WWTBAM Bored

Youngest Spock (5th Grade-11YO) has the shop/fixing gene that both his grandpa's have/had in spades and that completely missed me.

Friday, as I said in another post-I went to SD to get materials for my dad to build a hay feeder-He needs projects to keep him busy or he gets bored and he is dangerous when he is bored. When I drove in his yard on Saturday morning he was standing by the trailer just about shaking to get started on his project. It reminded me of Youngest Spock when he gets a new lego set-LOL.

Anyway, youngest was helping him on the project-running chop saws and so forth-and last night told me that he tried to weld but that it was really hard because the welding rod sticks.

I am just thinking about how few 5th graders have tried welding and have that experience. We have always thought/hoped he may go in an engineering direction and practical experience like that can not be taught in a book.

He is the same kid that brought power tools(cordless drill) to school for his 4th grade demonstration project.

I like him. He is awesome!

Good for him! Just remember that anything less then 10 fingers is bad.

I started doing major stuff by the time I was 11 and went on to get an engineering degree and become a general contractor. I'm also a welder. So I've been down this path.

Just don't slack on the safety issue of power tools. If you are not familiar with them yourself then take the time to go over (and over and over again) all the warnings and safety tips that are a part of every power tools instructions. I cannot stress this enough - it only takes a fraction of a second to have a serious injury.

At 11, he doesn't need to be using all the big power tools. There are lots of projects that can be done with regular hand tools. Starting out this way will not only develop his skills but will give him an appreciation of how those power tools work once he does move into them.

Back to safety for a moment - Safety Glasses. Always! No exceptions! EVER! I'm at the point where as soon as I step out of the truck I put my safety glasses on. Wear them all day long. Get cool looking ones, not the dorky solid frames.

All building supply places will give away material for free. It's not the best looking stuff but there is always stuff that cannot be sold. If you go to a big box store, wander down to the end marked "Contractor Sales" and talk to somebody there. Pretty much 100% if you tell them that your 11-year-old likes to build things that they can fix him up on a regular basis. Even more so if start buying tools there.

Please teach him to properly install overhead cabinets. I'd appreciate it.