Physical disabilities hinder some students when performing physically demanding school subjects. Virtual reality could provide students with the maneuverability and accessibility which they lack. What do teachers think of Virtual Reality as a substitute for educational woodworking? Prior research show teachers are overall supportive of virtual reality but certain aspects make the integration difficult. As part of the project, a virtual woodworking tool will be developed. Upon watching a video of a student performing tasks in said virtual woodworking environment, to understand the opinion of teachers, the system usability scale shall be utilized. The results show a resemblance to prior research. Teachers state certain positives with virtual reality, usability for example. However they also bring up negatives, for example, the complexity of the tool. Overall teachers saw the virtual reality woodworking environment as a below-average tool.

This thesis supports the Master of Fine Arts exhibition, Adjusted Tools, at the Tipton Gallery, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee, from August 3rd thru August 29th, 2012. The exhibition is comprised of eight sculptures, which are presented on pedestals and wall mounted. The artist references her own investigation of social patterns associated with preconceived roles of gender and how those patterns relate to housework. The artist experiments with an array of different materials including wood, stone, steel, and bronze that are fashioned into forms such as irons, ironing boards, and clothes pins. Topics addressed include influences, techniques, and methods directly pertaining to the artist's design and construction of sculpture. Included are images of work procedures as well as documentation of the exhibition.

Professional buyers of wood materials at 2,751 cabinet producing companies throughout the United States were questioned regarding their use of wood materials in 1991 and predicted use in 1993. Producers of both stock cabinets (Standard Industrial Classification 2434) and custom cabinets (Standard Industrial Classification 571202) were included. Using stratification based on three firm size categories and the two Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) categories, results were extrapolated to the industry. The study estimated that nearly 12,500 firms were involved in the production of cabinets in 1991. Industry employment was estimated at over 116,300 persons and total industry sales at $8.8 billion. Companies in SIC 2434 with annual sales of two million dollars or more (three percent of the total estimated number of cabinet producers) accounted for approximately 60 percent of the industry’s sales and nearly 43 percent of the industry’s employment. Hardwood lumber, particleboard, and hardwood plywood were the materials most heavily utilized for wood cabinet production. Softwood lumber, softwood plywood, and oriented Strandboard were used in limited volumes. Of lumber used for cabinet production, red oak was the most popular species. High grades of hardwood lumber were preferred by both stock and custom cabinet manufacturers. Wholesalers provided the majority (80 to 85%) of the industry’s lumber and panel purchases. Stock cabinets were distributed primarily through independent stocking distributors (26.9%) and builders / remodelers (24.1%), while custom cabinets were sold through builders / remodelers (47.9%) or went directly to the homeowner (38.7%). / Master of Science

The purpose of this study is to determine to what extent related information is being taught in the junior high school woodwork classes of Texas. The study will attempt to answer such questions as follows: Do the industrial arts teachers believe in teaching related information? If they teach related information, do they examine the students on it, and if so, to what extent does the related material affect the final grade? Approximately what part of the class period is recommended as the proper amount of time to devote to related information? Is there a shop library available to the students? Do the teachers require the students to have a textbook or workbook for each of the industrial arts courses they teach?

This study discusses a particular phase of industrial arts education, that of industrial arts design. It presents an analysis of design in the industrial arts program for the purpose of education for esthetic appreciation.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not courses in design have better equipped prospective teachers of industrial arts to recognize good design as applied to woodworking projects.

The problem was to identify the technical competencies necessary for beginning industrial arts woodworking teachers in Texas public secondary schools. Twenty-seven clusters of competencies were listed on a questionnaire sent to ninety-one supervisors of industrial arts in eighty-six Texas school districts requesting that these supervisors evaluate each cluster as "Essential," "Desirable," or "Unnecessary." Sixty-six questionnaires were returned (72.53 percent). A weighted rating scale was used to determine an overall evaluation for each cluster, with the result that twenty-five of the clusters were judged to be "Essential" and the two remaining clusters were judged to be "Desirable." It was concluded that the clusters judged to be "Essential" should be part of the required curriculum and that more training in tool maintenance be given.

The Thesis Project aimed to cultivate understanding about the interrelationships between humans and materials in the context of consumerism, sustainability, and time, through helping people learn about woodworking materials and tools,  develop a more profound respect for them, and understand how one interacts with them. Incorporating repair culture and material education into a collaborative service design, the author reflected on his sustainability as a woodworker to enable others to connect with materials and tools in a meaningful way. The Project followed a nonlinear process, allowing the author to move back and forth to reflect, refine and progress from idea to form, and back to idea, while respecting his tangible need for medium and method. By researching scores of different woodworking tools found in an antique tool box received as a gift, the author defined their purpose in woodcraft and their connection with people they served and society as a whole. Inspirations for the Project consisted of woodworking, time, and social, environmental and economic stability, in addition to various types of design: service, collaborative, circular, and critical. Four different processes – prototyping, service blueprint, advertising and service experiences – were employed to respond to the research question. Key results included the provision of over 20 services to 15 individuals through a simple design process. By helping people to fix their objects in an ongoing conversation about sustainability with regard to material use and consumption, tools and practices were used effectively to change interrelationships between people and materials. Through the services and ‘hands-on conversations’, many began to understand and appreciate the possibilities of tools to revitalize old furniture and increase their value. Some people used tools themselves to resolve their problems, with all participants showing appreciation for the services, while expressing commitment to use, rather than discard, the objects. A few of the thousands contacted through social media, responded to calls for assistance, with the Project concluding that the process has potential, but without a business model, it would be difficult to sustain. Questions regarding the future included: What type of business could harness opportunities, offering viable employment? How many would need to be involved? How great is the demand for services? Which policies or regulations must be in place for a successful practice? The author was cognizant of the need for additional skills and knowledge to pursue the challenge of operationalizing the services provided through a sustainable livelihood.

This thesis takes a point of departure in the problems to recruit and retain personnel in woodworking companies. Companies, actors of society and researchers started with the ambition to create work which people, especially young ones, would like to have and where employees want to stay. The research has been carried out within the att…-project in collaboration between Dalarna University and National Institute for Working Life. The primary purpose was to create deeper understanding of characteristics of attractive work. A distinction has been made between on the one hand what makes work attractive, and on the other hand changes of the attractiveness. The empirical problem with recruitment was a starting point, followed by an interaction between theory and empiricism. The relation to practioners can be described as interactive with usefulness in focus. Questionnaires, group discussions and interviews, as well as informal conversations, have been used in five separate studies. The attractiveness of work depends on the individual’s estimation of the totality of work based upon her/his life situation. Characteristic for attractive work is that it is dynamic and comparative. Positive factors of work are related to other employments or to the idea of attractive work. A model of attractive work which represents an overall picture regarding what makes work attractive contains about 80 qualities in 22 dimensions. One finding is that changes in one dimension influences other dimensions. Another finding is that changed estimations of work depends both on changed valuation of the importance of different aspects of work, and on changed conception of the aspects. It is not enough to do a single effort aimed at retaining and recruiting personnel since the attractiveness of work is dynamic and comparisons are made with other employments. Companies must continuously do efforts for more attractive work. Existing attractive qualities that are hidden from applicants can be displayed. Other qualities can be realized and added to. Knowledge about what makes work attractive and about the dynamic of the attractiveness is valuable to create more attractive work. / QC 20100713

The theme of this thesis is design of horizontal band saw and it deals with problems of existing machines on market. Main goal of work is to create effective design and solution of problematic parts, with emphasis on modernization of band saws, which ones processing raw tree trunks.