The Twenty Woodworking Tools: Every Kid Should Have and Know How to Use

By Robert Bergdahl

The Twenty Woodworking Tools Every Kid Should Have and Know How to Use Hey Kids! Grandpa Bob here, ready to show you the 20 woodworking tools you should have and I'll teach you how to use them. So, what's in your toolbox? Do you even have one and do you know how to use the tools that are in it? You may not if no one has shown you and that's where I come in. By the time you finish this book you will know: Where to get your tools Why you need to learn to use your tools correctly How to take care of your tools How to use your tools safely I learned how to use hand tools from my dad and my grandpa and now I am going to teach you some of the things I learned from them. So get ready to begin a life-long adventure in woodworking with hand tools! -Grandpa Bob

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 10, 2020
• ISBN: 9781645691839

Book preview

1

Why Do You Need to Learn to Use Hand Tools?

When you watch all the DIY shows on TV these days, you have to wonder where the people learned to use all those tools! Like everyone on the shows, you are probably fascinated by the array of power tools that they use. Power tools certainly make the job go faster, but they tend to be noisy, dangerous, and dirty.

C:\Users\USERFO~2\AppData\Local\Temp\FineReader12.00\media\image3.jpeg

They are also expensive, and most parents are hesitant to let their son or daughter use the family table saw. So what can you do? You have to go old school and use hand tools. Those DIY stars on TV started working with wood when they were kids, using hand tools, and you can too!

If you have the right tools, you can make just about anything out of wood and actually fix a lot of other stuff. There really isn’t anything more gratifying than crafting something yourself out of a nice piece of wood, easily obtained from a lumberyard such as Home Depot or Lowes, or even better, from your own garage or wood pile.

I have a great scrap pile in my barn. My dad taught me never to throw out a piece of wood because you never know when you may need it! Your dad or grandpa probably have the same kind of pile as well as boxes of nails and screws that you can use, but be sure to get permission from them before you take any!

C:\Users\USERFO~2\AppData\Local\Temp\FineReader12.00\media\image4.jpeg

One of my wood piles!

They will be more than happy to help you if you ask and you will want to keep them happy by not messing with their stuff without their permission.

Speaking of permission, do not—I repeat, do not—ever use their tools without asking. You will have to take my word for it, but I don’t like people messing with my tools.

C:\Users\USERFO~2\AppData\Local\Temp\FineReader12.00\media\image5.jpeg

These were left in the grass and rusted!

There is nothing worse for a wood worker than to go looking for a tool when they are right in the middle of a project, only to not be able to find it—or worse yet, finding it broken! I have found a lot of tools that were left out in the weather by someone else that became rusted or broken. It’s not a pleasant thing, but I know that when you get into a project, you can forget to put the tools away after work. It happens, but if you are using Grandpa’s tools, try to take care of them, and if you lose or break any, own up to it. He won’t be happy, but he will understand. After all, he’s your grandpa!

When I was about ten years old, I was using my dad’s brace (which I’ll bet most people don’t even have anymore) to drill a hole in some project I was working on, and I was having a hard time turning it in the very hard wood. So I took my trusty hammer and began smacking the handle of the brace to make it turn.

C:\Users\USERFO~2\AppData\Local\Temp\FineReader12.00\media\image6.jpeg

Brace

Well, it did turn, but it also shattered the handle! I was really scared to tell my dad, so I hid the drill under his workbench, hoping he would never find it. As you can guess, he did find it, and the funny thing is, he didn’t seem that mad about it—he was more upset that I tried to hide it. He told me that he would teach me how to use his tools so that this kind of thing would not happen again.

My dad was a master craftsman (someone who is an expert woodworker) who taught me and my brother Mike how to use the tools, and I kept learning things from him long after I had grown up.

My dad

2

Hand Tool Safety!

I am a pretty old guy now, and they call me grandpa. There wasn’t a lot of emphasis put on safety back in my day, but everyone is very aware of working safely these days. I have learned about personal safety the hard way! Oh yeah, I have probably hurt myself in every conceivable way with tools over the years because I was in a hurry or not paying attention to what I was doing.

C:\Users\USERFO~2\AppData\Local\Temp\FineReader12.00\media\image8.jpeg

Never leave nails pointed up!

I have stepped on nails that were left in boards, smashed my fingers with my hammer, pinched my fingers with pliers, and have run the handsaw over my hand when it slipped off a board. Most accidents can be avoided—really—and the reason I am telling you this is that I want you to avoid the pain and anguish that I went through. I lived in Detroit when I was eleven, and the people in the hospital emergency