# My daughters Christmas present to me and my wife



## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Hey guys,

My oldest daughter, who is in eighth grade, decided to take a "Woods" class this year. It was only for one semester. Throughout the semester, she was telling me about all the cools tools that she has been working with in the class, and for the last bunch of weeks, she complained that ALL SHE did was sand the project. She made this Moose bank for my wife and I for Christmas. 


































After my wife and I received it, I was blown away at the job she did, especially since I had never seen her show an interest in my workshop. We talked about her choice of wood (walnut and cedar), and how they seemed to compliment each other quite well (not what I expected). We talked about the process that she used to make it, and the tools that she used (planer, drill press, bandsaw, belt/disc and oscillating spindle sanders, and router table). Her teacher had to use the tablesaw and jointer, but only after she set them up. We spent a good 1/2 hour discussing it. She did use power tools for a good portion of the project, but basically hand sanded the entire project to finish it up.

So, what do you think?


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## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

What do I think?
I think it's an absolutely fabulous gift in many, many ways.
Plus, she did a fantastic job, as well.
Congratulations on raising such a fine young lady. Now, get her in the shop!:thumbsup:


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## davidbard (Dec 30, 2012)

nice job


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## Polak (Dec 31, 2010)

Very, very cool!


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## JLinWV (Dec 27, 2012)

She did a great job, its priceless.


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## Tommie Hockett (Aug 26, 2012)

awesome man you might have some competition in the family


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

That's awesome!!! I love it.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

That's really cool Fabian.
She's got talent. Pretty soon she'll be in your shop. Your new assistant.


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## GROOVY (Apr 27, 2008)

I think you have done a great job with your family and have recieved the best Christmas present .... ever!


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

Cool kid. Must have been very gentle guidance from the teacher. Sanding? Made me laugh.
The result is excellent. You can try to encourage her. She may put the tools down for 10+ years. 
Be ready to go again at a moment's notice. Ya never know.

There's a scrap metal artist welder in our village now. In the real world, she is an oilfield pipeline welder.


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## blaineo (Dec 29, 2012)

lol you two will be fighting over your tools now in the shop....then it'll come down to sanding....and she'll look at you, them lil puppy dog eyes, and say, "Dad, will you please sand this for me?"....lol....grrr...*sighs*....dang kids....gotta love um.. hehe


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## GoIrish (Jan 29, 2012)

Nice work. Great gift. Get her in your shop.


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## jharris2 (Jul 9, 2012)

What a beautiful job she did.

Ditto on getting her into your shop.

You'll build nice projects together and memories of her dad that'll last a lifetime.


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

Awesome job. Make sure you let her read the comments, she should be just as proud of herself as you are proud of her.

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Totally cool. My hat wouldn't fit, if it'd been my child. My head would have swelled with pride.


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## frankp (Oct 29, 2007)

Nothing better than homemade gifts from your children. Mine has gotten into knitting stuff lately but she's turned some pens, made some jewelry and some other neat projects for her friends and family. More important than anything is them learning that they really can do this kind of stuff.


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

I did show the comments to my daughter just now, and the smile on her face is priceless. She says thanks for ALL of your comments, and after her wrists heal from the carpal tunnel she developed from all the sanding :blink: :laughing:, she will be getting out into the shop. We actually garbage picked a desk for her room, and are in the process of stripping it of all the paint, before we paint it again. We have a little more paint to strip off, and then you guessed it...... *ALOT OF SANDING* to get it ready for paint.  :blink:  .


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

frankp said:


> Nothing better than homemade gifts from your children. Mine has gotten into knitting stuff lately but she's turned some pens, made some jewelry and some other neat projects for her friends and family. More important than anything is them learning that they really can do this kind of stuff.


 
Frank, that is aweseome! any chance your daughter could knit me one of these hats?


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## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

That's awesome. I hope my kids take an interest like your's obviously has. My son seems to be losing interest in it, but he's 5 so I can't say too much. Something shiny comes along and he chases it. She (your daughter) did phenomenal work on this project.


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

Make sure your wife gets pics of 'dad and daughter' at work together on their 'desk rebuild'. I think she should have advanced to a ROS. if she knows what the letters stands for I think she has earned her own . 
Hope she had a little tool kit now, I looked after my baby sister from the time she was 11. She had a nail bag, hammer and tools kept growing with her interest.

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## GoIrish (Jan 29, 2012)

DaveTTC said:


> Make sure your wife gets pics of 'dad and daughter' at work together on their 'desk rebuild'. I think she should have advanced to a ROS. if she knows what the letters stands for I think she has earned her own .
> Hope she had a little tool kit now, I looked after my baby sister from the time she was 11. She had a nail bag, hammer and tools kept growing with her interest.
> 
> Dave The Turning Cowboy


Every Christmas our boys get a tool from Santa in their stocking. They now have a few and a tool box so we are going to get rid of the play tools. Lowe's dollar bin is great. If anything gets lost or broken no big loss.


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## Woodwart (Dec 11, 2012)

That's wonderful! We still have a clock and a 'penguin' mirror that my older daughter made 20 years ago in Industrial Arts class. That bank will be a treasured keepsake forever!


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## Fastback (Sep 2, 2012)

Great job, your daughter has a future in wood working.


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## Joeb41 (Jun 23, 2012)

Very nice! I love to see kids interested in something other than electronic gadgets.


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## MapleMoose (Sep 25, 2012)

She did a great job on the bank. It is very cool that you will now get to share a passion or yours with her.

BTW, I grew up in St. Charles. Took shop class at Haines Jr. High.


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

MapleMoose said:


> She did a great job on the bank. It is very cool that you will now get to share a passion or yours with her.
> 
> BTW, I grew up in St. Charles. Took shop class at Haines Jr. High.


My daughter goes to Thompson, and she just told me that this is the last year for the "woods" class at Thompson. I guess the teacher has beeen part time for a few years now, and because of cutbacks, he will no longer have a job.



Joeb41 said:


> Very nice! I love to see kids interested in something other than electronic gadgets.


I HEAR YOU THERE!!!! She actually has started to watch some shows with me, and really enjoys Roy underhills show. (but then again, I guess that is an electronic device :blink. She has started asking me why I don't use more hand tools, and I suggested that maybe we should learn together.:icon_smile: :yes:


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## Anywhy30 (Dec 2, 2011)

looks really good


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Ther you go. Learning together is a great idea.


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## evilzed (Jan 3, 2013)

Just have to echo everything else said here. She did an awesome job and should be extremely proud of it. And you should be extremely proud of her. I wish the two of you many great projects and memories to come.


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