization of ancient language…

Aha punanaleo hawaiian language early emersion grade thru high schools is the light in the darkness of supression

So try language as well as history…

15

I want to thank you guys for the discussion about what my wife Norah and I have been working on for almost five years now. Little did we realize when we agreed to teach the classes at the Hui Noeau, how much it was going to change our lives. The experience of reducing what looks like a complicated process down to its essence in order to make it available to young people has evolved into a number of kits not only for skateboarders but also now for woodworkers. I have a 2 inch thick stack of woodworking and skateboarding magazines sitting to my left that we have been in over the last 3 months, this all came from being slightly open minded when someone said we had to teach a bunch of kids that summer.

About a year ago while in Maui we got a phone call from Woodcraft Supply telling us they were not interested in teaching classes using our deck kits. (we had sent them a deck kit) This was a disappointment until they said they were interested in buying (the word they used was “tons”) of a scaled down version of the deck kit. No veneer but all the components for woodworkers to get into vacuum veneering. I am not sure of the weight of kits we have sold since then but it has been a lot.

With this all happening I have to say that our passion still continues to be in educating young people. We work, it seems these days night and day trying to convince people of the benefits of teaching kids how to build things using their hands. I feel the art of deckmaking to be an incredible teaching tool. The process of building a deck involves science, woodworking and a bunch of design. I also think the kit we have come up with shows there are still new ways of making things if you put a little energy into it.

We are very lucky to be able to pursue our passions.

Thanks for all the support. It really helps reading your postings after a long day of work.

Ted from Roarockit

16

Ted, I watched your videos…I read your post just now…you (and your wife) ROCK!

Welcome to Sways. I hope you’ll stick around a bit. Quite a few of us into vacuum tech around here :slight_smile:

Here is the thread that put a lot of people on the path:

http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=183391;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;

17

Benny, Keith and Doc,

I see where you are coming from. My father and grandfather were both hands-on men. They learned things from each other and passed it down. My formal training in woodwork consisted of 1 term in grade 9 (14yo). I learnt so much from that brief period of time. My first project was a record case (12" vinyl) to store 10 or so records. It was a beautiful piece of work that took me 3 weeks to complete. I presented it to my Mum in all it’s glory, she said “That is beautiful, Let’s put the records in it”…

They didn’t fit, I didn’t allow for the thickness of the timber…but I made it with my own two hands as a present to my Mum…I was devastated…I’ve never made that mistake again…

I feel fortunate that I grew up in an era that was moving so quickly, I remember hearing a horse and cart delivering the milk, I learnt to play with nothing but my imagination, I was taught the imperial system as well as the metric system, I can knit, sew and cook, make furniture, fix a car and best of all, make surfboards…

I know that my kids will learn all about this stuff from me…just have to keep them interested…and that’s going to be the hardest bit…

18

I run a registered homeschool for 10 children and my 14 year old (James) is now building his fifth wooden surfboard (a 10’9" pintail)

Mostly handtools, our only ‘power’ tools being a tablesaw and a belt sander.

:slight_smile: