Clark Magnuson wrote:
We made screwdrivers in 9th grade shop in 1965 that looked just like
commercial screwdrivers.
We pounded on the tool steel on the forge, then filed to shape, and then
heated it red hot and dunked in oil, and while still hot and cooling,
scratched off the scale with emery cloth to see the blue color and then
dunked in water.
We sawed off a piece of translucent yellow plastic handle material, cut
to shape and drilled the shaft hole on the lathe.
We heated up the metal and pushed it in the handle.
We dunked the finished product in acetone, which dissolved all the
imperfections of the plastic finish.


I did the same thing Sophomore year in high school, that was 2000-2001
School year. As far as I know my high school was one of only 2 or 3 in
the state (Illinois) that still had a metalworking program. That is
until the teacher retired last year. I have heard from current students
that the program has gone straight to hell since then. That shop
teacher worked there for 35 years and he was the program.

--
Jim
I owe my career in Tool & Die to that teacher...