I have an 8 years old son who is passionate about wood work. What should i do?

[Lucas Brown]

How can I put him on the right track?:confused: I'm a terrible :) teacher despite being good at my craft. Please I need an advice. This is my first post on this great forum

[George Yetka]

Are you passionate as well?
It will be similar to firearms everyone has a point in life when they are capable of using them safely. Some may be later than others and some never.

But there are plenty of safer tools. A scroll saw may be a good place to start. I would also look at Rockler. They have all kinds of kits. Some which require few tools. I learn best by doing so these may work if hes the same.

I have built a bunch of the Lowes kids projects(Little more than hammering a few nails) with my kids but they are 3&6 and show no real interest

[Pat Germain]

Introduce him to hand tools. I wouldn't even consider getting an 8-year-old near power tools. Pardon me for being dark, but many a victim of child labor was seriously injured or killed by machinery in the early 20th century. I just don't think we can be sure about any person at that age being safe with power tools. Hand tools can still be dangerous, but not to the extreme which power tools are dangerous.

Try to find old episodes of "The Woodwright's" shop with Roy Underhill. If your son learns how to use hand tools, he can eventually move onto power tools which will make him an excellent hybrid woodworker. If you can afford to buy him good quality hand tools, he can use them for the rest of his life and eventually hand them down to his grandchildren. Used hand tools are an excellent option if you can find them.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

Welcome to the forum!
My grandfather was a talented woodworker and boat builder. He is where I developed my interest in woodworking. Sadly he passed away shortly after I turned 9 years old and that was the end of my woodworking adventures until I became an adult. My most vivid memories of him were hanging out with him in his shop between the ages of 5-8 years of age. While he was planing a piece of wood with a hand planer, he would show me how to safely do it, and then depending upon the project, either give me a piece of wood to practice on my own, or he would allow me to plane that treasured piece of wood he was working on. I was on top of the world when I was allowed to "help him" plane his project. He took the time to show me how to use a band saw, lathe and scroll saw, while emphasizing the importance of safety and no loose clothing. (Keep in mind his power tools would have been slow moving machinery probably from the 1940's-1960's and I was not handling them.) He took me to visit his old sawmill friend and watch the guy cut a log and always stressing the importance of safety. (Plus having his friend show his hand with the missing finger to further stress importance of safety around saws!)

All of the "learning" experiences with him always involved me bringing something home that was made of wood. It wasn't necessarily something I made, but most often something he made. It could have been a simple carving he whittled, or a small wood bowl or a toy truck or boat made of wood. All of them were easy things for a little kid to carry around and bring to Show and Tell days at school. Most important was he understood that this was all new to me and I was learning and absorbing everything my little kid brain could absorb. If I slipped with the chisel and created a gouge, there was no reason to get mad about it. It was a reason to teach me how to fix that gouge ... or a reminder to him that he should have let me practice on scrap wood first. :)

I forgot to add ... I would look around for some fun kid-friendly woodworking project plans to do with your son.

[Ron Citerone]

5th grade middle schoolers use scroll saws in many middle schools. I taught 6th-8th grade middle school wood shop and had 6th graders on scroll saws and drill presses. I did think they did better when they learned to use coping saws first. 😉. Put the coping saw blade in with teeth facing forward and put the work piece in a small low vise. Always cut downhill, reposition the workpiece as you go so it is always down hill. Use 3/8 or 1/4” pine. I think he could sand the edge of a cut pattern in a small drill press with a 1” sanding drum. And drill a hole with you holding the work piece and coaching him. You have to be right there with him at that age for all of it.
Nailing with holes predrilled on a drill press should work. 1 1/2” finish nails or 16# nails/ brads. Put piece in vice, you hold predrilled piece in place and he taps in the nail. Nailing without predrilled holes is probably not gonna work IMO.
All kids develop at different rates. TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS. If it isn’t working, try something simpler!
I know 8 year old isn’t middle school, but with your undivided assistance I bet he can do more than you might think!

[Warren Lake]

worked for an austrian guy who could have been made into a movie. His son had some accident about that age think on a jointer stuff was lost.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Have him watch these videos.

https://www.youtube.com/@newyankeeworkshop
(tell him ignore any and all references to biscuit joiners)(substitute Festool Domino for that)

https://www.youtube.com/@woodwhisperer/videos

https://www.youtube.com/@3x3CustomTamar/videos


Also there is a Woodcraft store located at:

14605 Wright St, Omaha, NE 68144
You can check with them for the class schedules.

[Tom M King]

PM me your address and I’ll send him an old jewelers saw that will be safe and easy to use along with an assortment of blade sizes. I have a bunch of them and won’t miss one.

[Mark Rainey]

Get him The All New Woodworking for Kids by Kevin Maguire. It is a gem. $4.99 used on the internet. I used it for my boys at that age and it got me hooked on woodworking over 20 years ago. All projects are done with hand tools. Highly recommended!

[Richard Coers]

I'd get him a scrollsaw and some intarsia patterns. You surely don't want to flood him with instructions because it will increase the stress and make him feel useless. Just let him cut to the lines of the patterns the best he can. Maybe improve on the blade guard with some pvc pipe painted red so it's clear that is the danger zone. With a mini lathe he could make some pens and honey dippers.

[Tom M King]

I was building stuff when I was 8 too, but not much with wood.

[Warren Lake]

give him a sharp plane and let him plane the edge of some pine in the vise. Or even more so give him a wood plane as it will be louder.

Also get him his real estate license then he can sell three homes a year make more than cabinet making and have lots of time to be in the shop doing what he loves if he does love it. Marry rich is also suggested though not yet.

I love hearing stories from some people how they started answering the phone at their parents business at 12. Voice on the other end are you old enough to be answering the phone.

[Mark Rainey]

I was building stuff when I was 8 too, but not much with wood.

Nice pic Tom!

[Tom M King]

Found it cleaning out my Mom’s house. Later than that picture I used a jewelers saw to make model car doors operable. That was my first model car contest. One reason I wanted to send this kid a jewelers saw, not necessarily for model building but general skill building pretty safely.

[Myles Moran]

I agree with Ron, I think I was around 10 when I first got a scroll saw. I spent years cutting Christmas ornaments and similar projects with it before getting more tools.

[James Pallas]

I introduced my children and grand children to woodworking at about that age. Some a little younger. They took right to it. My process was like this. First get their interest by watching you start to build something easy like a small box. Ask if they want to build it. If they want to than you are good to go. Building something is key here. I always had some appropriate size tools anyway. Help them, don’t do it. If you are worried about cuts and little things buy some cut proof gloves and always safety glasses. Buy them their own and wear yours too. Build along side, yours and theirs. Do each task in order. If they mess up a piece just start again like it’s no big deal, happens all the time attitude is important here. You’ll be surprised at how quickly they will get it. By the way I have 24 grand kids. Soon I will be starting on great grand kids. The grand kids have all been exposed a few of them took to it most did not because of the computer era. All hand tool work at first. Good luck and enjoy your journey.
Jim

[Lee Schierer]

My father and Grandfather introduced me to woodworking when I was about that age. When we made projects together they did the work on the power tools. When I worked on my own I had my own hand tools, a saw, hammer, two small hand planes, wood chisel, coping saw pliers and screw drivers. I still have the smallest hand plane and hand saw and use them occasionally.511987


My son was given the larger hand plane and have purchased/given him additional tools.

I was introduced to power tools in shop classes in junior and senior high schools.

[Mark Leifer]

Pick up a used copy of “Woodworking With Kids” by Starr. It is a guide for parents to selecting useful but safe tools for each age group, plans for projects, and, most importantly, how to guide your young woodworker while fostering his/her ideas and enthusiasm. A good eat resource when my kids were small.

[Rick Potter]

Got a G Grandson, who will be 5 in Feb. I bought a nice soft cedar fence picket at HD for $3, took it home and cut it into 12" lengths.

Since they are only 5/8 thick I fastened two pieces together face to face and started several small nails. Gave it to him and he has used it three times in the last week, He uses a 16OZ hammer with a 4" handle, and it works better than a big one for him. The soft Cedar makes it easy to drive straight.

It's a start.

[Marc Rochkind]

That's about how old I was in the 1950s when my father started me in woodworking. He was bad at it (painted plywood cabinets, with lots of store-bought molding to cover the joints). And he was a bad teacher. I knew he used tools, and one day I came home from school and told him I wanted this toy tool set that I saw in the window of a neighborhood toy store. He said no, but that very night he took me to a hardware store and bought me real tools, but smaller than full-size. (Smaller hammer, small saw, etc.) And I had my own corner of his basement bench. I couldn't get anywhere, and he tried to help, but I don't remember any success. Shortly after, he had me use real tools, including his Shopsmith table saw. No blade guard, no riving blade. (This was the 1950s, when workshop safety hadn't yet been invented.)

Since then, I've never been without a shop. Now, nearly 70 years later, I have a proper shop with almost more tools than will fit. I have some of my father's tools mounted on the wall, as a reminder. I don't think I'm ever in the shop without thinking of him. I wish I could show him around. (He's been gone for about 25 years.)

So, start your son off safely, as others here have suggested, provide a little guidance, but let him do things wrong and figure out how to set it right. Try not to give advice unless he asks. Intervene only when he is being unsafe, but not when he is merely failing to do a good job. As soon as you can, start him on power tools.

Good luck!

[Jimmy Harris]

Here's my philosophy. Teach him what he wants to learn. You learn faster and are much less likely to burn out when you're learning things that interest you.

Figure out a project that he wants to do and help him make it. Don't buy him any tools. Kids don't need tools. And if you buy him his own tools, he's likely to try to use them when no adult is around and get injured. Besides, I'm assuming you own tools and buying him stuff would be redundant. And kids don't need more stuff these days. They need more love and attention. If you want to buy him something, buy him a project. Buy him some wood and plans. The time spent together will mean more to him than anything you could purchase at a store.

Having said that, there are certain tools I'd keep him away from. Circular saws and table saws being at the top of that list. If he needs plywood ripped down, do that for him. But scroll saws, hand saws, probably a jig saw and drill, would likely be fine for a responsible 8-year-old to operate with adequate adult supervision.

What's important at his age is that you share your passion. He doesn't have the eye hand coordination to develop much skill at his age, so don't worry about developing his skills. He'll develop them on his own if he takes to woodworking anyway. Instead teach him the joy of making. Teach him that woodworking is fun, by making it fun. Try to see it through his eyes and let his progression develop naturally. Give him the gift of pride in a project that he made himself.

[Tom M King]

I think before I started building model cars, my first things made were neckerchief slides for cub scout uniforms. I still have them. I told my Dad that I thought it would be a lot easier if I had a sharper knife. I was using a little Soligen pocket knife that an Uncle had brought back from Germany in WWII. My Dad brought me a little white rectangular Hard Arkansas stone and showed me how to use it to sharpen the knife.

I cut a finger on my left hand with the sharp knife that went pretty deep. I remember it well, as I almost passed out and went to lay in bed for a while. That didn't put an end to my making things, but I never again cut a finger any kind of way. I think that was in 1957 when I was 7 years old.

edited to add: The scar is still there 66 years later. It was a clean cut.

[lou Brava]

Get Him a Tennis racquet or a set golf clubs :)

[Maurice Mcmurry]

A 3/8 dowel rod and an off cut from a holesaw were my middle sons big interest. We had the sword fight scene from The Princess Bride memorized and choreographed. It was all good fun until a college student next door to a job thought the little boy playing with a wood sword would be fun to engage with. The little boy thrashed that young man severely.