Perfect circle cutters

[Rick Potter]

I have been teaching my 13 year old grandson how to use tools. He has been using the scroll saw for a while, and the other day we used the band saw and drill press to make rubber band guns. Today he mentioned my 'Perfect Circle Cutters'. Now, when you say Perfect Circle to me, my immediate thought is piston rings for the car, but he was talking about cutting wood. After a little question and answer period, we nailed it down to one area of the shop, the cabinet under the drill press. Now I was thinking about hole saws, but it turns out that the Perfect Circle Cutters in his mind are spade bits.

I had shown him how to make a clean hole on both sides using a spade bit a few days earlier. We're both learning.

Rick Potter

[Peter Quinn]

My son is almost 5' and while he's not yet ready for power tools he like to come into the shop and spend time when things are quiet. And he likes to help me get organized. For instance I had wrenches spread around the shop, some at each machine, collet wrenches for the appropriate router at each router table, spindle wrenches at each shaper, a wrench for the DP table on a hook there, a wrench for the slot mortiser etc..........just all over the place in his mind. So while i was working on some drawings he collected each and put them all in a neat row on my low height assembly table, organized by size and color. He was very proud that we had finally established order in my messy shop. I still haven't figured out where they all belong. I like the perfect circle cutters....and I wish my spade bits made perfect circles. Mine are old and abused, at this point they make more of an egg shape. Maybe my son will organize my egg cutters for me?

[Duane Bledsoe]

My granddaughter is 2, almost 3, and she likes to come into my shop and help me by carrying small boards from one place to another for me. I do my cutting outside since my shop is in my basement and I don't have dust collection yet, so while I'm cutting a board she will stand inside behind the door and watch through the glass until I'm finished, and then ask if she can carry it to the bench. She's also very interested in any of the stuff she can pick up that's not too heavy for her such as screws and nails, sandpaper, and that sort of thing. I have to keep a close watch on her that she doesn't pick up anything that could hurt her. I don't leave knives or chisels laying around at all, they are always put away after I'm finished, and of course I ALWAYS make sure power tools are unplugged. drill bits are de-chucked, and anything else that seems to be a safety hazard. This is good practice anyway, but I want her time spent in there with me to be pleasurable and memorable, and maybe one day (hopeful) she might have an interest in wood working also.