Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1915-03-31
BOYS ARE MAKING
REAL THINGS NOW
Manual Training Glasses Get
ting Ahead Fast Enough,
Carpentry the Feature, OF Course,
with Designing a Coed Sec
cond--Worth Inspecting.

After spending good part of the
year in doing fundamental work in
mechanics, the classes in manual
training are now beginning to do
actual things in carpentry. For a
time the boys were learning to plane
board smooth and level; they had to
make the corners square, not irregular
they had to make a tenon that fitted
we'll into mortise, all these, but
no actual construction. /.
Now the boys in the shop over the
Alt store, are building small things
largely after designs of their own.
if thei designs pass the scrutiny of
Mr.. Mathews, the instructor in that
department One boy was engag-
ed, last week Friday when The Her
aid man looked IN for a time to see
the youngsters work, in making a
footrest for the use of his father.
Another was putting finishing touches
to a plant stand for his mother and
third was gluing some oak strips
together, so that he might rip out
table legs that would square one and
half by one and half.
Some person may be captious
enough to say that the boys would
better be doing something of value
that they would better be at work
building pig pen, or setting fence
posts. But the boy must know how
to saw a board on the square, or
on an angle, as the needs of the
case require. He must know how to
do the elementary processes, before
going beyond the elements in MS con-
structive operations. And these
elementary processes are the very
ones be is learning so we'll and
thoroughly in the manual training
classes If the boy is to be mandy
with tools be must also learn how
to v ork to best advantage.
That boy who was gluing lot of
oak strips together was shown how
to use the clamps. The strips We're
perhaps, % inches long and two
inches wide. Three pairs of clamps
seemed TO satisfy the youngster, but
not so the instructor. The boy was
shown that too few clamps left the
timber is such shape that it would
swell, and perhaps twist under the
influence of the moisture contained
in the glue. He saw, before his
teacher had finished the lesson, that
no fewer than five pairs of clamps
were needed to hold those makings :
of table legs in position, while that
glue was drying.
One boy was at work on an article
of furniture for his mother, the de-
sign for which was wholly original.
And he made the drawing all by him
self, and from that drawing he made
his blue print. The whole perform
ance was very. creditable to the
originality of the boy, and to the
care and intelligence of the in
strcutor.
! Another interesting feature in this
class of study is the zeal with which,
the boys undertake it. The same fell
lows that are slow 10 warm up ia
mathematics, who are not disposed to-
worry about break in grammar, -
these are the first to report for duty
in the manual training classes. There.
is a charm in handling tools for
nearly every person. Physical per-
Torrance, coupled with show Of
skill, makes a strong appeal to the.
normal boy, and the average boy is.
normal Although this year marks
the beginning in this department, 1T
disappointed results, and these results
are manifest enough to one who takes
the trouble to step into the shop for
a few minutes.