For the past several months after graduating, I thought it would be
fun to teach adult education. While this has been incredibly
rewarding, there are questions which come up which I have to
stifle a laugh but are quite legitimate. Mostly, one has to become
very inventive explaining techniques during demos.
On soldering a band ring, I had to get my students to not heat up
the metal in one little area, but rather to heat the whole ring and
then concentrate the last bit on the seam.
This technique is called: Over the Bridge and Through the Tunnel.
All my students are now chanting, over the bridge and through the
tunnel, over the bridge and through the tunnel… I feel like I
am in a class of little Budhhas!
After a what I thought was thorough description of annealing: “When
you anneal metal and it becomes soft, will it harden up overnight?”
Tonight was a kicker. I was trying to show a student that when
you want to cut a curve, you have to keep the sawframe moving up
and down, keep it perpindicular and only move the metal. She was
convinced that if she still sawed, it would cut the metal. So here
I go walking down the classroom, bobbing up and down like a
sawframe, then I stand in place while bobbing up and down and start
turning in place and then start walking again.
I felt so stupid, but my student got the idea and then stopped
turning her saw frame.
What one does to make students understand the mysteries of
metalsmithing.
One more thing, for you metalsmiths out there, how do you respond
to: Metalsmith? Whazzat?
Tonight was a kicker. I was trying to show a student that when
you want to cut a curve, you have to keep the sawframe moving up
and down, keep it perpindicular and only move the metal. She was
convinced that if she still sawed, it would cut the metal. So here
I go walking down the classroom, bobbing up and down like a
sawframe, then I stand in place while bobbing up and down and start
turning in place and then start walking again.
I felt so stupid, but my student got the idea and then stopped
turning her saw frame.
This is great! I hope I have the confidence to do this. It’s
perfect!
I was trying to show a student that when you want to cut a
curve, you have to keep the sawframe moving up and down, keep it
perpindicular and only move the metal. She was convinced that if
she still sawed, it would cut the metal.
G’day Karen et al; Would it make a bit of sense to tell - and
show - would-be metal sawyers that when they turn an acute corner
they should keep moving the frame up and down BUT; whilst putting
gentle pressure on the BACK of the sawblade instead of the teeth?
how do you respond to: Metalsmith? Whazzat?
A person who cuts, shapes, forms and joins metal. And,“Hey, where
you bin, mate?”
Karen, I tell my students that sawing in place is the same way a
sewing machine or scroll saw work; they don’t go running through
the fabric or the metal. Once I got a home computer, I made my own
and still growing set of instructions. I ask the students to put
them in a loose leaf note book so they can �refresh� their memory
before starting a new procedure. At least now, they come up and ask
help and explain that they don’t do well with written instructions
and since the demonstration was all of a week ago, they’d like me
by their side. I seem to learn both ways and really like the
comfort of the written word and diagrams but know that others
don’t. If I were in a math class, I would need someone every second
and I still wouldn’t get most of it so I’m patient with them. I
love teaching adults!
Marilyn Smith
Midwest America and it’s snowing and blowing
