Graduating students in Conestoga’s Woodworking Technician and Cabinetmaker apprenticeship programs displayed their final-year projects at the Woodworking Centre at Doon on April 21. Nearly 50 projects were showcased and reviewed by a panel of judges made up of current and retired faculty and support staff.
“This is one of the toughest competitions we’ve had to judge,” said Woodworking faculty member Dennis O’Reilly to a crowd of students, their families and faculty. “We have some great projects here. Many of them were still on the work bench a week ago, so it’s incredible to see how everything has come together.”
First place winner in the Woodworking Technician program, Kathleen Montgomery, crafted a stepped storage unit that incorporated shelves and drawers. Made out of solid ash, the unit features a latticework pattern on the shelves and a reverse diamond veneer match on the drawer faces.
Montgomery said the inspiration for her work came from the Japanese step tansu that combines storage space into a set of stairs. Her project will advance to the college’s Tech@Work showcase on April 26. The event features the best capstone projects from 16 Engineering programs.
Many of the students created functional pieces of furniture, like shelving units and desks, but Cabinetmaker apprenticeship student Adam Gatto opted for a more unique piece - a dog sled. Gatto was awarded first place in his category.
Woodworking Technician winners:
- First: Kathleen Montgomery
- Second: Ted Moon
- Third: Nara Lee
Cabinetmaker apprenticeship winners:
- First: Adam Gatto
- Second: Glenn Heintzman
- Third: Zach Meloche
Conestoga’s Woodworking Centre of Ontario is a 50,000 square foot facility that ranks among the world’s top woodworking training centres. Students have access to custom woodworking and production training as well as the latest in Computer Numerical Control (CNC) and drafting technology. For more information, visit the Centre's website.