# Father / Son woodworking plans?



## jrcharvey (Dec 26, 2015)

Hi,

My 8 yr-old son has seen me working in the shop and he's caught the woodworking bug. He's certainly not old enough to use power tools but he's eager to start building something, particularly something that is fun to use. Any thoughts on what I can build with any 8 yr-old boy? I have a table saw, band saw, router, and sander in my shop. So, I think I can do a lot of things. I'm just trying to come up with ideas.

Whatever we build, I plan to use the power tools to create the parts and then help him with gluing the parts together, hand sanding, and painting if desired.


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## Toolman50 (Mar 22, 2015)

Built him some stilts to walk on. He'll have fun making and walking on them.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

jrcharvey said:


> Hi,
> 
> My 8 yr-old son has seen me working in the shop and he's caught the woodworking bug. He's certainly not old enough to use power tools but he's eager to start building something, particularly something that is fun to use. Any thoughts on what I can build with any 8 yr-old boy? I have a table saw, band saw, router, and sander in my shop. So, I think I can do a lot of things. I'm just trying to come up with ideas.
> 
> Whatever we build, I plan to use the power tools to create the parts and then help him with gluing the parts together, hand sanding, and painting if desired.


Before that age I was trying to build things on my own with only hand tools including a hand saw. While my father did all his own home repairs and remodeling he wasn't a woodworker so I didn't get the bug from him. Even when I went to high school and took shop the teacher wasn't much of a teacher. What they did there though may be how you need to work with your son. The use of the most dangerous tools was done by the teacher so when one of us needed something done on a jointer or table saw we just asked for the work to be done for us but the project was ours.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Back when, about 20 years ago ....*

I worked at GM World Headquarters Technical Center as a Industrial Designer and Sculptor. One of my associates convinced me to co-sponsor a Pinewood Derby contest because he was active in the neighborhood Boy Scouts Troop. We opened the contest to all employees, about 1200 folks, including Engineers, Designers, Millwrights, Wood and metal shop experts and even the Accounting staff.
There were several "class" from stock by the B-S rules to open class, but there was a weight limit and maybe a length limit.

You have never seen a room full of adults, some who had kids and others who didn't, have more fun. :laugh2: There were various wood models, I made an all aluminum and a wood model and there were beautiful scultped shapes as well as "bricks". Wheels seemed to be the secret and no one would share their design until the "finals" . GM lost an entire days wages the day of the races and probably more due to employees working on company time. It was a huge success, but never to be held again. I think the accounting office ran the numbers and that quelled it. And the winner was ....an accountant of all professions.:surprise2:

So, if you are not involved in the Boy Scouts you might want to start a neighborhood contest. The starting gate can be simple and a sloped driveway will work for the ramp. Loads of fun. If there is an electronics expert they can build a photo sensor timer like we used. It may spark an interest in cars or hot rods as well.:grin:


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## owlelope (Jan 29, 2009)

How about a bird house or birdd
feeder?


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## Minnesota Marty (Feb 27, 2015)

*one of my favorite topics.*

Involving children in woodworking, gardening, etc. is very important. Woodworking is the subject here. 
All previous great suggestions. Make things he is interested in and help you with things that you are interested in. He is not far away from using a cordless screw gun, then a cordless drill and so on. Safety at every turn and he will just learn to be comfortable but respectful. my son is 23 and we just got around to turning on the lathe. He is still a little nervous but he is making chips. He can run a worm drive skil saw like nothing but never did anything on the lathe. 

Good Luck. 
I think a good early on project is a pair of sawhorses that will be his. 
but all previous suggestions are excellent too. 

Marty


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## jeremymcon (Oct 16, 2014)

Pinewood derby is so fun! But I've also heard of kids doing things like spoons. Spokeshave and maybe a draw knife, ramps or files, followed by sanding. The bowl of the spoon can be tricky though. Also might want to rough it out at a bandsaw. 

I could also imagine making a 3 legged stool. Round through mortises, or tapered if you make/purchase a reamer (I made one from an old compass saw blade, a piece of ash, and a spokeshave). Round or tapered tenons can be cut with a draw knife or a pocket knife surprisingly accurately if you scribe the circle on the end of the leg with a compass. Then kerf the tenon, and wedge it. Wedge helps compress those areas of the tenon that aren't quite perfect and make everything come together. 

I'd recommend that you use a harder wood for the legs than for the seat, and keep the wedges perpendicular to grain of the seat to keep it from splitting. 

Great thing about a 3 legged stool is that if the angles aren't all perfect, all three feet will still be firmly on the ground and the stool will be stable.


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## woodchux (Jul 6, 2014)

Always great to teach the "younger generation" shop safety techniques FIRST - not only of equipment, but also for the operator. Consider showing your son the hand methods of making a small wood project - say a wood box with a lid, or a wall spice rack, napkin holder, a bull dozer, a lift crane, or dump truck. Some books are available on "How to build children's toys" (on line & bookstores) which may offer ideas that your son may like. Let him choose - within reason. Keep us posted as to his/your woodworking progress. Be safe.


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## Stevedore (Dec 28, 2011)

owlelope said:


> How about a bird house or birdd
> feeder?


:thumbsup: I hosted a "birdhouse day" for 4 of our grandkids a while ago (the 5th was too old to be interested...), and they seemed to really enjoy it. I had precut the pieces on the table saw, but I let them drill the entry holes & bottom drain holes on the drill press. And I helped them nail them all together with an air nailer, which they really liked. (Bang!) The birdhouses had sides that could be opened for cleaning, so they also got to screw in hooks & eyes. And I had them use some sandpaper to get rid of rough edges.

I had bought them sets of safety glasses for the occasion, and gave them the "Norm" lecture about how important they were.

It was a fun time! :yes:


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## Brian(J) (Feb 22, 2016)

woodnthings said:


> I worked at GM World Headquarters Technical Center as a Industrial Designer and Sculptor. One of my associates convinced me to co-sponsor a Pinewood Derby contest because he was active in the neighborhood Boy Scouts Troop. Wheels seemed to be the secret and no one would share their design until the "finals" .


woodnthings, what seemed to be the secret to the winning vehicle?

Anyway, to the OP, I would make a trebuchet: 
from




to






Once it's done ice cubes make good ammo, cleans up it's own mess.
For tools, I'd start with the tool I was started off with then I was in 7th grade shop class: a coping saw. Very difficult to do severe damage. Add a couple small clamps and a pencil. I'm thinking if you don't already have it that the gift of a Kreg pocket hole opens up a lot of possibilities without adding any risk.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Pinewood Derby "tricks"*

Here's a link that lists the areas where you can improve the performance:
http://www.maximum-velocity.com/fivekeys.htm

If I remember, the winner in the unlimited class used tall, narrow, plastic wheels. Maybe with stainless axles? It's all about reducing spinning friction, and drag which is aerodynamic friction. I would be fun to try it all over again. :wink2:


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Brian(J) said:


> woodnthings, what seemed to be the secret to the winning vehicle?
> 
> .


Mirror polish on the axel's, good dose of graphite and tall, thin wheels, as well as a streamlined body. Least that's what always worked for me


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## d_slat (Apr 10, 2012)

At that age it can be hard to involve them safely. I started mine working on the scroll saw this year, he's 8 also. I know it's not on your list of tools but you may be able to find a used one cheap enough. I think it's a really good starting point to teach power tool safety.


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## holtzdreher (Jul 20, 2016)

all good ideas for sure. I was going to suggest the trebuchet or a catapult, but something even simpler and almost as much fun. A coping saw sling shot. A rubber band gun and some wooden sillohuette targets, light enough for a rubber band to knock down. Can be simple rectangles or fancy animal sillohuettes. A name plaque for his room. When my son was about six or seven, we made a simple stool from a 1x10 we found laying along the road, must have fallen off a truck, it was new and completely clear of knots. Two uprights, two cross pieces and a top. I cut the pieces and predrilled the holes and let him install the screws to put it together. Then he got to sand and paint the stool with BLO. (really hard to mess that up) He kept that stool in his room to step on to reach the shelf in his closet and upper levels of his book shelf. He and his wife still use that little stool. he says it will soon be the "time out" stool for my granddaughter (18 months old). 
Remember that kid's attention spans are short and they lose interest quickly in things they have no immediate use for. A rubber band gun or catapult can always use another target. 

If the trebuchet or catapult is for indoors I would suggest it be made for ping pong balls, or some other light weight projectile that is not likley to break glass and windows. When I was about 9, a buddy got a catapult for his birthday. It fired tennis balls. One right through the bedroom window as he was showing it off to his buddies.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I looked on the top shelf of the closet .....*

That's where I keep all my son's toys from under age 6 or so:


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*my son's wood toys continued*

some toys we made together in the shop. The wheels for the wood cars, a wood knife and a wood sword about 20" long.


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## WesTex (Jan 5, 2014)

I have grandkids aged 4, 6, 8, & 12. We've gotten a lot of mileage out of this book:








All projects are super simple. The kid picks out the project, I copy the pattern, tack it to some wood, then (s)he does the rest. (Except the 4 yr old - she just paints.) They can use a saber saw, band saw, or coping saw. Some require holes drilled. All need some sanding. No hardware need. Buy Hobby Lobby wheels and axles by the boatload. And paint. Kids love to paint what they built!
Here's an example of a project & pattern from the book.










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## jrcharvey (Dec 26, 2015)

This book looks great! If Ican't find it on Amazon, I'm going to the library.


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## WesTex (Jan 5, 2014)

I just looked. It is available on Amazon as a used book. There is also a reprint available new. Sorry, but I don't know how to attach a link. 


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*attaching a link*



WesTex said:


> I just looked. It is available on Amazon as a used book. There is also a reprint available new. Sorry, but I don't know how to attach a link.
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


First you open the Amazon window. where the book is shown. Then RIGHT click on the blue URL to copy it. It will turn blue. Then left click on the blue URL to "copy" it. 

Next go to your post on WWT and RIGHT click or "paste" it in the text.

It will show up like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Wooden-Toys-Easy-Make/dp/156523524X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1478180905&sr=1-2&keywords=natural+wooden+toys


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## WesTex (Jan 5, 2014)

Thanks, woodnthings. 


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## TTOKC (Nov 10, 2016)

You listed a router on your tool list. This is the first thing my Dad and I built together. I was 10.


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