Warhawk Manufacturing is a student-run class, guided by Jeff Luetschwager and Anthony Christian, that helps students develop lifelong skills in engineering, manufacturing and business. This class is offered in different departments of wood production, engineering, and manufacturing. All departments work on innovative projects and turn them into sellable products for buyers to enjoy, display at home, or use in businesses.
“It’s a lot of practical experience in this class,” Varun Balla, senior, said. “Market classes are studying the theory on how to run a business and talk to people, but here it’s all practical stuff: applying it, learning it, learning from our mistakes, and failing a lot, but learning really quickly.”
The woodshop class has many fascinating projects underway at the moment. Currently, two epoxy cutting boards are in development. The cutting board is made through hard work and patience; on average, it takes about a week and a half to produce. The process of making the products they offer is intimate. From planning to execution, things need to be just right to sell. Days are spent on cutting, shaping, sanding and polishing. The effort they put into their projects shines through the final result.
“A lot of times, my projects start slow and kind of ramp up, and I need to get them done. I need to get it out,” Harlan Danes, senior, said. “Then once it’s done, I get at least a little bit of time to look at it again before we send it out, and I’m always really happy and relieved.”
“We check for every single piece that possibly needs to be fixed,” Nolan Klingele and Donvan Shallue, seniors, said. “Anything that needs to be tweaked [or] anything that needs to be filled in, we check for all of that. We work as hard as we can to fix it, we want to make sure that whoever is going to be buying [our products] is getting the quality product that they see on [our] website.”
The Engineering class, on the other hand, is now developing various products. Currently, engineering students are working on a project for the Lake Country Fire Department to create a fire roof made of plywood. This fire roof simulator trains firefighters to practice cutting through roofs in emergencies and can be reused for further training.
“I try to put in as much effort as I can [into my projects],” Harlan Danes, senior, said. “Oftentimes, I’ll have time, and I’ll work on my [project]. Like, if I have a study hall and nothing to do, I try to get in extra hours. During resource periods, I work on it as well.”
Warhawk Manufacturing also offers custom projects for businesses. By reaching out to the team via email ([email protected]), businesses can partner with students to turn their visions into reality. A few projects the class has done in the past are: Landmark Credit Union, Signature Pad Holders; Landmark Credit Union, ATM Pin Protectors; Architectural Design Feature Wall, the Hartland BID Custom Sculpture (displayed at Nixon Park); Custom Sheds, Theia Viscon Care Custom Sign, and more. These can be found on the Warhawk Manufacturing website in their past custom projects section.
“We do a lot of work for the community. For Arrowhead, there are signs by the soccer field; we made those. We also did renovations to the adventure gym area just this year, we added benches and stuff,” Balla said. “We donate to the community like Hartland Lakeside. We do a lot of custom work for the community, and people seem to really enjoy it.”
You can find their products on their website, WarhawkManufacturing.com, which offers a variety of goods for purchase. Check out their Instagram at warhawk_manufacturing and their Facebook page, Warhawk Manufacturing, for more information and updates. If you’ve placed an order, you can pick up your item at the north side of Arrowhead’s North Campus. Open hours are from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. from Monday to Friday. Support the dedication the Warhawks have put into their spectacular work today!
