It's summer break at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology, so we've been out of school for a couple weeks. I find myself feeling slightly out of sorts with idle hands, searching Craigslist for cheap tools, channel-checking YouTube for DIY videos, and scouring estate sales for lumber. Poor Paul at Lowes. I wore him out … Continue reading Estate of Wonder
If there's one thing I heard 100 times over at the SkillsUSA 53rd annual National Leadership & Skills Conference in Louisville, it was this: You are a winner just for showing up to compete. I suppose that's true, on both literal and metaphorical levels, since contestants did have to win their state competitions to get … Continue reading SkillsUSA Cabinetmaking: The Verdict
The boards are cut and sanded, the doors and drawers are closed, and the hardware is installed. All that's left is the waiting to hear which cabinetmaker takes home hundreds (and hundreds) of dollars in tools and merchandise from DeWalt, Irwin and Carhartt, not to mention bragging rights and a chance to advance to SkillsUSA … Continue reading Working the Angles: Cabinetmaking Contest at SkillsUSA
Two of my kids and I just wrapped up the first day at SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference in Louisville, and we are exhausted. I'm not sure how we are going to rally for SkillsUSA Night at the Louisville Bats game tonight. Here's our day by the numbers: 16,000 people from across the country, … Continue reading By the Numbers: A Day at SkillsUSA Nationals
This week, my Building Construction Technology classmate Maher Farag heads to Louisville, Kentucky, to compete in the 53rd annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference. Maher is a brilliant carpenter, who never ceases to dazzle our class at Tennessee College of Applied Technology Nashville with his cabinetmaking skills. He designs complex furniture in his head, without sketches; … Continue reading Meet Our SkillsUSA Team: Maher Farag
Apparently, you can't take the restaurant reviewer out of the girl, but you can merge her with a middle-aged mom in trade school to get a report that's equally focused on construction and cuisine. That's what happened this week when I attended opening night at Oak Steakhouse in the new Westin Hotel and found myself … Continue reading Food & Wood: Oak Steakhouse Nashville
Our construction school class spent the week designing and building Adirondack chairs to sell for Father's Day. Proceeds will benefit Team TCAT Nashville's squad of cabinetmakers, aestheticians and other students competing at SkillsUSA National Championships in Louisville, Kentucky, next week. Adirondack chairs, tables and planters, handmade with pressure-treated pine, are for sale today at TCAT … Continue reading Father’s Day Adirondack Chair Sale
This week, we've been wiring a maze of open stud walls with several electrical circuits of can lights, smoke detectors, ceiling fans, and switches. It is hella confusing. I'd say I blew a fuse in my brain, but after several days of tutelage from ever-patient Benny (pictured here, next to the red-and-green spaghetti of wiring … Continue reading Circuit Training
Men. Man, are they funny. I've been out-numbered by men, six to one, for about a year in construction class, and I never cease to be surprised by them. My astonishment is surprising in and of itself, because I'm also out-numbered by men at home, four to one, so you'd think I'd know everything there … Continue reading Postcard from Mars: Father’s Day Edition
You know you're in Smashville when you catch yourself googling "DIY ice hockey sticks" in an effort to calm your nerves during game 6 of the Stanley Cup. As the screen grab here shows, there's no shortage of YouTube fodder on how to make a hockey stick. Treat yourself to a few clips. Spoiler alert: … Continue reading How to Make a Hockey Stick
Building Up Buttercup 