Dan, I’ve had a chance to try putting a few of your gears through Inkscape and then Easel just to see how this is going to work for a student, and it went well. I don’t think there will be much problem getting some eighth graders excited about participating in a more complicated project. I will start them out using MDF since we don’t have a lot of access to finer materials and I’m usually doing a lot of dumpster diving behind the cabinet shop. I made a mistake of not seeing that some parts of the gear are cut on the outside and some parts are cut on the inside. It turns out to be easier than it first appeared and I managed to get them finished in just a few minutes. Once I iron out everything that needs to be done to make it all work, I’ll move on to letting students tinker with it and we can eventually work up to trying hardwoods. I appreciate your willingness to share drawings and advice. Nicely done sir! The Franklin Phonetic Wood Shop, Prescott Valley Arizona