High School Students Compete in Corpus Christi
April 12, 2023 9:01 pmThe annual Texas SkillsUSA Cabinetmaking Competition took place in Corpus Christi at the American Bank Center. A total of 16 students qualified at district competitions this year. That is the largest single turn-out for the cabinetmaking competition and all of the competitors were prepared to showcase their skills and abilities.
Materials for the build, tools, and prizes for the competition were generously donated by Texas AWI members, Brochsteins Inc. and their suppliers.
Each student/advisor team was given a list of prerequisites for the competition, like ability to use a Table Saw, Miter Saw, Rabbeting station, Pocket Screw jig, Cordless Drill/Driver. They also were given a list of hand tools to bring to the contest. New for this year was the integration of dowel assembly for the case. All dowel holes were hand drilled using templates provided for the competition.
Design
The design for the 2023 contest was a water closet cabinet in a lacquer finish. Birch plywood and solid poplar lumber donated by Brazos Forest Products combined to allow for a perfectly paintable surface. Brochsteins Inc. cut the raw materials to rough size and prepared the kits for each of the students. Also included in this project was a mitered inset door which added an extra level of difficulty to the project.
Ready, Set, GO!
The competition started off Friday afternoon with a technical test of creating a cutbill from the provided drawing. Points were awarded for ensuring correct sizing and material specification. Beginning early Saturday morning after a safety orientation on the equipment, the students began to transform their pile of rough cut components into a completed cabinet. Particular challenges this year involved more hand-applied edgebanding than typical projects, miter and hinging the inset door, and hand drilling for the assembly dowels. The competition concluded at 1:30 in the afternoon. After the students clean up their spaces, the cabinets were lined up for judging based on the contestant numbers.
All of the competitors performed well with the build, but one student’s overall completion of the project pushed his work beyond the others.
This is Steven’s 3rd year participating in the Texas state contest. He has previously taken 2nd place both times in his Freshman and Sophomore years and has been awarded $3500 in scholarships, with hopes of more next year. His advisor, Steven Noll, mentioned that ‘Steven is currently the Construction Manager for the Design Build of the Construction Industry Education Foundation’. He has experience with AutoCAD and Sketchup, and ‘he is a very well-rounded individual’. He attended the National SkillsUSA Championships for Teamworks in 2022.
With a little luck, I’m certain he will stand proud on the National SkillsUSA podium in Atlanta, and repeat our success representing Texas as a leader for Cabinetmaking & Career Technical Education.
We look forward to seeing him qualify to compete again next year!
Thank you!
The $1000 scholarship was provided by Bob and Patsy Goebel and the $500 scholarship was provided by Jose Roberto Elizalde of Millenia Cabinetry, Inc.
A very special thanks goes to Jim Kollaja for his unwavering support of this program for the last 25 years as Technical Committee Chairman. This is Jim’s last year and we would like to acknowledge gratefully his decades of work on behalf of these students. Richard Shelley of Brochsteins Inc will take over the position of Technical Committee Chairman. He previously served as the Technical Committee Chairman for the Utah State Competition and has been supporting the Texas State Competition since 2019.
Thank you to all the prize donors: Hardwoods Specialty Products., Panel Specialists Inc., 3V Company, TWC Architectural Moldings, Wurth Louis & Co., Professional Distribution Center, Wood Finishers Depot, Sherwin Williams, Top Drawer Components, Dixie Ply & Circle Saw
We would also like to thank Brochsteins Inc. for organizing a successful event and Jeff Richard, Jackson Mecham, and Howard Rall for helping set up and judge the event.
Thank you to the students, advisors and TAWI members for making this event a success! We look forward to seeing everyone again in 2024 at the competition in Corpus Christi!
Congratulations to the winners and Thank You for showing us your Skills!
You are truly ‘Champions at Work’.
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This post was written by Texas AWI
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