My son is seven years old, and so far, I have tried to refrain from proselytizing woodworking to him. My hypothesis, at least for now, is that the love for woodworking should come naturally and [...]
My son Asher likes gardening. He loves digging, planting, harvesting, and building makeshift bug habitats for earthworms, beetles, moths, and ants. A few weeks ago, he asked me if we could make a [...]
Sometimes a little talking-to (and video surveillance) is all it takes. I have noticed three things about tools and kids. Kids can find tools even if it requires tunneling under the garage wall. [...]
After creating the facets (drawing and image below), we need to round over the mouse’s back. To read the first part of the story click here. Add two additional guidelines above and below [...]
This coming Saturday I am going to teach a remote whittling class for children, hosted by Peters Valley School of Crafts. Unlike in-person teaching, where the teacher is present in the class/shop [...]
With the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, I was obligated to change my curriculum and put our traditional shop work on hiatus. Since I wasn’t able to use our benches, vises, and clamps I [...]
A perfect platform for teaching woodworking to kids. Woodworking safely with children requires a bench vise to hold stock securely. While stools can raise a child to the height of your workbench, [...]
I was first introduced to branch hooks and their organic beauty while reading Peter Follansbee’s excellent article on the subject in Popular Woodworking magazine. Peter showed how to turn a [...]
My son Oliver has been fascinated by my woodworking projects for years now, but has always been resistant to the idea of building anything of his own. I decided to take advantage of his love of [...]
Read part 1 here. While thinking about ways to manufacture the butter knives fast and efficiently, and also to maximize the use of wood and avoid waste as much as possible, I came up with a [...]
My first time teaching woodworking to a group of toddlers took place almost two years ago. This opportunity to introduce the craft of wood to what is by far the youngest crowd I have ever taught [...]
Build a small workbench with full-sized features for a budding woodworker. “The bench is probably the most important item in the workshop.” Those are Charles H. Hayward’s first words in his [...]