"Natural Resource" Tool Making Activity
Whether it is wood, metal, or animal most things come from the ground in same way. An important part of my metalwork classes includes a unit on making your own tools in the shop. While our tool making is typically done with power tools, hand tools, welding, forge, etc with enough effort and patience people have been making their own tools for 1000s of years. Technology has advanced but these videos below show some of the lost arts of primitive tool making.
Your Task:
Design a specialty tool that has at least one purpose that will help you in your daily life or to accomplish a task at home. You can think outside of the box with this one. If it ends up as more decorative than useful that is okay as well. The goal here is to try and do something with your hands and your head.
Some random Examples and ideas:
Simple:
Harder:
THE TWIST: You can only use materials that are in or around your home. No going out and buying stuff. Do not destroy something that isn't yours to "salvage" parts. Ask permission and be safe. If you are unable to actually build something then please complete this is as a theoretical assignment and make some
Required Response:
1 - Photos or drawings/blueprints of your homemade specialty tool.
2 - Short paragraph outlining why you needed the tool(s)
3 - "recipe" of the parts/materials you used. This is basically a parts list so someone else could try and make your tool.
Design a specialty tool that has at least one purpose that will help you in your daily life or to accomplish a task at home. You can think outside of the box with this one. If it ends up as more decorative than useful that is okay as well. The goal here is to try and do something with your hands and your head.
Some random Examples and ideas:
Simple:
- Giant paperclip made out of old coat hanger. Use pliers to bend to desired shape.
- Custom tool for helping clear your gutters/drain from leaves that doesn't require needing a ladder. Made out of branches/metal pole and rope maybe?
Harder:
- Phone stand with built in passive "amplifier" made from metal and wood. This can hold your device while doing webcam/zoom or just for watching movies. No more dropping your phone on your face while playing on your phone late at night!
- Making a chair/stool of some sort counts as a tool since it helps you sit off the ground!
- Antler trap
THE TWIST: You can only use materials that are in or around your home. No going out and buying stuff. Do not destroy something that isn't yours to "salvage" parts. Ask permission and be safe. If you are unable to actually build something then please complete this is as a theoretical assignment and make some
Required Response:
1 - Photos or drawings/blueprints of your homemade specialty tool.
2 - Short paragraph outlining why you needed the tool(s)
3 - "recipe" of the parts/materials you used. This is basically a parts list so someone else could try and make your tool.
Student Worksheet Downloads
natural_resource_tool_making_activity.pdf | |
File Size: | 52 kb |
File Type: |
natural_resource_tool_making_activity.odt | |
File Size: | 17 kb |
File Type: | odt |
natural_resource_tool_making_activity.docx | |
File Size: | 8 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Stuck at home with no power tools? No problem for Primitive Technology!
Here he makes his own "forge blower" to create small specks of iron made from 'ingredients' he foraged or created. To make usable quantities a much larger setup would need to be utilized but this video shows that making 'Iron' from natural resources can be done on a very small scale.
Here he makes his own "forge blower" to create small specks of iron made from 'ingredients' he foraged or created. To make usable quantities a much larger setup would need to be utilized but this video shows that making 'Iron' from natural resources can be done on a very small scale.
This is a longer video but demonstrates making iron tools using natural resources
Homemade machines - Producing work without human effort (other than building the machine)
A step up from primitive as they use their own tools but build in a traditional way using "old school" techniques