The first apprentice bench notice began with the bench sign-in board and the apprentices’ tool issue slips. Since then, the city has moved through a source check, a public hearing and a trial at the shared apprentice bench below the north furnace.
The current docket records 27 apprentices who completed a supervised tool check; the earlier file recorded 23. The count is more specific than the first summary, but still does not answer whether the city’s training mark should certify completed hours or demonstrated skill.
A key point in the timeline was the discovery of a worn wooden gauge used to teach the difference between a clean edge and a sharp one. It narrowed the dispute from a general claim about the rule to a question about how the rule behaves at the site.
Masters favor observed work; apprentices say a single test can hide what they have learned across a full season. The current record does not settle that disagreement. The parties now share more of the record than they did at the start, though they assign it different weight.
The docket has returned for review with the exceptions and unresolved objections attached. The entry belongs to the public comment file at the shared apprentice bench below the north furnace. The guild will trial a portfolio of completed pieces beside the bench examination. The next review will show whether the change lasts beyond this docket or returns as another temporary exception.
