I need some advise and maybe a plan on making

[Arlin Eastman]

a small work bench for my grandson who loves woodworking and is 7.5 years old.

For 2 years now he has been using a hammer, finishing or brad nails with a needle nose pliers to hold the nails, a square, chalk link, goggles, and several other things.
In October last year he started using a back saw since a friend of his broke his jewelers saw I gave him. He did really good on scribing a line with a square and then cutting several pieces of 1x4 pine but he has nothing to hold it with at home.

The work bench should be able to break down and reassembled back when he gets home and still be solid also.

Thanks guys
Arlin

[5thumbs]

Maybe you should consider a Workmate from Sears or equivalent. It's small, should be solid enough for someone his size, and folds for easy storage. It offers various workholding options and as an added bonus, maybe he'll let you use it occasionally. (You may need to provide him something to stand on.)

[hbmcc]

Google "tool tote". The simple 1x_ pine board tool tote that looks like a house with no roof. Grandpa made the top handle a flat board extending past the end walls a couple inches, with a hand hole, so I could cut and hammer on it. Your grandson can even help make the tote.

It's not perfect, but you can use it to hold tools if he outgrows it. Mine rotted away when I was pretty young, but I remembered enough to repeat it with my son. It provides a safe place to cut and hammer,, and keep tools.

I still have my 20-inch panel saw. It was a 5th B-day, or Xmas gift. I consider that size to be a child's tool. As I did block planes, and hand drills. Our "toys" were utilitarian and not toys.

[Strokes77]

Arlin,

Here's a thread I posted on building the bench for my sons. Some good ideas here. The end result is perfect. Oldest is 6. He can use a backsaw, coping saw, block plane, spokeshave, sandpaper and glue all without much if any supervision... In that I can work on my bench, while he works on his.

I'm not kidding, I will look over and he is fitting joints... He calls them dovetails, they look more like just square box joints, but he can fit boards together.

Simplicity with 2x4 half laps, and a solid oak top is how we ended up, and it's perfect. He just needs a stable platform to hold his face vise stead. None of his operations require him to use the flat top of his bench yet. Long term, dog holes and a holdfast will add to his options.

Kids workbench post

[hbmcc]

That's an outstanding bench, 77! I am jealous. Well, the kid in me is. To think about it, it could work as base for my next tabletop grill.

Funny, Brese just posted about his new, in the plans, not-so-beater, beater bench that he does all his work on. I had to laugh. It's going to be made to look nice. ... So much for "beater."