At what age did you get your child into wood working?

Pdevore

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Jan 23, 2011
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So That is the question.
My son started getting involved with me and using tools at the age of 6. He had been using hand tools for about a year before I taught him how to use some of the power tools. At age 7 he was using air nailers and power sanders. He is now 10 and uses everything I have except power saws. He has also started using my Trend router this year for inlay work.

Most of the people that I come incontact with seem to question the fact that my 10 year old is using power tools, they think that I am not a responsible parent.

What is eveyones thoughts on this.

My son is also big into hunting and shoots many diffent types of firearms and bows which I also get grief for. (yes he is getting to be a better shot than me)

Thanks
Pete
 
my father had me using power tools before i was 10 years old.. by the time i was 10 i had my own circular saw and built soap box derby cars and used it when ever i wanted. my dad believed kids learn faster when they are young and that you could teach them anything. so soon as he felt i was strong enough to hand a particular tool he put it in my hands and made damn sure i was using it right. main thing is to teach them not to be afraid of the tools but to have respect for that power they hold.

generations before us had young kids doing a lot of things people would freak out over now.
 
I think it is great that you and your son share a common interest in woodworking. Only you can judge his competency with the power tools. 

He is going to have a big advantage working with wood starting so young.
 
As mentioned, only you can judge what you are comfortable with. I started on my own with tools at around 8. I bought my own power tools (tablesaw, router, scroll saw, jointer etc) with saved up allowance. They were some SCARY machines for what I could afford! [eek]

My dad was teaching me how to weld when I was around 6 or 7. It wasn't pretty, but I spent HOURS playing around. It probably cost him a fortune!  ;D

I only had one mishap, catching my finger on a router bit. It just shaved the side.

Stress the safety, but I am sure you know whether he "respects" the tools or not.

Starting at a young age I think helped me A LOT, and it is a good bonding experience as well. At least until he takes over your shop!

I have 2 girls(7/9)and a boy (5). I am hoping to start them in the shop this year. My girls are REALLY crafty. It should be alot of fun.

I started buying my boy tools when he was born. Every time I see something on sale, I buy it and stick it away in the basement (hand tools, pliers, screw drivers, wrenches etc). This way he won't need mine!  [embarrassed]

scott
 
I introduced both my girls, all 4 of my granddaughters, and my grandson to woodworking to between the ages of 4 and 6.  They all started with non-powered tools and practiced lots of sawing, drilling, screwdriving,  hammering, sanding, and painting.  

About the age of 6, they were allowed to use powered drills and drivers.  

About the age of 7, they were allowed to use my scroll saw and certain powered sanders.

About the age of 8, they were allowed to use my jig saw, drill press, and all my powered sanders.

About the age of 14, they were allowed to use a circular saw as well as stationary tools such as a table saw, a band saw, an a planer.

They have never used my jointer or router.
 
I very recently handed over my little Bosch compact drill to my 3.5 year old daughter.  She was begging, begging to "help" when I was doing some random tasks.
It's small, so for her hands it's ok.  I haven't let her drill anything for real, but she has helped drive some screws and "play drill".

I think she likes the light on the drill the most.   [wink]

So, in support of that, just last week I got her a red mini-Systainer and filled it with some smaller sized hand tools.  Just a small screwdriver, 4" adjustable wrench, little "condo hammer", tape measure, etc.

She went bananas about her new tool box (red!).  She measured us all (arms, legs, height, etc)
She's been in my workshop twice, but only to simply visit me.  I'm hoping to introduce her to real tools in a year or two.
We will do some fixit around the house and build some birdhouses and things this summer.  The RO90 plays well for the kids.  It's so small and light, they can help to refinish their playhouse outside.

I'm hoping my older daugher (soon to be 6) will become interested at some point this summer.
 
Great thread started here.

I agree with 2 previous posters that every child will have different sort of innate abilities and confidence and that the adult will know when the time is right for various tools/machinery.

My Dad was an excavating contractor and had me operating our little JD350 bulldozer pushing out stumps and clearing brush for new roads and building sites at the age of 12 while he would take care of the bigger tasks of moving dirt and such with the Michigan 175 loader.  Wouldn't get away with an 12 year old operating machinery on the jobsite now a days - times were different as little as 25 years ago... and we're kind of in the middle of nowhere so that had a lot to do with it as well.

My Dad was never into the woodworking or carpentry thing - I got myself into that.  I have two daughters age 3 soon to be 4, and 7 soon to be 8.  I would have to say my soon to be 8 year old is just about ready to start working a little more with me while the soon to be 4 year old is hitting that point at the same time.  Definitely two very different kids with different levels of confidence.  Of course, I have to be the one to make sure the 4 year old's confidence is kept in check and that safety comes first and is made part of the every day routine with both girls.
 
Lots of intrest in this one.

I did not even think about how the RO 90 would work for my son, that is a great point, It is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. He will be super excited.
 
I don't have kids, but I envy all of you.  There nothing more important that recognizing, encouraging, and helping with the interests of your children.  Especially at younger ages.  It's a gift that can, literally, last a lifetime. 
 
My boy is not yet 2 years old.  He comes from a long line of woodworkers.  I have a hard time getting him to wear the proper protective equipment in the workshop--no joke, so his activities in the shop are limited.  At the moment he likes to line up scrap boards on the workshop floor to make different shapes.  He "helped" me paint some boards today until he put his hand in the wet paint.  The point is that he is there with me often (within the boundary of his safety).  He will pick up skills as he gets stronger and more willing to wear hearing and eye protection.  I plan on showing him everything I can.  It will be interesting to watch this story unfold because he is certainly his own person.  I am anxious to see the fruits of his creativity in time.  I had the realization today that all my tools are his too.
 
The other day I was clamping a few pieces up and I ran out of hands and clamps, here comes my 2 1/2 year old daughter running with a clamp yelling " clamp daddy clamp" then she proceeded to hold it in place while I put the clamp on. I almost cried I was so proud and happy, now we are working on a solid walnut and cannery toddler bed. She deserves it!
 
I think the biggest thing is let them get involved. Nothing makes a kid feel better than doing something with mom or dad!

On a side note (sorry little drift), one of the biggest influences I had as a child besides my dad (who wasn't a woodworker) was a relative's father that lived around the block. He was a cabinet maker his whole life. I would ride my bike over to his place as a kid and just sit and watch him for hours from a very young age.

I lost contact with him over the years, and in his 80's he called me out of the blue with a special request that left me speechless! An URN!  [eek] Keep in mind this guy was an incredible high end craftsman, and I was worried I could not live up to the task. He had a picture, nothing more, and said build this, here is the wood (walnut). He had the wood for 30 years up top his shop, planning on making it, but got too ill.

Not only did I complete it, but got his critique as well. It was strange, I was humbled and honored, yet felt sad, as I knew the reality of it all. He was in tears, praising me for the quality. He said he didn't think HE could have done so well. I then thanked him for giving a little kid a chance and getting me hooked on woodworking. He definitely felt validated. Funny how things come full circle!

He would joke with me throughout the process about I should hurry up so he could "go". I told him just for that I would take longer!  [sad] In the end. I finished it and he passed a few weeks later.

I don't honestly know how I pulled it off. This was made from a pic of one he liked on the net.

Some of you may have seen it on other forums, just thought I would share the story as it relates to him showing me and giving me the "gift" of woodworking. I truly believe "skills" are passed on.

scott
 
Scott,

That's a beautiful piece, and a beautiful story to go with it too. I'm not ashamed to say it brought a tear to my eye.
 
jonny round boy said:
Scott,

That's a beautiful piece, and a beautiful story to go with it too. I'm not ashamed to say it brought a tear to my eye.
I agree, and it also brought tears to my eyes.
 
Back in the early 1930s, when I was just a tyke, my grandfather Adams (Apa) traveled to New York City twice a year for 6 week stays. He had taken up traditional furniture making just before he arrived in the spring of 1937 shortly before I turned 5. Days before Apa came trunks full of antique tools had been delivered, along with piles of wood.

At first during that visit I would just watch Apa shaping pieces of wood with hand saws, planes, draw knives and scrapers. Slowly Apa started letting me use the vice on the other side of his workbench to shape scraps. I am sure Apa paid more attention to my safety than to his own work. He told me that when he was my age, before the Civil War, he would help his grandfather and uncles in their furniture factory.

During subsequent visits, Apa gave me more responsibility, letting me shape parts for actual furniture he was building. Between his visits I would practice using scraps of wood. I was 9 in the autumn of 1941. On nice afternoons Apa would work outside on the roof of the adjacent building. He had been telling me for years, "Carroll, let the saw do the work." One Saturday morning I clamped a 2x4 to a sawhorse and started a crosscut using an especially sharp Stanley saw. I make enough strokes that the saw would stay in place. Then I left it there while I had lunch. Apa came in to ask me what was going on. I laughed, "Apa, I am expecting the saw to do the work."

Apa was at his California photo studio in December 1941 and could not get train tickets until WWII ended. In the letters we exchanged we kidded about saws doing the work. In the spring of 1946 Apa was able to get train tickets. He brought with him a B&D electric drill and an early Skil circular saw. He told me those tools actually could do the work on their own, but they still needed a craftsman to guide them.

Apa was still vigorous at age 98 in 1952, with his furniture shop a block from his home in Long Beach, California. By then I had been living in Burbank for 2 years as a young movie studio executive. Every other Sunday I would drive to have lunch with Apa. Apa would be wearing his beloved leather work apron and would be contentedly standing at a workbench hand shaping a piece of exotic hardwood, surrounded by tools made before 1815. On the far side of his shop were then state of the art power tools. Apa told me those were used by craftsmen working for him. He still got his joy woodworking by hand with traditional tools. An oil stone and strop block were always close to his hand. Apa could really sharped a plane iron or chisel.

In December of 1952 Apa took what for him was a routine assignment, taking landscape photos of a railroad. He was 100 miles north of Edmonton, Alberta in deed snow where he had carried an 8x10" view camera 2 miles when we lost him to a heart attack.

Like Apa I have earned my living doing a lot of different tasks since I was a child actor. Yet always I reserved time for woodworking. This has been the calming part of my life. If Apa made some money selling furniture he made, that was spent on more tools and fine wood. I have always felt the same way. My satisfaction comes from making cabinets that satisfy my standards of workmanship. If clients share my vision and pay for my cabinets, then I have more money for additional tools and wood. Apa had loyal craftsmen working for him the last 20 years of his life. His goal was to help each of them gain the skills to be in business for themselves. All of the many businesses I have owned since 1954 have been organized the same way. I tell people when I hire them I hope as soon as possible they will be so successful they can buy me out. This is the plan for my new cabinet shop. The difference between Apa and me is that I prefer programing the CNC routers and saws, where the machine really does the work under my command. This provides the real craftsmen working with me the time to build projects to their standards of craftsmanship, while we all make a living.

By the way, both of my sons preferred working in my machine shop rather than wood shop. My daughter loved electronics. When she was 9 nothing gave her more pleasure than sitting at a bench with a soldering iron fabricating microphone cables. Or using a Tectronix oscilloscope to diagnose a problem in a circuit. One son is a professor of chest surgery, the other a computer scientist. My daughter is a partner in a law firm.

The thing is that just because woodworking is my bliss does not make it their joy. Each of us has to find our bliss. Apa inspired me. I introduced my kids to people who would inspire them.
 
I took my oldest down into the shop when he was 6 and when I turned on the cordless drill/driver, he ran screaming up the stairs.

That was pretty much the end of it, refused to go into the shop, said he couldn't stand the noise. He is an "artsy" type and a good singer
in the school choir, so maybe his ears are just more sensitive than mine after 30 years of Led Zeppelin music.

The younger one has little interest in it as well. As they're both teenagers now, I fear I'll have no one to will my tools to.....
 
fritter63 said:
I took my oldest down into the shop when he was 6 and when I turned on the cordless drill/driver, he ran screaming up the stairs.

That was pretty much the end of it, refused to go into the shop, said he couldn't stand the noise. He is an "artsy" type and a good singer
in the school choir, so maybe his ears are just more sensitive than mine after 30 years of Led Zeppelin music.

The younger one has little interest in it as well. As they're both teenagers now, I fear I'll have no one to will my tools to.....

The thing is, every kid has something that just clicks for them. Some may be great in school, some may not, but be good at mechanical things. It's important that we introduce them to new things, but support them in what THEY choose to do. I know far to many parents that push their kids into stuff they don't like. It's good that you recognize that. Who know, some day they could make it big, and they can buy all the festools you can handle! [big grin]

I think the biggest problem with kids today is lack of exposure. All the highschool "shops" have closed down. It's sad, and they wonder why we have a lack of skilled people for the trades!
 
jonny round boy said:
Scott,

That's a beautiful piece, and a beautiful story to go with it too. I'm not ashamed to say it brought a tear to my eye.
Jonny and Frank,

It was a great experience, and it was nice to be validated by him. It was a huge honor to even have him trust me enough to build it. When I told him I was worried it wouldn't turn out, he said "don't worry Scotty, you'll do fine" . He used to call me "little Scotty", even when I was 30 something! I guess he always pictured me as the little kid.

I think the biggest comfort to me, was validation for HIM. That all his years of work actually got my attention and got me started, and from what I learned from him. Knowing that HE impacted me that much and taught me so much, I think was a huge comfort for him. I am sure there is nothing greater and of more comfort when you know your time is up, that you left your mark on the world. Knowing you have some sort of legacy that will live on.

When I dropped off the urn, he told me to go and get the wood out of his shop and take it. At the time I didn't feel right, but I assured him, when the time was right I would be back. It has been a while and I have heard they will be clearing his shop soon. I'll have to come up with some really interesting projects with it and maybe donate them to some sort or charity in his honor.

So when you guys see some snot nosed kid hanging around, he may not be there to pester you, he may be truly interested. Do what was done to me and say "If you're gonna hang around, might as well be useful" and hand him a broom!  [big grin] You may just be giving the next great woodworker his/her start!

scott
 
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