Thread: Basic hand tool kit for small children?

As you have listed, it's all ok

For a saw I would suggest a mitre box and saw. The type that has the saw captured in guides

Hi xjapan,
Egg beater type hand drill, and use nails with the head cut off for drill bits. That's what my dad gave me to use when I was a kid, and youngsters love something spinning fast!
Cheers,

Junior hacksaws with a wood blade are good for small hands as they can control them more easily, starts easily, easy change blades.

A hot glue gun is the easiest way to stick stuff together, with instant results. Most of the cheap versions don't get hot enough to cause any damage, although you might find out what sort of 'naughty' words they know!

Originally Posted by xjapan

Hi there. New user to the forum, hope you can help.

I'm planning Xmas presents for my sons, who'll be 5 and 6.5 at that stage. They both follow me around as I do small woodworking projects and get involved, and I'm really happy about that.

I thought it may encourage them further if I get them both a basic toolkit for Xmas, then we can maybe knock together a toolbox each as a first project. Bird boxes and the like later.

My budget is around $150ish NZD ($120 AUD) each, which I realise isn't a lot. Can I have some recommendations please on some makes/models tools?

My basic list so far is something like:

Eye protection
Steel ruler
Square
Carpenters pencil (for some reason they like those!)
Saw - but what type?
Block plane? get a good one
Interchangeable tip driver (again, they like those)
Hammer (maybe a tacking hammer - something light anyway) 3 or 4 oz Worrington pattern
Some clamps? let them borrow yours !
That and some pine and they should be good to start.

We've just settled into a house, and don't actually have a workbench as yet - maybe I should try to get one built before Xmas? build one with them as part of Santa's "gift"
Put in a vice at their level?

I'd add hearing protection

I'd add hearing protection

For who?

G'Day xjapan,
For a cheap woodwork bench,
head down to your local demolition yard and get 2 secondhand solid core doors;
make up a simple frame out of 4x2;
one for the top with an option 12mm ply skin
and the other used for a lower tool shelf.
Simple, quick and sturdy if you screw & bolt it together.
This is what I've been using for the past 3 years.
Cheers, crowie

Hi xjapan,
I don't think they will cost anyway near $120, but Ditto to what the others have said, & I think that Coping Saw Blades may fit the Junior Hacksaw, if not, a Coping Saw, too.
You can cut a lot of Shapes with them.
You may pick most of this up at a Sunday Market.
We have quite a few here in Vic. every Sunday, & I have done very well from them.
Regards,
issatree.

Ian said "I'd add hearing protection "

My 2.5 year old refers to his ear muffs as "ear muscles". He has to make sure his ear muscles are on. Just on the safety glasses do they make proper safety glasses for young kids that meet regulations?

Great idea for xmas, perhaps you could precut the pine for the first project toolbox and make a kit to add to the present.

Kepp the ideas coming Pete.

How about a spokeshave each?
The old stanley 64 shaves are fairly small, plentiful and cheap.
A Stanley Bailey Spokeshave Index
I started my younger daughter with one of them when she was about 5 or 6. At the shavehorse she made several magic wands. She learned surprisingly quickly about grain direction etc too. She also would put a piece of scrap on edge in the vice and shave the edges and corners. She loved the curly shavings. After a quick lesson on how to hold it to cut by pushing or pulling, the spokeshave kept her busy for ages while I did other stuff nearby.

A first aid kit.

My three began with a very basic cross pein hammer, hacksaw and ruler, but nothing sharp enough to cause them serious injury. They soon let me know when they wanted to move onto bigger and better things and were let loose with spokeshave instead of planes until they could be trusted to use properly edged tools from my kit.

The temptation is for us to buy them all of the bell's and whistles, but they tend to prefer playing with the boxes the arrive in , but once their enthusiasm kicks into gear they're great fun to have around the shop.

I reckon the best way to start them off is get 'em a hammer and nails and get yourself a bandsaw. Then cut timber into odd bits and let them just make stuff. Mate's kids who are around the same age were with me in the shop a few weeks ago and went crazy with all the offcuts The little one was flying his plane around the shop.. It was a small block of wood about 80mmx50mmx100mm with a holesaw cutout nailed onto it

Originally Posted by xjapan

Hi there. New user to the forum, hope you can help.

I'm planning Xmas presents for my sons, who'll be 5 and 6.5 at that stage. They both follow me around as I do small woodworking projects and get involved, and I'm really happy about that.

I thought it may encourage them further if I get them both a basic toolkit for Xmas, then we can maybe knock together a toolbox each as a first project. Bird boxes and the like later.

My budget is around $150ish NZD ($120 AUD) each, which I realise isn't a lot. Can I have some recommendations please on some makes/models tools?

My basic list so far is something like:

Eye protection
Steel ruler
Square
Carpenters pencil (for some reason they like those!)
Saw - but what type?
Block plane?
Interchangeable tip driver (again, they like those)
Hammer (maybe a tacking hammer - something light anyway)
Some clamps?

That and some pine and they should be good to start.

We've just settled into a house, and don't actually have a workbench as yet - maybe I should try to get one built before Xmas? Put in a vice at their level?

Got a chance to talk to an expert (Mum) today, many years in early childhood education and she said.

Low workbench
Vise
Small hammer
Small c/cut saw
Egg-beater drill
Supervision

She used the word 'supervision' a number of times, so I'm guessing it's not optional.
Muttered something about little so-n-sos cutting and nailing things they weren't meant to if you turned your back.

Bear in mind that the age-group these tools were intended for was the 3 and 4 year-olds.

I like the idea of a spoke shave as any sharp edge tool with that definite 'away' action has to be a good thing. Get them to make useful stuff for themselves, their own bench-hooks, tool-box, pencil case etc.

And just now, I've realized that it must have been Mum that kicked off my woodworking 'career' all those years ago.
Thanks Mum.

Originally Posted by seanz

Get them to make useful stuff for themselves, their own bench-hooks, tool-box, pencil case etc.

When they get a bit bigger, from about 9 or 10, pencil boxes seem popular and make great gifts for their friends. You have a little while before getting there though. Here's my younger one making me a father's day (oops it was my birthday) gift:
Galootish Sliding Lid Pencil Box

FWW has an online article about ww with kids, with links to a few projects, but it seems to need some sort of membership now:
Woodworking for Kids - Fine Woodworking Article

Thanks all!

I had a look around the tool sections of Mitre 10 and Bunnings at the weekend, and to be honest only managed to scrape up $100 of ideas for a very decent selection of tools to experiment with. It would be good to go for a couple of old Stanley block planes rather than new, cheap, poorer quality ones, but that might be a stretch and also not very Christmassy if you're a wee boy (works for me though!).

A few people raised very good points about close supervision and safety gear. I'll be investing in safety gear, for sure. I'll also be storing these kits away with my own. "Only for use with Daddy", and for a good long while. That's a winner for everyone in my opinion!

This just showed up on Reddit, and is quite relevant: