I have an 8 years old son who is passionate about wood work. What should i do?

[James Pallas]

I introduced my children and grand children to woodworking at about that age. Some a little younger. They took right to it. My process was like this. First get their interest by watching you start to build something easy like a small box. Ask if they want to build it. If they want to than you are good to go. Building something is key here. I always had some appropriate size tools anyway. Help them, don’t do it. If you are worried about cuts and little things buy some cut proof gloves and always safety glasses. Buy them their own and wear yours too. Build along side, yours and theirs. Do each task in order. If they mess up a piece just start again like it’s no big deal, happens all the time attitude is important here. You’ll be surprised at how quickly they will get it. By the way I have 24 grand kids. Soon I will be starting on great grand kids. The grand kids have all been exposed a few of them took to it most did not because of the computer era. All hand tool work at first. Good luck and enjoy your journey.
Jim

[Lee Schierer]

My father and Grandfather introduced me to woodworking when I was about that age. When we made projects together they did the work on the power tools. When I worked on my own I had my own hand tools, a saw, hammer, two small hand planes, wood chisel, coping saw pliers and screw drivers. I still have the smallest hand plane and hand saw and use them occasionally.20231213_113410.jpg


My son was given the larger hand plane and have purchased/given him additional tools.

I was introduced to power tools in shop classes in junior and senior high schools.

[Mark Leifer]

Pick up a used copy of “Woodworking With Kids” by Starr. It is a guide for parents to selecting useful but safe tools for each age group, plans for projects, and, most importantly, how to guide your young woodworker while fostering his/her ideas and enthusiasm. A good eat resource when my kids were small.

[Rick Potter]

Got a G Grandson, who will be 5 in Feb. I bought a nice soft cedar fence picket at HD for $3, took it home and cut it into 12" lengths.

Since they are only 5/8 thick I fastened two pieces together face to face and started several small nails. Gave it to him and he has used it three times in the last week, He uses a 16OZ hammer with a 4" handle, and it works better than a big one for him. The soft Cedar makes it easy to drive straight.

It's a start.

[Marc Rochkind]

That's about how old I was in the 1950s when my father started me in woodworking. He was bad at it (painted plywood cabinets, with lots of store-bought molding to cover the joints). And he was a bad teacher. I knew he used tools, and one day I came home from school and told him I wanted this toy tool set that I saw in the window of a neighborhood toy store. He said no, but that very night he took me to a hardware store and bought me real tools, but smaller than full-size. (Smaller hammer, small saw, etc.) And I had my own corner of his basement bench. I couldn't get anywhere, and he tried to help, but I don't remember any success. Shortly after, he had me use real tools, including his Shopsmith table saw. No blade guard, no riving blade. (This was the 1950s, when workshop safety hadn't yet been invented.)

Since then, I've never been without a shop. Now, nearly 70 years later, I have a proper shop with almost more tools than will fit. I have some of my father's tools mounted on the wall, as a reminder. I don't think I'm ever in the shop without thinking of him. I wish I could show him around. (He's been gone for about 25 years.)

So, start your son off safely, as others here have suggested, provide a little guidance, but let him do things wrong and figure out how to set it right. Try not to give advice unless he asks. Intervene only when he is being unsafe, but not when he is merely failing to do a good job. As soon as you can, start him on power tools.

Good luck!

[Jimmy Harris]

Here's my philosophy. Teach him what he wants to learn. You learn faster and are much less likely to burn out when you're learning things that interest you.

Figure out a project that he wants to do and help him make it. Don't buy him any tools. Kids don't need tools. And if you buy him his own tools, he's likely to try to use them when no adult is around and get injured. Besides, I'm assuming you own tools and buying him stuff would be redundant. And kids don't need more stuff these days. They need more love and attention. If you want to buy him something, buy him a project. Buy him some wood and plans. The time spent together will mean more to him than anything you could purchase at a store.

Having said that, there are certain tools I'd keep him away from. Circular saws and table saws being at the top of that list. If he needs plywood ripped down, do that for him. But scroll saws, hand saws, probably a jig saw and drill, would likely be fine for a responsible 8-year-old to operate with adequate adult supervision.

What's important at his age is that you share your passion. He doesn't have the eye hand coordination to develop much skill at his age, so don't worry about developing his skills. He'll develop them on his own if he takes to woodworking anyway. Instead teach him the joy of making. Teach him that woodworking is fun, by making it fun. Try to see it through his eyes and let his progression develop naturally. Give him the gift of pride in a project that he made himself.

[Tom M King]

I think before I started building model cars, my first things made were neckerchief slides for cub scout uniforms. I still have them. I told my Dad that I thought it would be a lot easier if I had a sharper knife. I was using a little Soligen pocket knife that an Uncle had brought back from Germany in WWII. My Dad brought me a little white rectangular Hard Arkansas stone and showed me how to use it to sharpen the knife.

I cut a finger on my left hand with the sharp knife that went pretty deep. I remember it well, as I almost passed out and went to lay in bed for a while. That didn't put an end to my making things, but I never again cut a finger any kind of way. I think that was in 1957 when I was 7 years old.

edited to add: The scar is still there 66 years later. It was a clean cut.

[lou Brava]

Get Him a Tennis racquet or a set golf clubs

[Maurice Mcmurry]

A 3/8 dowel rod and an off cut from a holesaw were my middle sons big interest. We had the sword fight scene from The Princess Bride memorized and choreographed. It was all good fun until a college student next door to a job thought the little boy playing with a wood sword would be fun to engage with. The little boy thrashed that young man severely.