Toni Garrard Clay/AISD Communications Specialist
Athens High School students Drake Rummel and Justin Gatlin like to duck hunt … a lot. And it was on one of those hunts that an idea came to them for a shop project they could enter into the Henderson County Livestock Show: a duck blind. Once it was mentioned, they knew it was a perfect fit.
They started by simply searching the internet for a duck blind they liked and used it as a starting point. “We drew out the plans by hand and figured how much metal we’d need for every square inch and what type of metal we’d need,” said Rummel.
The original version was basically a box. The boys’ finished project is a good deal more. There’s a built-in bench and a designated area for dogs, which is fairly standard. But they also added a ramp to make it accessible to someone with ambulatory issues. And they lifted it a foot and a half off the ground and added skids to make it portable.
“You can just hook it up with chains and pull it with your tractor,” said Gatlin. “You don’t normally see that.”
The boys worked on the duck blind in ag mechanics class. Working about an hour and a half a day, it took them about three months to complete. “It got complicated about halfway through,” said Rummel. “There was a lot of welding half-inch square tubing and a lot of cutting metal at angles.” In the beginning, the boys said they would burn holes through the tubing when they practiced. But, eventually, they got the technique down.
That’s the beauty of a shop project, said ag science teacher Jeff Jones. “They design it; they build it; they increase their skills. We do this for the education.”
When it was completed, the two felt a sense of accomplishment … and relief. “It was like, ‘Finally,’” said Gatlin with a smile.
The boys already have a couple of buyer prospects for the blind and are likely to enter it into one more show. Watch out ducks.