Great for kids!!!

[Bryan Berguson]

My son comes down to the woodshop with me most of the time. Usually he's working on his own project, a dog house for his pretend dog Snoop. It consists of a bunch of scrap wood pieces and he pounds nails into them however they happen to fit together. There must be 1000 nails in that thing! I usually drill some undersized holes for him to get started which helps him pound them easier and keeps him from whacking his thumb.:rolleyes: He's six btw.

Well, a few weeks ago when he was down with me he again wanted some holes drilled. In the middle of something, I didn't want to drop what I was doing to get the drill out, insert a bit and drill the holes. I happened to spy some scrap pieces of "blue board" insulation that my son had used to practice his sawing skills on - with a rather dull drywall saw I might add. Anyways, I grabbed a few of them, put them in a pile and had him nail them together - no pre-drilling needed. He LOVED it!!! They pounded very easy, no pre-drilling, was quiet and now all the nails are reusable because they come out as easy as they go in. Everyones happy! :D

Just hope nobody tells me the insulation causes cancer or something now...:rolleyes:

Bryan

[Charlie Knauer]

Thanks Bryan it brings back happy memories. I would help my dad in the shop and it was always a good time. I also grew up next to a lumber yard and hardware store. Plenty of scrap wood and nails for me. I remember my own kids helping me in the shop. My 26 year old daughter still works in it with me. Enjoy the time with your 6 year old because it goes fast.:cool:

Charlie

[Tom Jones III]

Great idea, I'll have to put that one to use in my shop. They haven't been too excited about nails since I heard the 3 yr old tell the 4 yr old that she should hold the nail so that he could hammer it ... a little ice cream and everything was all better.

[David Freed]

I used to tell people it would take me 4 hours to do a certain job, but with my little helper helping, I should be able to get it done in 5 or 6 hours :D. He really liked to help dad work on stuff.

[Matt Meiser]

That's a great idea. My daughter has her own set of tools and workbench, but cutting my maple or oak scraps and hammering nails is pretty tough. I think I need to find some blue board for her.