Four pounds and an inch...

[Bryan Berguson]

was what my my boy said when he was three while he was down in the woodshop with me. He was carrying a tape measure and building a dog house for his dog Snoop. He walked by me with the tape measure out about 12 inches and said outloud but to himself "Four pounds and an inch!" while looking intently at the tape. I wrote it immediatly on my shop door casing so I'd never forget it. It was truely a priceless moment! :)

Bryan

[Mike Langford]

:D Great story.....Priceless & Funny! :D

Thanks for sharing!

[Randy Klein]

:D Great story.....Priceless & Funny! :D


Agreed. My 3-year old likes to measure along side of me and his measurement is always 2 6. Not 26, but #2 and #6. I always have to double check his work...;)

[Matt Crew]

One of the fondest memories of my childhood was watching my Dad and brother build a bookcase out of plywood, then painting it and pinstriping it.
My Father was a bodyman, so paint and pinstripe came natrural.
I made a similar bookcase out of maple in highschool shop class, but I stained it.
I believe this is why I turn to making sawdust to help relieve stress.

[Chris Barnett]

Hope you are regularly measuring and marking his height on the shop door. Built my first, a pine board table, at about 9 years old. Top was not going to get away because it had nails spaced evenly all around the top, maybe 6 feet ... 1/2 inch oc. Teach them young....it sticks better.

[Gregory Lyons]

Agreed. My 3-year old likes to measure along side of me and his measurement is always 2 6. Not 26, but #2 and #6. I always have to double check his work...;)

Well obviously he's framing doors...


*pre-ADA


~g

[Jim Dunn]

Agreed. My 3-year old likes to measure along side of me and his measurement is always 2 6. Not 26, but #2 and #6. I always have to double check his work...;)

My granddaughter does a heck of a job measuring http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=69858

[Bill Wyko]

Thanks for the smile on my face. My daughter used to run in circles around the kitchin island and when I'd tell her to stop she would give me a pout and say "Just a liiiitttlleeee bbbiiittt more" So I let her run until she dropped.:o

[Dennis Lindhorst]

one of my favorite pictures of my son was taken while I was remodeling our kitchen- he was about 2 years old- had a cordless drill- driving screws in a scrap of wood. kept him busy while I worked. I will have to get it scanned in to post it someday.

[Derek Tuchscherer]

The greatest obne I've seen was last year helping my uncle put down laminate flooring in his house. His three year old sone was over in one corner out of the way with a few crews and his plastic tools. We could hear hammering for what seemed like hours from that little plastic hammer. When we eventually got to laying the floor in that area we had to find the cordless drill first as he had hammered a 3" flooring screw a good 2 inches into the floor. And yes the only tool he had used was that little plastic, maybe 1 ounce hammer. At that point my uncle and myself had to look at each other and just laugh. This last summer at 4 years old we watched him hammer some 3" nails into some scrap while building a fence, and I don't think he missed the nail even once while pounding it in....what a kid, wish I could do that!

[Jim Becker]

Great story! And one worthy of framing in a sense...

[Mick Zelaska]

My son used to watch me work in my shop and when he graduated from a plastic hammer and a peg board to a real hammer, I gave him a piece of plywood on 2x4's to pound nails into. I think he put a keg of nails in that 2'x2' piece of plywood.

Having him as a helper had it's scarrier moments though. At about 2 years of age, he picked up a brad and I just caught a glimpse of him as he put it in his mouth and swallowed it. The doctors at the emergency room assured us that "this too shall pass"---- and it eventually did.

[Greg Cole]

Bryan,
A true precious moment, one of the simple things you will treasure forever.
I too have a helper, now 6, who still has some unique ways of measuring (and some of you guys complain about the metric system!).:D
I have a bunch of "artwork" decorating many of my flat spots in the garage err shop.... dinosaurs, volcano's & palm trees on the miter saw station, self portaits of the family on the workbench etc etc etc... used to get a wee bit upset about it when I'd first made the bench etc, now I've sealed the surfaces to protect the artwork.

Greg

[John Gornall]

My neighbour was building a sundeck and had his 4 year old helping. He gave the boy some 2x4 scraps, some nails and a hammer and the boy hammered away. Next day while he was at work his wife could hear the boy outside pounding away with the hammer. When the Dad came home from work he found an entire 50 pound box of nails hammered into the deck. The boy is quite good with a hammer now.

[Ben Grunow]

Make junior a work bench of his own. I did and Charlie is screwing and drilling (tag sale bit and brace) away in complete concentration for about an hour when we get to the shop. He looks like my 60 yr old electrician friend when he uses a screwdriver. I saw him doing it one day out of the corner of my eye, amazing. When I run the TS, he stands on his stepstoll with ear protection on and watches in a trance. I can remember watching the same way as a kid.

[Steve McDonald]

A couple of weeks ago my three year old daughter wanted to get me a new tool for my birthday. She said, Daddy... would you like a maker machine or a fixer machine? Shame they can't stay three forever!

[rick fulton]

Wow! A lot of great stories here. Thanks you all for sharing.

[James Carmichael]

My 5-yo likes to pound on pieces of scrap with a hammer, but he's very sensitive to sound and vacates the shop when a power tool gets going.

FYI, Lowes holds kids building shops every other Saturday. We built a plywood spider for Halloween. Got a free apron, little hammers & goggles.

He beat me at our Thanksgiving soccer match by a score of "seventy eighty-eight to zero". Now that's a whipping.

[Greg Cole]

James,
We've done one of the Lowes kiddie Saturday morning workshops too.
All was welll making the little race car until the guy wanted my little dude (6 years old) to put #48 stickers on it.... I believe his comment was "He stinks & Jeff Gordon stinks too" :D (and waved his nad in front of his nose like something really smelled bad). TEE HEE was about all I could do.

Greg