As a young 7th grade boy who played hockey, lots of video games, and made paper airplanes, I had no idea I would fall in love with woodworking as much as I did when I chose the Project Lead The Way elective class. We didn’t start with wood though, we did many things ranging from paper hover cars to hydraulic claws. For our final project, we were told to find something online made of wood, and recreate it in our little PLTW classroom. I decided to make a jet since I was enthralled with planes.

Not only did I make something more complicated than almost anybody else, I did it with much fewer mistakes. Going into high school I knew that I wanted to get hands-on experience since Arrowhead gets many donations for equipment. Arrowhead high school has helped me flourish with all of the different machines I’ve learned to use. As a Senior, it’s been nice looking back so many years to where I came from but some of my recent accomplishments as a woodworker have impressed me.

Sophomore year started when we made a box in the engineering class. This isn’t where I fell in love but it’s important to highlight early successes. I lined the box with cedar so my dad could put cigars in it to travel, and he still uses it today. 

During my Junior year, I moved from the basic engineering courses to Woods I/II. Here is where I fall in love and find a niche that really makes me proud of how far I’ve come. The first project was basic, a picture frame that I gave to my mom. Next we made an end table that I gave to my Aunt. Moving on to the second semester, we made a cabinet where I decided to give it an interesting twist. After I heard somebody died from something called fractal burning, I just had to know what it was.

Fractal burning is a process with the end goal of putting a lightning-like burn on wood. If you don’t know what a fractal is, It’s a pattern where no matter how much you zoom in, the pattern still exists. Although most are made by us humans, some of the coolest ones are found in nature (look up ‘Fractal plants’ on google). To actually make this fractal burn, you need to use electricity but that’s impossible on wood since it’s an insulator, so you put a baking soda and water solution over the top first. This makes the wood a conductor once it seeps in. If you’ve ever had to jump your car, we're doing the same thing here but with 10,000 volts, rubber gloves, and a death wish.

My first burn turned out great, and I gave that cabinet to my grandparents. At this point, I’m thinking that I’ve made plenty of things for other people, and I want something for myself. I used to have this glass desk in my room, but to be honest, I didn’t really like it. And so, I replaced the top with fractal burned cherry that is absolutely beautiful.

I’m excited to say I’ll be going to UW Stevens Point next year for economics!  I don’t know what I’ll end up doing in that field but since there’s not as much of a reality in making a living doing woodworking, economics is a good second best.