Twenty-five woodworking students—five from each of Canyons School District’s five comprehensive high schools—had their tools ready to begin. 

Only they didn’t know what they were creating in the four-hour block of time.

Welcome to Canyons woodworking and turning contests.

At the given time, the plans and materials to make a toolbox with a rounded handle were distributed and students began as their woodworking teachers looked on.

In a second room, additional woodturning students started on making a three-legged stool on lathes.

“The projects change every year,” said Ben Poulsen, Corner Canyon High’s career and technical education coordinator. “Last year, it was an end table. The year before, a chessboard with a drawer.”

The competition has been going on since before the District formed 15 years ago, when it was Jordan School District.

“It was an event that was always well attended by the schools on the east side so naturally, we continued it when we became Canyons,” he said. “It sets students up for the Skills USA woodworking contest, which also has students figure out how to build the project on their own. That’s why this is set up the same way; it give students an opportunity to compete and to hone their skills. It prepares them for the state competition.”

While state is limited to one student per school, this experience also allows more students that level of competition, Poulsen said.

“The one at state is more of a cabinetmaking competition, which is a box-building activity. Here, we do more of a furniture type level, which involves joinery, and that’s more difficult than box-making so we give them more of a deeper experience to learn from,” he said.

In the woodworking contest, students are given wood for them to cut to size for the toolbox.

“If they mess up and they cut something too small, they have to work with what they were given. They can’t get any more lumber. It’s one of those measure four times to cut once,” Poulsen said. “They may make the overall project smaller than what was on the plans or glue boards back together. You may still see the glue line to make it the original size, but it can look really nice because their excellent craftsmanship. These students just don’t give up.”

That was the experience of Hillcrest High senior Fischer Coleman, who said he was calm and thinking logically, when the miter saw wasn’t fully locked in.

“I have a good memory and that usually allows me to get ahead of my competition, but this time, I messed up,” he said. “The miter saw slipped. I’d have to unglue everything to make it smaller and at this point, I’d rather help my friends. I’ve done this contest twice before and finished in the top three last year so now, the best thing I can do is be a good teammate and help them. I love the fact we can use teamwork; the best way to help your friends is for them to learn from my mistakes. Honestly, I’d rather them win than for me to do OK trying to undo it to fix my mistake. Helping them is the best part of this competition.”

Coleman even offered tools and advice to a student from another school.

“I don’t really care about winning. I would rather everyone has a fun time doing it and see them perform really well,” he said.

His teacher, Alaina Hales, said that teamwork is part of the students’ learning.

“I see students looking at somebody’s project problem solving, collaborating and talking it out,” she said. “Everybody gets to benefit; they realize that ‘I don’t have to shoulder this project all on my own. I can talk to my peers. Every year, we have great successes and failures. And we tell the students we make mistakes too; the art of woodworking is learning how to cover those out so that they look like you did it on purpose. In fact, the expectation is you will make mistakes, but you’re going to be judged on how well you deal with those mistakes.”

Hales watched as students interpreted the plan using the wood and tools provided.

“It’s fun to watch the students put into practice what we work so hard to teach them,” she said. 

Brighton High woodworking teacher Paul Otterstrom agrees.

“They have to be able to read the plan and figure out how to build something on the fly,” he said. “A lot of times in our classes, we hold their hand. Now they’re just taking their knowledge, applying it and building upon it.”

Brighton sophomore Ryan Paul likes that as well.

“I like having to figure it out on your own without anyone,” he said. “If I have a question, I have to figure it out. I’ve made some mistakes, but I own that. I have to know how to fix it and make it the best I can.”

Paul is thinking his future career may not be in woodworking, but real estate or music. In his woodworking class, he was making a guitar.

“I really love to play guitar so it’s fun to be able to make one,” he said. “This toolbox I’m making may sit in my garage, but the guitar will be played.”

Coleman also likes the creative side of woodworking. He started woodworking his freshman year and has continued doing it throughout his high school experience.

“My first year, it sounded like a fun class and I liked using tools. Now, I’m in my fourth year doing woodworking, and I really enjoy the artistic side of it. It’s fun to express your creativity and to come up with something in your head and make it exist with the wood,” he said. “I like I can create something I can use in my life it can be passed down for generations.”

Poulsen said it’s just fun to watch students who are passionate about woodworking.

“It’s just really fun to observe them applying what they’ve learned and seeing what they turn out; it’s amazing to see how much they get done in four hours.”

The top three students in the toolbox competition were Gage Day, Corner Canyon; Brody Clayton, Corner Canyon and Kaden Huffman, Alta High. In the turning contest, Brighton High students swept the competition with winners Andrew Jensen, Lincoln Zacharias and Whitney Boyack.

Poulsen said that the businesses supports students, from Intermountain Wood giving a 50% discount on the contest wood to industry professionals judging students works awarding them with donated tools or gift certificates.