[SoftTalker]

Did a lot of the same in middle school in the late 1970s. Less of the home repair stuff, and no welding or machining.

We used hand tools and small power tools (hand-held drills and sanders), and drill press and scroll saws. Only the teacher could use the table saw, planer, and jointer.

One kid made a muzzle-loading rifle as his project. Can only imagine the hue and cry that would cause today.

[II2II]

I was in middle school in the 1990's, in Canada so the legal bit wouldn't be all that different from the US. We had welding, machining, and all sorts of power tools. That said, the teacher used their discretion while deciding who could use the more dangerous tools and supervised their use carefully.

[thijson]

Attended an elementary school in Canada in the 80's. There was a shop trailer that went from school to school. It had all the wood working tools like band saw, or drill press. My parents still have some of the items I made in it.