New Woodshop Class Structure Coming Soon!

DMS General
#1

UPDATE
**There will be a discussion and vote at the next committee meeting to determine a (free) procedure or test to carry over your current certification to the new system. This was decided from the discussion on this thread. If you would like to help with this you are encouraged to attend. **

We are restructuring the woodshop training schedule soon in preparation for the opening of the new woodshop after expansion. The first three classes will be required of all members wishing to access all the tools in the woodshop after we move and the new RFID system is installed. There will be more comprehensive training on each tool provided, and access will be granted as you receive training on each tool. This is in an effort to provide more relevant training to each member, protect the tools from damage, and an added bonus is that the first sequence of classes has also been combined with the cutting board class so that every member gaining access to the whole woodshop will graduate with their own cutting board! The proposed class restructuring is as follows: (subject to change at any time with committee approval)
Upcoming Woodshop Course Restructuring
WS1
(Basic Safety Class)-Start cutting board
Basic Shop Safety Rules Overview
Basic Machine Safety Overview
Lumber Selection
Miter Saw
Dust Collectors (Both)
Complete Cleanup
WS2
(Milling Class)-Mill and glue cutting board
Jointer
Planer
Table Saw (rip)
Surface Sander
Glue Up (edge joint)
WS3
(Shaping Class)-Shape and finish cutting board
Table Saw (crosscut)
Shaping Sanders
Router (corners, round-over)
Surface/Finish Sanding
Finishing Cutting Board
WS4
(Wood Joinery I)-Simple box joint box
Butt Joint
Pocket Hole
Dado/Groove/Rabbit
Box Joint
WS5
(Wood Joinery II)-Simple dovetail box
Plunge Router
Simple Dovetail
WS6
(Hand Power Tools)
Track Saw
Domino & Domino XL
Biscuit Joiner
Power Planer
WS7
(Wood Joinery III)
End-grain finger joint
Edge-grain tongue in grove joint
Mortise and tenon joint
WS8
(Tool Sharpening)
Chisels
Gouges
EZ-Tools
Knives
Other class ideas
-Shop made tools
-Resin/wood inlays
-Woodshop plastics course
-Various Equipment calibration courses
-Cabinet doors
-Shelving
-Perfect Miter rips and crosscuts
-Picture Framing Class
We will be adding more classes as we get more users certified and working in the new woodshop. There will be a few teach the teacher courses prior to the classes being posted for general membership. If you have an interest in teaching, please contact me with your name, phone number and/or email address so that I can keep you updated on the upcoming changes. Our goal is to have a more comprehensively trained member base in the woodshop to help keep us running smoothly and our woodshop maintained as best as we are able. There will be more discussion and development in the coming maintenance days and committee meetings. Check the calendar for upcoming dates!
Thanks,
Mark

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Honorarium Payments
Clarification for woodshop classes
Clarification for woodshop classes
New Woodshop Class Structure 2019
#2

Can you clarify this further?

Will there be any fast track for those with existing skillsets?

What sort of time do you expect these classes to take? Currently the classes are 2-3 hours.

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#3

I would hope that people who have currently taken all of the safety classes in the woodshop would be grandfathered into the RFID access that would be granted by the new class schedule. Is this the case?

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#4

I would be very interested in a fasttrack or safety and certification only class and am not interested in project classes. Is there any chance for one of these on the schedule?

Are there instructors available willing to work and certify outside of the organized classes? Though this schedule may be tempting for many, will probably be a bottleneck.

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#5

Yeah, I have the same questions as above. Maybe there needs to be 3 different levels of each class? Just throwing an idea out…

Level 1 being: never certified on the machine and no general knowledge of how machinery in the shop works. (project class)
Level 2: has taken 101 and is either rusty or is not totally confident on the machines but knows the safety rules for the shop (project class)
Level 3: has used the shop for years and needs little to no operational help (no project)

The level 3 class could most likely be the same amount of time as one of the level one classes since it would basically be signing the person off on the machinery

The level 2 classes could be maybe 2 of the level one classes combined so that the schedule is condensed down a bit.

#6

…and if possible Level 3 wouldn’t even have to be a class added to the calendar but simply having select people that are allowed to sign people off. However, if the person fails to get signed off they have to take the Level 1 or 2 classes accordingly.

#7

Are people able to sign off individually now?

That is how it was run when I was a member in the past, but left in the middle of 2015, it is also how the San Antonio makerspace was run.

Formal, multi part classes sounds overly ambitious if it is the only path forward, especially when relying on volunteers.

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#8

If all I want to use is the drill press and band saw, what classes are required?

If I want WS8 for tool sharpening, are WS1 through WS7 required?

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#9

Only 1, 2 & 3 will be required to access the main parts of the woodshop. All the other classes will be available to members who have completed the first 3 courses. There may be a grandfather clause, but the committee consensus so far is that all members take the new classes to make sure everyone has adequate training on the tools available to use. This is in an attempt to increase safety awareness, cleanliness & workflow thru the woodshop and prevent the unnecessary destruction of the currently installed equipment. Instructors can always be solicited for private lessons outside of the class structure, but that is between the maker and the teacher. There will be a new directory of users after expansion, and if you would like to be on it, you will have to be signed off in one way or another. The classes are being posted early so there is no bottleneck when we expand. This was decided by committee vote during the last meeting. Our goal is to have controlled access rfid lockout across all stationary tools and rfid lockers for specialized powered hand tools and consumables, and new classes are required to make this happen. There will also be qr code training refresher videos on each machine, but you will have to be on the directory to access them.

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#10

After seeing how many tools are damaged WEEKLY, I support this committee decision.

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#11

While I applaud that more training is available, this appears to be a return to the training backlog problem. Instead of needing one class to use any power tool, three will be required.

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#12

Individual tool access will be granted upon completion of the relevant course. You will have toll access following completion of the first class in the series, and new tools will be added as you progress in the courses. New courses will be created and added to the calendar as new tools are added to the woodshop. When the training stops, the new tools stop. Teachers giving classes is the main way new equipment is purchased for the woodshop. New instructors are needed to make sure everyone has adequate training to use the tools that they require, and the first few classes given of each class in the series will be a “teach the teacher” type class. As it stands right now, too many machines are being damaged by members who have little or no training on the equipment they are using. Our goal is to be able to complete all new classes in 1.5 hours each.

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#13

So are we going to stop teaching woodshop 101’s until the new shop gets created?

#14

I’m not feeling confident either after seeing how many are cancelled at the last minute, with no alternative time or backup teacher. There was even a fee being charged, supposedly to prevent no-shows.

Hopefully there will be more instructors willing to help out.

#15

After the 101 classes that are already on the schedule are taught, we will make the shift to the new curriculum. Syllabi are currently in development. Prospective teachers are encouraged to contact me at [email protected] to discuss this further.

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#16

No issues with learning more or new things in order to make sure equipment stays up and running properly but I really hope you resolve any inadequacies in number of classes, class sizes, or availability. Also, theres a $5.00 fee for the current 101. Does that mean you must pay $15+ to fully access the woodshop?

#17

My question is still unanswered:

If all I want to use is the drill press and band saw, what classes are required? WS1 only?

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#18

That’s good what’s on the calendar will continue, I have signed up once again. Hopefully it will work out this time.

#19

Does multicam remain completely separate? Or will multicam users need to go through some portion of this to retain access?

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#20

Drill press and band saw have yet to be worked into the new curriculum, and will more than likely be added to the auxiliary user class that includes the panel saw. This class would be outside the main curriculum (and free/nominal charge) with no takeaway project. The important thing to note is that all stationary tools will require some sort of training to be added to the new RFID directory. Another important point is that severe safety violations and/or negligent damage to machinery can result in permissions being removed much easier than they are now, and will require remediation/retraining to regain access.

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