Students in John Mulcahey’s Manufacturing Systems class at Port Byron High School recently took a swing at a new project. 

The class built an Adirondack-style wooden swing. The students were trying to decide on what project they wanted to undertake for the class when Mulcahey showed them a photo of a yard swing he had made for his own house. The students were immediately interested. 

Mulcahey brought the swing he had made to school for the students to look over. They sat in it, measured it and decided they wanted to build another, but with modifications to make it even more comfortable. 

The class put together a materials list and got to work. As they worked on the swing, they also discussed how they would set things up if they were to mass produce it in a production shop.

“We had a steady conversation comparing and contrasting this singular build with how the shop could be set up if we were doing multiples on a tight schedule,” Mulcahey said.

After the swing was built, the next step was to put it up for a raffle. The class did a cost estimate of the supplies used and made a poster to advertise ticket sales. To date, they have sold almost 100 tickets. 

 “I think the kids are surprised at just how fast the tickets are selling, and that makes them even more proud of what they did,” Mulcahey said.

Mulcahey said he was impressed with the insight his students displayed in suggesting the correct improvements to his original swing, as well as how they divided tasks and how eager they were to learn new things in the process. 

“Lastly, I am proud of how hard they worked and their attention to detail in producing this. They are proud of their work too, because they should be,” he said.