neanderthal project for 12 year old ???

[John Beaver]

My 12 year old daughter likes to spend time out in the shop with me.

I'm looking for suggestions for a project that she can work on while I'm doing my stuff and I don't have to supervise the whole time.

Also, I feel like having her do the whole thing with hand tools will teach her more about wood, as well as be a project that she can work on over time.

Anyone have a good suggestion ?

Thanks

[Niels J. Larsen]

I'll give you a few suggestions based on what I can remember I did myself when I was that age and in woodworking class in school.

- cutting board made from one piece of wood (you give it to her jointed and planed). One square end, one end rounded with a hole so it could hang on a nail etc. on a wall. This was made with a standard hand saw, fret saw for the rounded end, sand paper for rounding edges and corners. Hand drill for the hole.

- smaller cutting boards - simple square or rectangular form with rounded corners. I'm not sure what you call these in the States, but here we use them when eating lunch - i.e. it's a wooden plate. She could dress them up with a cartoon drawing, a name or similar that she burns into the wood - either with the tool specifically made for it or by using a standard soldering pen.

- bird house - a simple one of course :-)

- a simple box for holding toys or other items. Plywood would be my choice. Use nails and a hammer to join it together. Perhaps paint to dress it up.

- Scroll saw work. Her imagination is the limit. Could be her name that she could put up on the door to her room or similar.

- A shelf for her to put up in her room.

- Perhaps small wooden toys she could make for smaller siblings or others in the family?

What matters is that you should give her ready-to-use boards so she only should spend time on the "fun stuff" :-)

Don't know if you can use it, but perhaps it'll point you in the right direction.

Niels

[Bill Houghton]

Richard Starr, who teaches shop at a middle school, wrote a book some years back titled, "Woodworking with Your Kids." There are multiple copies at half.com, $5 and up. "Woodworking with Kids" is also listed as a separate title.

You might see if your library has these or other books oriented to kids making things - my local system has both books, and maybe yours will too.

Once she's got some projects under her belt, she may develop the confidence to come up with her own ideas.

Be prepared to get pushed out of the shop as she progresses, and to find yourself building a confident future adult rather than the project you thought you were working on. But, man, is it worth it.

Bill, two sons in their 30s, both competent with tools and the mental skills that handwork develops

[Kari Hultman]

How about a tool box? Maybe one with a handle, lid, and sliding tool tray.

[Brian Kent]

A dove-tailed box.

A that age kids are thrilled to be challenged. The dovetail can be learned by a 12 year old and she will be impressed at what she can to.

Probably a single dovetail on each side.

[mike holden]

John,
Go to the popular woodworking site and download the "I can do that" book (pdf file)
that will have many simple projects designed to be made almost totally with hand tools or simple power tools (drill motor, jig saw).
This would seem ideal for a young woodworker.
Mike

[Bob Easton]

John,
Go to the popular woodworking site and download the "I can do that" book (pdf file)
that will have many simple projects designed to be made almost totally with hand tools or simple power tools (drill motor, jig saw).
This would seem ideal for a young woodworker.
Mike

URL - http://www.popularwoodworking.com/icandothat/

[Jeff Wittrock]

You might consider a simple bench. She may need some help with this to start with, but for my own 9 year old son, he seemed more interested working on things when he had his own bench to work on.

[David Gendron]

+1 for Kari's idea, I think a tool box/tote would be great. maybe DT at the corners, like Brian suggested. Espacialy if you are into getting her some basic tools in the neer future, like a block plane, a small saw(back saw/ small(18 to 20") panel saw, a chisel etc.
I can't wait for my girl to be a little older, and start on some fun little projects!

[John Beaver]

Thanks for all the great suggestions.
I will follow up on the books.

She liked the idea of making her name, so I started her on some coping saw work. She then cleaned it up with rasps and files and sanding. She finished one letter today, so there's some completion satisfaction, and some work to look forward to. Once all the letters are done, we'll make some kind of frame as she wants to hang it in her room... So far so good.

[Jim Koepke]

She liked the idea of making her name

I have seen wooden letters with wheels on them. They also had eyes and hooks so they could be linked together like a toy train. That would be better for a kid about 5 not 12.

It is great that you have someone interested in working along side.

jim