My son's first woodworking project!

Submitted by Andef on Tue, 01/03/2012 - 10:20

My 12 year old son expressed some interest in learning how to build things. We looked for several "kit" projects but they all seemed too juvenile to him. In the meantime his "Grandma" (an old family friend) asked me to find her a tray that she could use to carry her cup of tea on so when it sloshed it wasn't running down her arm. I looked and looked but couldn't find one in the stores that had a handle that she could grip. I was very surprised and relieved to find the pefect project: this wonderful serving tray!
We printed the PDF, drove to the store and a few hours later- her tray was finished and my son was hooked on wood working.
Overall it was a very simple project- the thing that caused the some difficulty was figuring out the process for shaping the handle- that grid diagram was very confusing to us, but it may be because we are novices.
Aside from that- we could not be happier and we are looking forward to completing some other projects together.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$12
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax espresso stain and acrylic paint to cover the areas where the glue wouldn't take the stain
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

spiceylg

Tue, 01/03/2012 - 11:29

You must be so proud! Tell him for me that he did a fantastic job and welcome to the group!

Guest (not verified)

Wed, 01/04/2012 - 05:30

Absolutely fantastic job! Welcome to the world of woodworkers, and keep up the good work! And please post your next project for us all to see!

Jake

Sun, 03/10/2013 - 11:55

Just let him know that he did a fabulous job for his first project. When all of us started we made many many mistakes but learned valuable lessons. Woodworking requires math, geometry, patience, planning, preciseness, and a lot of other things. You do not need a bunch of expensive tools. Some of the best projects I have seen were all built with hand tools. Clamps are a must however. Folks on this site will gladly share ideas and direction anytime your son needs it. By the way I still make a lot of mistakes, but only me and my shadow know.