Woodworking With Kids: Safety

When my son Andrew was five years old, he loved hanging around the shop with me. He watched the curls come off the wood as I planed a board and wanted to try it himself. I showed him how the plane blade was adjusted, demonstrated how sharp the blade was by shaving hair off my arm, and explained how the plane straightened a crooked board edge. I was reluctant to let him handle the tool because of the sharp blade, but his enthusiasm and excitement convinced me to give him a chance. I told him to keep both hands on top of the plane and to put the plane down as soon as he was finished, figuring he couldn’t cut himself if both hands were away from the blade. Over the next several days he spent hours using every plane in my shop, churning out curls, rounding corners, and straightening boards at a prodigious rate. From planes he moved on to saws. This experience taught me that even very young children can be trusted to use real tools. Fifteen years of woodworking with kids has confirmed this initial experience.

Before kids arrive: setting up
Safe woodworking starts with proper set up. This includes a child-sized workbench, a vice, eye protection, appropriate tools, and a separate pounding area. After set up is complete and the children arrive, I give a quick tour of the shop and then explain how to carry tools and use the vice and saw. I’ll show older kids how to use the drills, too. Once children know and understand safe procedures, the trick is to keep reminding them in a non-threatening manner until understanding is transformed into habit.

The Workbench
Each child should have a proper-height workbench (24-27” depending on age) with enough space to work. One summer I saw a boat-building area for children at a maritime festival. Boat building with kids is a great idea, and the kids were having a good time, but the workbench was too high and there were too many children for the allotted space. I could hardly watch. One child had to reach so high to use a drill that her face was nearly the same level as the drill bit. Other children were using saws and hammers almost on top of each other. A lower table and more workspace would have made the event a great deal safer.

Woodworking vice
At that same woodworking festival, I watched children cut dowels by holding the dowel in one hand and a saw in the other. I could see this was frustrating because the dowel moved with each stroke of the saw. It’s also risky because little fingers were close to the moving saw blade. Putting the wood in a vice would have made cutting safer by allowing children to keep both hands on the saw handle, away from the saw teeth, and by keeping the wood steady. A vice also makes sawing easier and less frustrating.

Saws
A small, sharp, fine-tooth saw is essential. Choose a saw 12-14” long with 12-14 teeth per inch. Avoid big saws, saws with less than 12 teeth per inch, and aggressive cutting “tool box saws.” These saws will aggressively cut fingers as well as wood and make cuts harder to start. Smaller keyhole saws with a hacksaw blade are great for an introductory saw or for cutting dowels and other small wood.

Eye protection
Children should wear eye protection. Safety glasses should have adjustable straps and lenses that are curved back to cover the side of the eye. The straps allow the safety glasses to be tightened so they will fit small heads properly and won’t fall off. Extra-small safety glasses to fit children can be found at safety supply stores. Another source for eye protection is the large school supply catalogs. Many have the more traditional goggles. These work well, too. I tell kids that goggles will take a little time to get used to but that soon they won’t think about them.

Most children will wear goggles without complaint. I tell them my safety glasses have saved my eyes many times from globs of oil, wood splinters, metal shavings and sawdust. The rule is “You must wear safety glasses in the shop.” No exceptions. If exceptions are made, it is easy to become mired in endless judgment calls about whether a child should be wearing goggles. Out of ten kids, maybe one or two will complain. If this happens, make sure the goggles aren’t too tight or defective in some way. Have them try another pair or a different style. If they still complain, have a safe place they can “take a break” with their goggles off for a minute or two. Usually they will soon be back in shop with their goggles on.

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