I really like the idea behind this kid-sized workmate. Keep the workpiece clamped to keep little hands off the wood when they are sawing, screwing, drilling, chiseling or even nailing. It is when kids (or adults) use one hand to hold the workpiece that injuries happen.

Unfortunately, this particular bench is built by someone with more welding experience than probably most woodworkers have. If you’ve got the skill though, this looks like a great project.

I do recommend that if you are buying an actual Black & Decker Workmate for your child to use, get the one that has the step to stand on. It not only gives your child a little height, it also adds their weight to the bench so it can’t slide.  It also has a 450lb capacity just in case you need it for your own use.

Thanks to Sean Hellman for sharing Ian Swain’s idea for mounting a drill bit in a wooden file handle to make what is essentially a hand drill for kids.  These are probably more accurately referred to as a Gimlets.  They lack the power of a Hand Brace, and the rpm of the egg beater hand drills, but they do seem to work well, especially in green wood.

You can see Video of it here from Sean Hellman.

Here is Ian Swain’s site where he sells the Palm Drill.

Highland Woodworking has just put together a grouping of various woodworking tools for kids. This is a good quick way to get your child up and running with a set of decent tools. These are not cheap toy tools, but quality woodworking tools that just happen to work well for kids.
You can find and purchase the entire set at HighlandWoodworking.com

My only objection of their choice in tools is the coping saw.  These are frustratingly annoying for kids to use and the one way to turn a kid off from woodworking is to frustrate them.  I suggest replacing it with my recommendations for  a better choice for kids saws.

When your child is ready to use a handsaw, safety should be the first requirement. Secure the wood with clamps, vises or kid friendly miter-box.  Kids should be taught to keep both hands on the saw or one hand behind their back.  That will eliminate nearly all potential sawing injuries.

With that out of the way the question comes to what saw is the right saw for them.  As with all woodworking took choices, there are quite a few choices.

Hack saws made for cutting metal are actually a good starter wood saw for kids.  The teeth are small and not overly aggressive.  This makes it easy to start and easy to move back and forth.  The teeth are hardened to will stand up to a fair amount of abuse and still cut fairly well.  The blade is not very deep so it does not get stuck in the wood as easily as a typical wood saw.  As an added bonus, the saw blade can be flipped around so it can be changed to cut either on the push stroke, or the pull stroke.  Be sure to get one that tensions the blade on both ends, not one of the flimsy ones where the end of the blade is not supported.  Great Neck and Stanley both offer good affordable hack saws.  Replacement blades are abundant and inexpensive.  When they are ready to use a real wood saw, this one can serve it’s real purpose of cutting metal and will be a tool that could last their lifetime.

Pull-saws come in a variety of shapes and sizes and have teeth that cut on the pull stroke.  The teeth are usually sharper than traditional saws and the blades are thinner, which means they cut easier and faster.  I recommend the carpenter style saws that have teeth on just one side.  The double sided Ryoba saws are handy with one side set for rip cutting and the other for crosscut, but the presence of teeth on both sides of the blade is a bit more of a safety risk for kids.  Good yet affordable pull saws are made by Shark and Irwin.  The one drawback to pull saws is that the teeth are sharp and fairly easily damaged if misused.

Toolbox Saws are short and generally have a thicker blade which makes them very sturdy.  I am a big fan of the Stanley 15″ yellow toolbox saw.  The yellow plastic handle makes it look like a toy, but it is not.  The teeth cut on both the push and pull stroke so it cuts fast and easily.  The blade guard is secure and completely covers the teeth so it protects them from kids who pick up and put away their tools roughly.  This is a good saw for kids, and while you are ordering them one, get a second for yourself.  You’ll be amazed at how often you need it.

Coping Saws or Jig Saws are best avoided for kids.  The blades often bind and break when used by young kids.  They take more practice than parents realize and a gentler hand to make them work effectively.  Many parents make the mistake of starting their kids with a coping saw because they look smaller and more manageable for kids, but any of the other saws above are a better choice.

Better Sawing for Kids

Regardless of the type of saw you choose for your child it is important that children (and their parent) understand that sawing is actually a gentle act.  Many kids get the wrong impression from watching their parents that sawing is an aggressive, forceful thing…the harder you push the faster you cut.  The tighter you grip the saw, the faster you cut.  These are both false.   A saw should pushed and pulled gently to allow the teeth to do the work.  A saw should be gripped lightly, not tightly.  The general rule is that when you are sawing, if anything is clenched (teeth, hands, butt) you are doing something wrong in your approach to sawing.

I picked up this Stack-On Step N Stool toolbox for my son so he could stand on it while working at my workbench, and then store his tools in it when he is done.

They are made in the USA and well built.  They are deeper than the average toolbox this size and are well designed to be stable for kids or adults standing on them.  It is reported to hold up to 325lbs.  If you buy more than one, they stack up just great.  My son likes RED so we went with the red tool box, but they are also available in gray. (The gray one is the same size even though it doesn’t look like it in the photos)

My son loves it, and often uses it as a workbench and a seat in addition to its job as a step stool and toolbox.  I have to admit that I’ve used it as a low workbench on occasion too.

When a toy is made of wood in the shop and is a replica of a tool, then it is a good project for everyone involved.

Here is a nice example of a wooden toy hand plane patterned after a Stanley No 3.

I’ve already covered some tips for getting kid sized real tool sets, however sometimes you need to provide toy tool sets.  There are a few limiting factors that may cause you to choose toy tools instead of or in addition to real tools

• Kids are too young for certain tools
• You need a set of play tools that are furniture safe so kids can play with them in places where real tools would not be appropriate like in the car, in the living room, at grandma’s house…
• Kids need time to PLAY, when they aren’t being watched with eagle eyes and told, no hammering with the screwdriver, no running with the saw, don’t put that drill in your mouth…

There are a lot of toy tool sets to choose from.  Some are more realistic than others.  I have found that the ones that look more realistic don’t hold up as well, and also create some confusion over what is real and what is a toy.  If it’s a toy, they can PLAY, if it is not a toy, they can’t – or shouldn’t.  I like to make the distinction between toy and real to be clear.

• There are toy tool sets from Home Depot
• Toy tools  from Craftsman
• Environmentally friendly and recycled plastic toy tools
• And chunky wooden tool sets

And of course if you don’t want to buy them, here is a great example of toy tools you can make for or with your kids.

There are a number of tool sets for kids.  They all differ in what items they have and the quality of those items.  I tend to buy single tools at a time that are adult tools but approachable by kids.  I find they are often made a little more solidly and they are designed more for work than for play, so when put to use, they just function better.

However, I also have limited time for tool selecting, so I certainly understand the need to just buy a set of kid sized tools and go from their.

Kid Tool Set Safety

The sets come with a variety of tools, however, I encourage you to introduce one tool at a time , like one every few days.  It is easier to address function and tool safety.  It is also the time to address the specific rules of the tool. Such as

• Keep both hands on the saw
• Only saw on wood in the vise or in the miterbox
• No sawing on furniture.

It may be that some tools in the set need to be withheld for months or even years until you feel the tool is appropriate for the child’s age, skill and behavior.

Here are some sets of real tools [I covered toy tool sets here]

• Grip 9 piece childrens tool set
• Tool set.  I like that this one comes with clamps (a real safety aid)
• This tool set by Kaplan seems to be the most complete and look the most like real tools without all the fancy colors and diminutive sizes.
• 10Pc Tool Kit is another full set with clamps.  Interesting that they packaged it with a fret saw (a really deep coping saw)

When choosing tools, I look for the ones that look the most like mine.  It sometimes indicates quality, but most importantly my son wants to use THE tool I am using, so if his looks like mine, that helps a lot.

An “eggbeater” style hand drill is a relatively safe tool for kids to use.  They can often be found at garage sales or even on ebay.  Some are collectible and have more value, but most sell for under $15.  Older eggbeater drills made by Millers Falls or Stanley can still perform very well.  If you want to go the new route, there are a couple of good options:

Fiskars 8511 is a modern version with the gear enclosed so you don’t have to worry about fingers getting pinched on exposed gears (they rarely do).  The Fiskars 8516 is a colored version.

If you prefer the exposed  gear “old school” variety but want to buy new, this Schroeder hand drill is styled off some of the old Stanley models.

Neither these new hand drills or their older counterparts can hold or manage a drill bit larger than 1/4″ in diameter so stock up on a set of bits with 1/4″ and smaller drill bits.

A miter box is a great way to get kids started with sawing.  It guides the saw for them and generally keeps the sharp cutting teeth out of their way.  As with any woodworking, securing the wood being worked on is a crucial step in helping kids avoid injuries.

I like this Stanley Miter Box for several reasons.

• It can be easily screwed down to a bench so it doesn’t move while in use and create a dangerous situation (most miter boxes meet this requirement)
• It has a series of holes with special pegs that allow even a child to wedge a piece of wood in place within the box.  This means little hands don’t have to be in harm’s way.
• The height of the miter box is designed to keep the included saw from cutting into the miter box itself.  Essentially the back brace on the saw acts as a depth stop and prevents it from cutting past the wood.

The included saw works pretty well.  As a child progresses or learns to use a pull saw, that could be used with this box as well.  The only shortcoming would be that the saw would not be prevented from cutting into the bottom of the box.

The Stanley Miter Box can be purchased either with the saw (Model 20-600) or without the saw ( Model 20-112).  For the little bit extra (~$5), I got the one with the saw, for the depth stop feature.

Sooner or later if you are doing some woodworking with your young children, they will need a workbench.  Sometimes to do actual work, and sometimes just to pretend.  Here are some great ideas

Kid’s Workbench strong enough for Adults – This design is great because it is kid-sized, strong and can be used as a sawbench or work surface long after the child is grown.  This one is so simple to make that kids can help make it.

Kid's workbench to adult sawbench.

Classic Woodworking Bench in Kid Sizes – article and plans from American Woodworker.  This is a nice looking bench.  Wood look great in a shop or in the child’s bedroom.

Light Duty Kids Bench plans – this bench is pretty simple and includes a pegboard backer for hanging tools. Here is a similar bench with plans that can be purchased

Here is a set of workbench directions designed so kids can make the workbench, but the finished project is never shown, so it is hard to tell where the directions are leading you.

If you build your own, it is very important to have a clamp of some kind built in.  Kids can only be safe using tools if they are not using their hands to secure the work.  Unsecured wood leads to unsafe practices.  Unsafe practices lead to injuries and bad lifelong habits.  By all means, put at least one vice on it.

A simple clamp-on vise like the one on the left can be easy to put on and move around, or a more permanent one like the one on the right can make for a very solid vise without spending a lot of money.

Of course a workbench can always be purchased if you don’t have time to make one.  The wooden ones are preferred as they most resemble actual workbenches in form and function.  I avoid the plastic ones, no real work can ever take place on those.

• Sears Craftsman Kids Wooden Workbench
  
• Melissa & Doug Workbench
  
• Wooden Workbench by HaPe
  
• OTHER children’s workbenches for sale on Amazon.