Morrisville State wood technology facility helps project come to life for West Canada Valley High School

Bruce Bennett gazed at the high-tech equipment that surrounded him as he sent a large piece of wood through a Strength Line Rip Saw in Morrisville State's wood technology facility.



At the opposite end, five students collected the quarter-inch pieces it produced and placed them in a pile. The stack of western red cedar strips will eventually turn into a 16-foot strip canoe being constructed in Bennett's transportation class at West Canada Valley (WCV) High School.



While the project is only in its beginning stages, Morrisville provided the ideal setting for Bennett's class to mill the lumber.



“We will have completed, in one and a half hours, what would have taken us three days otherwise,” said Bennett, the technology teacher at West Canada Valley High School. “We wouldn't be able to rip something of this length at our lab at school.”



In addition to cutting the wood, the class utilized the college's router to place beads and coves in it, cuts that will enable the pieces to fit together to form a canoe.



Instructor Karl Driesel stood nearby setting up the equipment for the class and providing assistance when needed.



Bennett has been working with the Morrisville State for the past eight years, utilizing its modern wood technology facility for various projects throughout his teaching career.



“The college is a fantastic resource for us,” he said. “It also provides my students with a great experience and the opportunity to see what a college setting is like.”



Carson Marko, 17, of Newport, was among the students taking Bennett's elective transportation class. “This is something different I chose to take thinking it may help me out in the future,” he said.



Justin Lyman, 18, of Newport, is eager to build a canoe in class. “It's pretty cool that we get to see it from the beginning to the end,” he said.



Morrisville's wood shop features a mix of time-honored equipment and new technology, exposing students to a vast array of machines they will encounter throughout the wood industry. “This is the only program of its kind and even allows students to follow the same tree, from log to finished furniture, all in one building during the two-year curriculum,” Driesel said.



“It is a great program (wood technology) and it is close-by,” Bennett said. “For us, this is as good as it can get.”



While there are no set plans for the canoe once it is finished, Bennett said it might be a winning prize in a future giveaway at WCV.



Students in Morrisville State's wood products technology program can choose from two options: finish carpentry, or furniture production and business. Students study wood science and gain hands-on experience in a state-of-the-art wood products technology building which is equipped with a laser-guided, fully automated sawmill, and computerized and solar dry kilns.