Just like kids, we all get excited and happy when we build items ourselves. Woodworking can be a fun hobby for anyone interested. It offers you an opportunity to blow away steam and learn other essential skills in the process. With the woodworking skills at hand, you gain self-reliance and confidence to improve your home. Just like in children, woodworking skills enhance your creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
However, woodworking, which was meant to be a fun activity, can turn into a chore if you don’t know where to begin. Besides, working with unfamiliar tools like table saws, sanders, push blocks among others can also result in accidents. Therefore, it is essential to learn the necessary skills when woodworking. Here are a few tips that you can learn from kids’ woodworking skills.
Plan Ahead
Kids easily get confused when they don’t know what they are doing, and so can you. Planning your strategy is the best way to make early decisions. Organize the supplies and tools that you will need for your project. This is one of the essential stages that even professionals tend to ignore.
You should also know the importance of protective gear and when to use them. Also, be sure to remove all debris from the floor to avoid tripping over. Next, ensure to keep away anything that can be caught in machinery such as long hair and scarfs.Take safety measures when using any type of tool.
Although you will be thrilled to start building, start off slowly. Learn one skill at a time to avoid confusing the processes. Once you have mastered a skill, move to the next one progressively.
KnowTools
The first tools that kids are introduced to are the hand tools. Using real devices over the toy replications allows the kids to practice safety measures. As a beginner, you have little or no knowledge of tools. And with the various tools in the market, you can easily get overwhelmed trying to know how to use them all. Furthermore, the tools are expensive and nearly impossible to buy all at once.
If you don’t have any training, it is crucial to stay away from power tools due to their dangerous nature. Start with projects that involve using one or two instruments at a time. Once you are familiar with the essential tools, you will be confident enough to learn safely using other new tools.
Know Your Wood
There are various types of wood available for different projects. They are categorized as hardwoods and softwoods. The hardwoods include walnut, mahogany, oak, cherry, and maple, among others. The softwoods are spruce, pine. Fir and cedar. Just as a child, if you are a beginner, you should start with the softwoods. Not only are they easy to manipulate, but they are also affordable and readily available.
Know the unique qualities of each wood species, such as the texture, grain, weight, and smell. Besides, it is vital to know the right moisture content of the woods.
Know-How to Read a Tape Measure
Although reading tape measure might sound easy, it is challenging to some adults as much as it is to kids. Knowing how to read a tape measure is crucial in woodworking. It is more like reading a ruler.Mostly, the measurements don’t come in even numbers, they are usually as fractions or decimals. Therefore, you have to understand the different metric units that are commonly used. You need to know how inches convert to a foot and vice versa.
Learn How to Sew a Straight Line
This is also another area that some woodworkers lack skills. The secret is to secure the material on a solid workbench that does not wobble. The next step is to secure the wood with clamps to prevent it from moving around when you are working. This step is handy in ensuring your safety because most accidents happen when materials slip during cutting, drilling, or sanding.
Another tip to cutting a straight line is marking your wood. Measure your material and mark the wood with a carpenters pencil before cutting. All these activities will enhance your hand coordination, fine motor manipulation, as well as visual skills. Finally, hold the hand saw with your waist and shoulder in a natural position. Set a steady rhythm in the back and forth motion of slicing the wood. Keep your non-dominant hand away from the blades.
Swinging A Hammer Correctly
This is one dangerous part when you are woodworking. When you lack the necessary skills to handle a hammer, then you are likely to hit your fingers or bend the nails. So how do you teach kids how to properly swing with a hammer? The first point is to ensure the safety of the children.
Use pliers: When you are a beginner, do not hold the nail with your bare fingers. Use pliers to avoid smashing your fingers with a hammer.
Use softwood: When working on your DIY projects, always use softwoods. This provides ease of use and convenience. Not only is it safe to handle, but it also easy to penetrate the wood without bending the nail.
Use regular-sized nail: This provides you with a large surface area to hit with the hammer. You are likely to hit the nail without hurting yourself in the process.
Hit lightly and slowly: Ensure that you swing the hammer at waist height to gain leverage.
Sanding Wood
Another simple task that kids may know is sanding materials. Although there are many ways of preparing the wood surface, sanding is one practical step in ensuring a quality outcome. It goes a long way in determining how your wood will look after painting or staining. An important tip is to do most of the sanding before cutting the material.
Bottom Line
Woodworking doesn’t need to be a complicated task. It all depends on how you handle the learning process. Take step by step to not get overwhelmed with the vast knowledge. Start with the basic steps that even a child can follow. Learn the essential safety measures, plan ahead, and know the tools and techniques progressively.
Dan Kihato
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It’s Great. Thank you for sharing.
Wood working is very time consuming and fun work. Everyone should know little about wood working because it take more time and patience.