A Happy Birthday Tool Tote (with tools!)

 
Today she turned seven, and she got a Dad-made tool tote with tools to go in it. She could not believe her good fortune at getting a genuine hand plane (a Stanley block plane No. 220) and a folding extension rule (the kind that has about 15 joints and extends for about three yards).

Success! I took some pictures along the way and hope to post a note about the tote construction tomorrow.

A Quick Child's Table

Last Saturday my friend, Mark, visited with his son. Mark's inventive streak runs long and he doesn't let limited experience stop him from making things. He brought the parts for a table he planned to build with August, and he and I took 15 minutes in the shop to sand all the parts.

Above you can see the table he assembled on Sunday with his son's help. The basic design is butt joints and screws. I don't think there is any glue. This table reminds me of many of the furniture pieces I saw in Belize in January: simple, practical, and without pretense. The joints are braced with both brackets and triangular braces. I expect it will hold up to everything August throws at it until after he outgrows it.

Mark plans to make a chair for this little table using the similar construction techniques and more scraps from around the house. Nice work, Mark. Send pictures of the chair when you finish it.

Photographs courtesy and © 2009, Mark Shar.

Wooden Blocks

I wish woodworking was as easy as playing with blocks. My children spend hours building with these, and I love seeing what they come up with. Below are pictures of one that spent several days in our living room during September.

The columns on top of the structure were exercises during a wood turning class. If I ever have a lathe in the shop, I plan to make some proper Greek and Roman columns for the block set.

Little Planes for Little Hands

Months ago—could it have been a year?—the Little Victor arrived in my shop tucked in an impossibly small box. I pulled her out, looked her over, and put her back in the box. There she stayed, wrapped in a sad little piece of anti-corrosive paper and wishing for better.

Last week during a shop cleaning she was noticed, removed, and tested without any honing. Above you can see what she can do straight from the Lee Valley factory. She was perfect, if small, and I awarded her a spot on the shelf with two miniature planes, the perfect foils for this tiny colossus. That's where she was found, on Saturday, by my oldest girl.

"Oh daddy, you have tiny planes! Can I try one?"

How could I say "no"? I try to inspire the girls to work with tools, and this kind of self-inspired shop time is rare. So Little Victor got to play with the children, and she had a great time of it. My youngest was there too, and I facilitated (to prevent the usual shouting match about who wasn't being fair). This woodworking paradise lasted at least half an hour, and the girls came away beaming from their success at making a tiny pile of tiny shavings.

Here are a few pictures:

First Dovetail for an Eight-year-old

Here's a great post by Konrad Sauer about his son's first through dovetail. This is the kind of experience that blow me away about being a parent.

Youngest Woodworker at My House

Just look at the determination on her face. Yes, she is using what amounts to a toy saw, but she couldn't manage the big saw. This one did the job, as you can see: