Father/Son "Woodworking"

Wes Bischel

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896
OK, more assembly of manufactured "wood like" products.:rolleyes: Since I haven't been able to get into the shop - and our bookshelves are overflowing, we broke down and bought some el cheapo knockdown units. Nothing special there, but it did give me an opportunity for some Dad/Son bonding!:thumb:

After we assembled the first one, Sam found a few steps in the process he wanted to do.
First was driving the KD fasteners in with the drill/driver - I started them with a screw driver and he followed driving them home. (thank goodness for clutches!:D)
bookcase sam driving fasteners.jpg
bookcase sam driving fasteners 2.jpg
Next, he installed the wood dowels in the toe kick with his hammer.
bookcase sam installing dowels.jpg
Finally he drove the nails for the back. (We're working on "letting the hammer do the work.":D)
bookcase sam installing back.jpg

All in all we had a lot of fun putting these bookshelves together - which is unusual for KD furniture!

Wes

PS The drill/driver is the little Metabo Vaughn had recommended a while back. It's small and slow enough Sam can handle it by himself. My regular driver is too heavy and the speed too high even on low.
 
That is cool. You put the family in family woodworking....:thumb:

Its almost a shame these days we have lost out on the dad-showing-son jobs. Years ago it was how you learned a trade. I am fortunate in that is the way I grew up; being farmers/loggers that is, I grew up with my Grandfather, Father and Uncle all showing me how to cut wood, how to drive a tractor, how to take care of cows and grow crops.

Recently I became aware of how much I learned from them. A a guy at work bought a few acres and is doing the homestead thing. The problem is he has no idea what he is doing. So he buys books and reads magazines. One magazine, Country Life, explains the most obvious stuff that it was almost irritating. A woman at work was laughing too, but she explained it pretty simply. "Travis, this is how we grew up. We know this stuff."

In this world of day care centers, nannies, maids and cell phones and GPS's, its nice to see people spend more time with their kids. Not just watching them play sports from the sidelines as their children bond with the coaches, but spend time with their parents. Despite being thumped on pretty hard growing up, my family's influence did a lot of good for me. I'm sure it will for you and your son. Good for you my friend, good for you.:thumb:
 
A true "Kodak Moment"! :thumb: It seems that there was always a "short person" under foot when I was doing things around the house, and I miss having a "right hand man" around....now that they're bigger it's a chore for them when I need their help. :rolleyes: Enjoy it and plan a few more projects!
 
That's awesome. My 4 and 6 year olds like their shop time, especially the 6 year old. I have no illusions that it will last forever, but for now, they're learning some basic skills and have a "space" of their own. When i work in the shop and they want to join me, they let me know what they want to do (nailing, drilling, planing, sanding, painting, sawing, etc.). I set them up, and we work on our various tasks. My 6 year old son is getting pretty good drilling, sawing, and hand planing (i tuned up a beater #2 for him). I do pick projects to work on together - usually making toys, gifts, simple items for the house, etc. Even when i'm working on something more precise, we definitely do get to share time.
I remember time in the shop with my dad when i was up to his belt buckle. Those were good times, even if we were just playing with the piles of sawdust.
On another note, i've got some friends that teach high school - one is an art teacher. The other day she was lamenting the lack of basic skills her recent crop of students have. She's arguing that they should be in shop learning how to make dust pans and coat trees instead of yet another athletic pursuit.
There's a balance that's gotten rare.
Paul Hubbman
 
Thanks for posting that Wes... good to see some father-son bonding other than watching the tube together. My three daughters all used to "help" me in the shop when they were younger. I even named my fledgling little side business Three Sisters Woodshop after them. Alas, at 23, 21 and 16 they have their own worlds to attend to. I asked the older one once when she was around 16 why she rarely came down in my shop anymore... and she thought for a second and then asked me how much time did I spend in my Mothers sewing room when I was a teenager. Had to admit... she had me there. It's OK... they are still my little girls, I'm just not the only man in their life anymore. :huh:
 
Wes, looks like Sam was very happy to be helping, great pics. I have a tiny hammer ready for my 2.5 yr old daughter to try out this spring once the weather is warm and all this snow it gone. I've said it hear before, but one of my favorite presents from my grandparents was a stack of wood, a hammer and nails. Hears to more "shop" time with the youngster. :thumb:
 
I'm jealous... my son is 35 years old and a better craftsman than I am... we built and sanded a 2x4 "entertainment" shelf from a "nude" furniture store when he was about 6.. last time we did much construction together.. he wasn't much interested after that..
and from the looks of it all, I don't think I'll get any grandsons to play with..

I was fortunate that I could participate in his sports and scouts with him though..
 
OK, more assembly of manufactured "wood like" products.:rolleyes: Since I haven't been able to get into the shop - and our bookshelves are overflowing, we broke down and bought some el cheapo knockdown units. Nothing special there, but it did give me an opportunity for some Dad/Son bonding!:thumb:

After we assembled the first one, Sam found a few steps in the process he wanted to do.
First was driving the KD fasteners in with the drill/driver - I started them with a screw driver and he followed driving them home. (thank goodness for clutches!:D)
View attachment 18153
View attachment 18154
Next, he installed the wood dowels in the toe kick with his hammer.
View attachment 18155
Finally he drove the nails for the back. (We're working on "letting the hammer do the work.":D)
View attachment 18156

All in all we had a lot of fun putting these bookshelves together - which is unusual for KD furniture!

Wes

PS The drill/driver is the little Metabo Vaughn had recommended a while back. It's small and slow enough Sam can handle it by himself. My regular driver is too heavy and the speed too high even on low.

Wes,

Thats great! I'm sure he will remember working with Dad for a long time.

I just did something very similar with my 3 year old. He had a blast "building" a book shelf with me. He carried his entire toy tool collection up to his room to help me. Then again this is the same kid that would usually rather watch a recording of the New Yankee Workshop than children's programming.
 
My wife keeps telling me, "Can't Alyson have girl stuff?" She hated my train cradle I made for her,and scoffs at the tools I bought for Christmas. These are small, plastic tools as she is only 19 months.

Still my dad came up a few weeks ago to work on some burners that were not working on my stove. As he worked on the range, Alyson went into her playroom, grabbed her plastic pliers, wrench, cordless drill and screw driver and "helped" her Grandfather

It was kind of funny because my Dad never had much patience with us when we were growing up. Trust me, you learned to hold the drop light just where he wanted it to without moving or you faced his wrath. With Alyson though, he would step back, let Alyson play with some of his tools,or put her tools on the parts he had, and never said a word.

Funny how Grandchildren change people. One of the greatest things about being a parent I think, is watching your parents interact with them.

Four_Gen_Johnson.JPG
 
Never give up... My son had no interest in my shop or any of the household projects while he was growing up.

He has owned his own home for a number of years now (he is 33 years old). But a week ago when I visited him, he had a shower that leaked and a garbage disposal that had to be replaced. He couldn't get close enough - he made sure he understood each step, and drove at least half the screws. The tools I had given him over the years miraculously appeared as needed, and I got chewed out for not keeping the screws in order (with labels like "these are sheet rock screws") that I had given him when he got the house. We had issues like the difference between force and finesse, but at the end of the day, everything worked, and we were still friends.
 
Sam is very proud of his bookshelves since he helped build them. We both had a lot of fun. I really am hoping we can get into the shop soon.
Thanks for the support and stories.:D

Wes
 
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