How to help out in the shop when you know absolutely nothing about woodworking?

help her keep the shop cleaned up... I find I spend about 1 ++ hour a day just sweeping up and picking up. and if she's working with power tools, don't distract her when one is running...

+1 on that....nothing worse then to have to clean up after a hard days work
 
Stand around, Say things like
  • Measure once, Cut twice
  • Let me go get you the board stretcher
  • I'm sure no one will notice that
  • Are you sure you'r supposed to be doing that?
  • Remember, There's no more important safety rule than to wear these, safety glasses...
 
Hahaha I cracked up reading these replies!!! Thanks everyone!

LOL I can't wait to say "Measure once, cut twice" and "I'm sure no one will notice that".

I'll be sure to stay out of the way of those machines!
 
...LOL I can't wait to say "Measure once, cut twice" and "I'm sure no one will notice that"...

Similarly, "You've cut that board three times and it's still too short" is always helpful.

When I was a construction inspector, I always liked to just stand there with a scowl on my face and my arms folded across my chest. Then every once in a while I'd just say "You're doing it wrong" as I shook my head slowly from side to side. :rolleyes:

Seriously, some of the best help for your mom would be experience. Urge her to dive into a couple of small projects (like boxes or tabletop plant stands or cutting boards or recipe book stands or...you get the idea). Little practice projects like that can help someone get familiar with the tools and the techniques, as well as gain a ton of confidence, before diving into hundreds of dollars worth of materials for the "real" project. Even that Michelangelo fella did a few paint-by-number kits and pencil sketches before he tackled that ceiling over there at the church. ;) :D
 
I didnt realize this was Cynthia's daughter.

I had to read a few threads to figure it out.

I think you just have to watch your vocabulary around the shop with your mother.

Learn to use words like unique, creative, and say things like wow, Im impressed.
 
...I think you just have to watch your vocabulary around the shop with your mother...

If Cynthia's anything like me, Rachel is likely to pick up a few new words for her own vocabulary. (If not new words, at least some fresh combinations of existing words.) I know the word "mother" fits in with a lot of the words I use in the shop. :p
 
Help clean up before work, and help clean up after work. Lots of encouragement between the clean ups. Rachel, I see you're not shy about asking questions....I wonder from where you got that tendency....
 
I didnt realize this was Cynthia's daughter.

I had to read a few threads to figure it out.

I think you just have to watch your vocabulary around the shop with your mother.

Learn to use words like unique, creative, and say things like wow, Im impressed.

Very valuable advice!!

Haha I've had so many laughs reading the replies, I'm so glad I joined this site! It's nice to burst out laughing after working on assignments all day!

It's true.. My mom taught me well. I ask questions all the time. How else do you learn? :laugh2::thumb:
 
Rachel, safety glasses over eyes all the time. No dangling earrings, hair, sleeves, cuffs, etc.. Don't act bored, provide quiet time while she is running power equipment. I don't remember, does "mom" have a bandsaw? If so, maybe cutting some things for her? A scroll saw? Making a puzzle from your name. There are many many things you can create together and make lasting memories. Google beginning wood working projects, even middle school wood projects. There are many simple, painted, stained projects that are fun to make and will be great Christmas presents for the coming season. But, and this is a big but, most of all, HAVE A SAFE WONDERFUL TIME WITH MOM!!!!:thumb:
 
You know what might be really helpful? Get her to explain to you what she's doing as she does it. Ask her to talk you through the projects while you watch. Not just the 'what', but the why: why this way and not that way. You'd learn a lot, and I've always found that I reconsider the things I'm doing when I have to explain them to someone else.

It's easy to forget that there are hundreds of little things we do when we're working on something, and we learned each one by trial and error and painful experience. That's the hardest part about woodworking, learning all those tiny little things. Even the way you hold your hands when you're sawing something, the way you notice the grain, and so cut the piece one way instead of another...

Thanks,

Bill
 
Jonathan and Bill have really good suggestions.:thumb::thumb: I'm not sure that the New Yankee Workshop airs in her part of the world. If you think she knows who Norm is it would be good to say, "Mom, are you sure Norm would do it that way?".:rofl::rofl:
 
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