Good project for a 10 yr old?

Sure. Dibble, or my favorite, shaker pegs. Be sure to get something sturdy in the way of a riser, or lower the lathe for her.

A small baseball bat. A billy club. (G)

Russian Babushka? dolls - then she can decorate them as well and take them to school to show her friends.

Mushrooms

Hi al, Congratulations on your daughter's fledgling interest in your hobby. It could be an important family milestone or merely a passing phase, but give her a fair chance to join you as a woodturner.

Many turners feel that it's best to let your young child actually turn something to begin with. This will give her a sense of accomplishment and delight in making something. My experience differs. That way the first blush soon wears off after one or two sessions. If you would really like to proudly add a member of your own family to the fraternity instead of "once upon a time she made a top", consider the following, certainly not in excessive depth:

First _actually_ go thru the fundamentals and make them fun, but important and necessary before she puts a cutting tool into a spinning chunk of wood. If this seems too complicated, consider the confusion of your child marching up to the lathe and trying to turn something herself or you actually doing the turning by holding her hands. If she is ready to turn, she is ready to learn.

1. Personal Safety: masks, ear muffs sleeves, jewelry, dust, electric shock, waving tools and flying timber, fungi, dull tools. chuck keys, posture.

1. The tools of the hobby: the lathe, the five basic turning tools, saws, holding methods.

2. The cuts & scrapes: roughing, skewing, gouging, scraping, coves, beads, tapers. drilling holes.
3. The timbers: green, dry, bark, sapwood, pith, heartwood, allergies.

1. Then and _only then: begin with simple spindles such as candle sticks, spurtles, tops, weed pots, garden dibbers.

2. Finally if she responds and wants to be your partner, owning her own lathe will make all the difference. H.F has a decent knockoff of a Carba-Tec on sale for under a hundred bucks.

IMHO, Expressing an interest in dad's hobby might mean several things; thirst for attention, etc. Some ten year olds like yours, are bright enough to read your books, magazines, videos, and attend your meetings with other turners.

The above steps will allow her to understand and be able to join in. If your child is ready to turn, treat her as a co-worker and let her proceed on her terms, else you are just pretending that she is turning while indulging yourself at her bored expense. You may very well disagree, but whatever you two decide to do, make sure it's fun for _both of you.

This isn't what you asked for and many here will differ, probably some quite violently, but that has been my experience and I'm stuck with it. :)

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

I think a matrioshka set is beyond nearly all of us.

Pens and magic wands. My daugter was turning bowls at that age, though.

Pens, being on a mandrel, are fairly safe, and you can do a whole pen with just a scraper (if they're not mechanically inclined yet) or a detail gouge (if they are). Plus, they're very usable when you're done.

Christmas tree ornaments like icicles.

Wayne

SNIP of great information

My, my. The voice of experience speaks. That little part alone is worth the subscription price to this group!

Seriously, I can't think of anything better to keep in mind than what Arch just said. My 7 year old nephew is at the point now where he wants to "do", not watch. He doesn't want to be coddled, and he leaves it to me to make sure he isn't in any danger or really overmatched for the job. He loves to drive nails and run my VS orbital sander.

At 7, he is not looking at this as training to be a trade carpenter, but to try something new and have some fun with his uncle. So, like you said, if we are both having fun it is a great time for both of us.

Not me. Like you, I think the approach is far more important than the project. My nephew can remember when we were "working on something" or "fixing something" together, but can't always remember what it was. The point being, he DOES remember the experience.

robert

Set up a piece of wood for spindle turning, and then let her have at it, with no particular goal in mind than just making cuts and watching the contours develop.

"Leo Lichtman" wrote: Set up a piece of wood for spindle turning, and then let her have at it,

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I meant to add, "Let the chips fall where they may."

As a former parks and recreation director, it always amazed me at how many parents come to the park with their child to play ball and hated the experience. What was really scary was how many kids come to the park and didn't want to be there. I agree with Arch, if she wants to use the tools she needs to be familiarized with them and the dangers of working with a lathe should be explained. But most of all keep it fun for the two of you. By trade I am now a teacher, but sometimes when it comes to my kids someone else is a better teacher for them than I am (Dad's patience sometimes is short).

Have fun,

JD

Hi A.W.,

I started my 10 year old nephew off by turning a bowl. He was the envy of all his friends. Bowls are not that difficult for them to do. And use only a couple tools and cuts. Easy for them to grasp the concept quicker. But I have found with kids any thing you do with them they will appreciate. Good luck and have fun.

Dan

I would consider a candle holder. The sort of holder for a "fat" candle. There are no holds to drill and the spindle shape can be whatever your imagination can come up with. I'd post a picture of what I mean but don't know how on this forum. I will be happy to answer any emails however!! Bob Edwards San Antonio

What about a perfume holder, mini box or compact mirror. Go to

the easist thing is some kind of spindle turning - I presonally think starting with a 1 inch diameter item - maybe a square block - show him how to make it round - is good - not so much energy that a catch will cause much harm and plenty of diameter to make a candle stick, or a hat holder upper, or a coat rack peg or a myriad of other things.

My Grand daughter made a mug tree. She took it home to Mum and they are both very proud of it.

Tom.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions! After consulting with my daughter I think the 1st project will be to set up a piece for spindle turning & let her experiment. After that 'a bowl would be neat'.

I'll precede the actual turning with 'how not to hurt yourself', and supervise from near and far: keep a close eye on things, but only intervene if she's about to do something dangerous. If she trashes the workpiece it's no big deal - wood, tools and wood lathes (and cell phones, and cars, and...) are expendable. Children are not.

A fun spindle project than doesn't need hollow work is face vases.

Use a light to cast a portrait shadow on a piece of paper taped to the wall/fridge/etc., like this;

Use a copier to reduce to size you want to turn. Start small, work up to full size and end up with this; Pattern transfer skills come in handy for matching goblets, candlesticks, ornaments, tops, vases, etc. and help teach control of the cut, focus and productivity.

Have her finish the nose last so you can be with her for the thinnest center cuts. When beginners transfer patterns, often they dig deeper to fix the outline. If the vase is over-cut, there may not be enough center wood left to finish the nose. Start with slightly wider pieces for the first few small turnings until control of the cutting is learned.

Just two cents from my limited experience, I don't let my shop guests, friends and relatives, do interior work (bowl) until they have demonstrable experience in outside turning, pattern matching, texturing and finishing. I've seen more accidents working interior than exterior. YMMV.