1. Children should always be supervised when using tools. Even very trustworthy kids have lapses in judgment due to inexperience.

2. Wear safety glasses when using a hammer. The hammered nail may bounce up and ruin eyesight. Be cautious when prying nails out of boards. The hammer and the nail may fly up when the nail releases from the board.

3. Wear ear protection during hammering or any loud work. Ringing ears signal permanent hearing loss

4. Remind children to be aware of helpers. The helper should be alert, keep their head as far from the hammer’s path as possible and resist the urge to peer down at the work.

5. Never use a hammer with wobble in the head. It is an accident waiting to happen and it wastes force. Get the hammer repaired or buy a new one.

1. Hard surface: Hammering should be done on a hard surface. Hammering on carpet wastes work.

2. Pilot holes: Pilot holes prevent wood from splitting and help the nail go in straight. Help children drill straight pilot holes with a hand twist drill. Fit the drill with a narrower bit than the nail and put a piece of tape on the bit to show how deep to go. The hole should not be as long as the nail. A push drill is another handy tool for quick pilot holes. A nailset is indispensable. It is a punch for driving finishing nails below the surface of the wood. The tip is concave to fit over the top of the nail. It is also useful for driving other types of nails further in without marring the wood when the nail head is close to the surface of the wood. The nailset can also be hammered directly into the wood to make a shallow hole in place of the pilot hole to help youngsters start nails.

3. Ways to prevent smashed fingers: It is helpful to minimize smashed thumbs for the child in the beginning until they gain skill. The nail can be stuck through a piece of stiff paper or a Styrofoam ‘peanut’ so they can hold it. Later it will be easy to give up this aid as skill is gained connecting with the nail head.

4. Technique: In the beginning it is natural to hitch up on the hammer handle and move the wrist. As the beginner gains confidence they will move their hand towards the end of handle and use the whole arm and elbow. Show the beginner and explain that holding the hammer closer to the end and using the whole arm provides much more force but let them decide when to do it. A lighter hammer (10 ounces) is a good idea for younger children. Align the shoulder and arm with the direction the nail should go. Nails go in straight if the plane of the hammer face is perpendicular to the nail head. Therefore make the height of the nail and board waist height to help the beginning carpenter. More experienced carpenters will automatically adjust their wrists to accommodate different heights. The nail should be held with the thumb and the forefinger. Hammer the nail lightly until it is holding straight. Then let go of the nail and hammer using the whole arm and elbow. Bent nails are to be expected. Good easy hammering only happens after practice. It is amazing how our bodies make fine adjustments to drive woodworking tools with practice. Encourage children to remember how far they have come. Nails can be pulled out easily and without marring the wood by placing a block of wood or piece of cardboard under the hammer. If nails are extremely stubborn use a pry bar.

1. Supervise always: Children should always be supervised when using tools. Even very trustworthy kids have lapses in judgment due to inexperience.

2. Use a dust mask: A cheap dust mask or bandanna tied over the nose and mouth will reduce the amount of sawdust inhaled during sawing or sanding. Young woodworkers especially should get into this habit.

3. Sharp tools are safer: The sharper a tool is the safer it is and that is true of saws. If a saw is difficult to use it could be warped or need sharpening. Many hardware stores sharpen tools or you can sharpen your own tools.

4. Clamp well and keep hands away: The wood should be clamped solidly and hands should only be on the saw and the bench side of the wood. There should be no risk of cutting a hand if the saw buckles and bounces out of the groove.

5. Wear shoes: When the saw is not in use, hang it up or place it somewhere where it will not fall.

6. Remember the Kerf: Saws chew up and spit out a some wood to make the cut wider than the blade so that the blade does not rub against the wood while cutting. The width of the groove is known as the kerf. The kerf must be factored in when cutting wood. Start sawing close to the cutting line on the waste side of the wood so that the kerf comes out of the waste side and not off the length you plan to keep. Woodworkers often mark ‘x’ on the waste side of the measurement so that they remember where to place their saw and which piece of wood to keep.

7. Types of Saws: There are different types of saws for different purposes. The saw used most is a crosscut saw for cuts across the grain of wood. A ripsaw is made to cut with the grain of wood. A coping saw has a thin flexible blade which can turn in it’s own kerf and is good for cutting shapes. Coping saws are used for thin wood. A keyhole saw is also good for cutting shapes but cannot turn in it’s own kerf as well as the coping saw.

8. Shorter, pull saws for children: We recommend a shorter saw (12-inch blade or less) with 8 to 10 teeth per inch for children. Ideally the saw length will fit the size of the arm so that it is long enough to accommodate the full range of motion yet not bulky or heavy to maneuver. Saws with fewer teeth per inch have a coarse and fast cut but require more muscle to use. Some children enjoy the speed of a fast coarser saw. Most children prefer a saw with more teeth per inch and less force. The density of the wood is another factor. Coarse-grained soft wood cut efficiently with fewer teeth per inch while fine hard wood grains are suited to more teeth per inch. We also recommend pulls saws for children (and adults!). The pull stroke is ergonomic because we are stronger and more controlled on the pull stroke. Pull saws are not as thick and stiff as push saws because push saws need to be stiffer to prevent buckling. This translates to a thinner kerf. We tried European push crosscut saws and Japanese pull crosscut saws with some youngsters. The kids all much preferred the Japanese pull saws. We felt they were safer because there was much less lunging around and saws bouncing out of grooves.

1. General information: Crosscut saws cut across the grain of wood. The teeth have the bevel or cutting angle on alternating sides and act as two chisels slicing across the grain. The crosscut saws we are familiar with (European) cut on the push motion. The European crosscut saw has a wide kerf and a stiff blade to prevent flex from the force of the push. The Japanese “pull saw” has several advantages. The Japanese crosscut saw cuts on the pull stroke and is more ergonomic because we have more strength and accuracy on the pull. The blade is thinner and flexible because it does not need the stiffness that a European crosscut must have to stay straight during the push. It has finer teeth and a thinner kerf. Japanese pull saws are easier to use and make finer cuts. Pull saws are particularly nice for children who may not have the strength necessary to use a push saw. A disadvantage is that the finer teeth make it difficult to sharpen at home. Japanese pull saws are held at a shallower angle than push saws (saw at 60 degrees rather than 45 degrees).

2. Sawing guides are easy to make. A sawing guide stabilizes the wood while sawing and provides a straight line near the cut to help the eye judge whether the saw blade is held straight upright. A small straight-edged block of wood nailed to the right (for right-handers) front corner of the workbench is another easy way to stabilize the wood and provide a straight line for reference.

3. Measuring and marking: Mark the line to be cut on both the face and the side of the wood. Put ‘x’ on the waste side of the line. Clamp the wood securely. For a rip cut clamp the board upright against the workbench and cut down. Position your body so that one eye sees both lines on the side and face as one. Put the saw just to the waste side of the line so that the kerf comes out of the waste side of the cut.

4. Sawing can be tiring. Watch out for fatigued and discouraged kids. Encourage them to try but pitch in and make it a team effort. Plywood is difficult to cut with a handsaw and an adult should do long cuts.

5. Starting the cut: An adult should start the cuts in the beginning. When the beginner becomes comfortable with the saw they will want to start the cuts. Place the saw on the outside corner of the cut line, at a forty-five-degree angle. Use the thumb of the other hand to steady the blade straight up and down. Start the cut by drawing the saw back in a long stroke. Lift the saw up and repeat two more times or until a nick is made in the corner. Then saw back and forth lightly at a sixty-degree angle until a groove is made. Make sure the blade is straight upright and moving straight back and forth (not flexing). Use gentle long strokes and let the saw do the work, there is no need to push down on the saw. Let the child take over when the cut is started. Younger children can use two hands on the saw for more force. Their hands should not be anywhere but on the saw. Frantic sharp pushes on the saw can make it bind and bounce out of the groove. Encourage the use of long relaxed strokes. Some people like to saw by placing one knee across the board. This could be a good technique for a larger child but the board should be no higher than waist height and clamping the board is still a good idea.

6. Prevent splintering: Support the board on the unclamped side before the cut is finished or the board will break off and leave a ragged edge. Crashing boards are unsafe. They smash toes, startle people or knock other things down. A second person can steady the unclamped end of the board or a bigger child can cross their arm over and hold the board. Support the board evenly, do not pull up or the saw will bind, do not push down or the board will break.

7. Clamp the cut straight up and down: If the wood to be ‘ripped’ is short enough clamp it securely upright and saw downward. The leg of the workbench and a C-Clamp can be used. Sawing straight down is much easier and more accurate. This is really noticeable when sawing a diagonal line. Clamping the line straight upright makes the job much easier.

8. Sawing techniques: When approaching a turn in the shape use lighter quicker strokes. The blade can be set at an angle to the frame. See Figure ???? for the best way to saw a curve. Cut a ‘V’ in the end of a 1”x6”. Clamp it to the workbench with the ‘V’ over the edge. Put the piece to be cut on top of it. Hold the coping saw straight upright. Rotate the piece to be cut. The notched board stabilizes the thin wood and prevents it from breaking.

9. Replacing coping saw blades: Tighten or loosen the coping saw blade by twisting the handle. Relax the tension to replace the blade by turning the handle left (remember “lefty loosey, righty tighty”). Aim the blade teeth toward the handle to cut on the pull. Drop the blade into the slots and tighten the handle. If the handle cannot be turned the vise can be used to relax the tension or push the coping saw against a solid surface. After the blade is out try to unscrew the handle. Spray it with WD-40 if it still will not cooperate.

10. Inside cuts: Start inside cuts by drilling a hole. Then remove one end of the coping saw blade, thread it through the hole and put it back on the coping saw. If the hole is to far from the edge a keyhole saw must be used.

11. Holding the coping saw: Coping saws can be wobbly. Hold the handle with two hands or put one hand on the handle and the other on the front of the frame.

12. Keyhole saws are particularly nice for inside cuts.

13. Use a short fast stroke.

14. A brace and auger are used to drill holes inside the shape between sharp corners. See Figure ???? for a good way to saw a squared corner. See Figure ???? for a good way to saw a heart.

15.

Their are many types of wood joints.  The simplest is the butt joint where two pieces of wood butted against each other.  The half-lap joint is very strong.  Each piece has a half-depth piece taken out of it with a dovetail saw and then chisel.  The rabbet joint has a rectangular groove as wide as the other piece of wood taken out of it with a rabbet plane.  A mortise and tenon joint is very strong and is used often for furniture and in Timber Frame homes.  Dowel joints are easy to make but require great accuracy.  Biscuit joints are a bit more forgiving and even stronger.  Tongue and groove joints are thewithckenwidthA rabbet joint means that one of the pieces is rabbetted (a rectangular groove the width of the other piece of wood is planed on the side) and the second piece of wood is attached there.  The rabbet joint is stronger than the butt joint because two surfaces on each piece of wood are joined and this withstands the expansion and contraction of the wood better.

12.   Wood is constantly expanding and contracting due to changing moisture in the air.  When joining two pieces of wood together in the simplest butt joint (whether with glue, nails or screws) it is best to orient the grain of both pieces of wood in the same direction.  Another consideration is the strength of the wood.  Wood is weak across the grain but strong along the grain.  Two pieces of wood with grain oriented in different directions can be joined but something more complex than a butt joint would be better.

13. Use a short fast stroke.

14. A brace and auger are used to drill holes inside the shape between sharp corners. See Figure ???? for a good way to saw a squared corner. See Figure ???? for a good way to saw a heart.

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