CATAPULT, n. A military engine used by the ancient Greeks and Romans for throwing stones, darts and arrows upon an enemy. Some of these would throw a stone of a hundred pounds weight. Webster’s 1828

Jameson’s copy of Backyard Ballistics has become an indispensable tool and has inspired an endless list of Junior Workshop creations.

Well, . . . here we are a few days later with the mystery solved.

After assembling our Puzzling Green Beast, we ended up with a 5′ High x 8′ Long Velociraptor. Unfortunately, he is now officially extinct as a strong gust of wind knocked him over and damaged him beyond repair. I wonder if we have seen the last of his kind?

Perhaps, next time, we will build one from solid Cherry.

Jim needed to clear some space in our workshop. It seems that there was this big piece of MDF taking up a lot of space. It blocked the entry to my washing machine and the access to his Shop Vac.

Our dear children reminded us that we purchased this particular piece of MDF some time ago for a very special project.

Can you guess what it is? Check back soon to see the finished craft.

Allison is Learning to “Zero” the CNC Router ~

Jameson is Learning to Tighten the Collet ~



Making Progress on Their Special Project ~

Our Green Beast is Almost Complete ~ Can You Guess?

We spend a lot of time in our workshop. There are times, however, when our hands are busy with projects that are not for our family business. You see, our children keep an endless list of crafts that they want to build in the workshop. So, from time to time, we gather up supplies and work on a project that has caught their eye. Actually, this time we worked on three.

Stilts caught Allison’s eye and were first on our list ~

Jameson’s Bullroarer was next on our list ~

And a Catapult turned out to be Cody’s (our Chocolate Lab) favorite project for use in launching his tennis ball ~

Our children honed their woodworking skills, got in a little math, and more importantly, made wonderful memories together.