Plane Cute!

[Jim Becker]

I needed to order a few things from Lee Valley this week, including some child safety glasses, as I have a couple of "Neander Projects" planed for the girls during their July visit. (We are adopting siblings (http://a-j-adopt.blogspot.com) from Russia) Of course, at the same time, I couldn't resist putting a pair of these very cute miniature planes on the order. In fact, the little bull-nose will likely come in handy quite a bit from time to time. I'm impressed with the design of these little gems...not bad for a shade over twenty bucks for the pair.

[Brent Smith]

Jim,
I bought those planes a few months ago and have been surprised by how often I've used them. I figuered I'd buy them and they'd just sit on the shelf looking pretty, but time and again I've found uses for them. Once you fettle them a bit they are amazingly good tools, especially for the price!

Brent

[Mark Singer]

Jim,

Very nice! They do come in handy!!!

[Dan Forman]

I've got them too, and they are very usable, as well as being undeniably cute.

Dan

[Doug Shepard]

I picked up a pair of those a little while ago too. One thing that impressed me right out of the box - despite being imports (China if I recall correctly) and the price from LV being pretty low, there's nothing cheap looking about them. The fit and finish all looked top notch.

[Michael Stafford]

Jim, I am glad that you are not sex stereotyping your girls and giving them the chance to learn woodworking. You might want to get a Lie-Nielsen #1 as it is copy of the old Stanley #1 which were used in school shops back in the 20's and 30's and were sized to fit children's hands... :)

[Jim Becker]

Mike, the smaller plane is a great idea, although it will be awhile before they would be able to handle even that--my LN low-angle block plane is probably a good size for them right now. Even at age almost-6 and almost-10, they are very small as compared to most "domestic" kids their age. For now, we're going to stick with building a couple of bird houses (I'll "kit up" some materials so they will just be doing assembly and decoration), etc., and hang them up so they will be here to enjoy when they eventually (and hopefully) come home permanently.

----
On a related topic, I had a nice conversation the other day with the woman (!) who runs the woodworking and art programs at Buckingham Friends School .(K-8) Since we need to put the girls in camp for part of their visit in July, we had inquired about their summer arts camp program. There were no openings and we subsequently found accommodation with one of the local YMCAs for a general activity camp, but I really enjoyed talking to her about her program. I'm so glad that they include woodworking for these younger kids as it's getting harder and harder to find in the upper level schools these days for a variety of reasons. During that talk, I indicated I'd love to come in and contribute some time with her students and hope she'll take me up on it someday.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

On a related topic, I had a nice conversation the other day with the woman (!) who runs the woodworking and art programs at Buckingham Friends School .(K-8) Since we need to put the girls in camp for part of their visit in July, we had inquired about their summer arts camp program. There were no openings and we subsequently found accommodation with one of the local YMCAs for a general activity camp, but I really enjoyed talking to her about her program. I'm so glad that they include woodworking for these younger kids as it's getting harder and harder to find in the upper level schools these days for a variety of reasons. During that talk, I indicated I'd love to come in and contribute some time with her students and hope she'll take me up on it someday.

Jim,

That is great! It seems like the trades are getting cut out of all of the kids programs. It is nice to see that it is still alive in some places.

[Jim Becker]

That is great! It seems like the trades are getting cut out of all of the kids programs.

Part of the problem is the concept of it being about "trades". That tends to further isolate this kind of education into the Vo-Tech schools and away from the mainstream students. While it is true that some percentage of students will take up these activities as a career, even the most academically advanced child can benefit from all the things one can learn from woodworking, metalworking, the arts, music, etc. They help develop character, important thought processes, work ethic and hand-eye coordination. Further, they also provide skills that can give both life-long enjoyment as well as practical capabilities around one's own home. It's a shame when these programs are curtailed or eliminated...a great loss to us as a society.