Comments

1. 
   Dreamcatcher | Mar 15, 2015 01:16pm | #1

   You really hit on one of my pet peeves with your recent episode regarding machine safety switches and children in the shop. To get right to the point; Teach your kids shop safety!

   I have two kids (currently 4 and 5 yrs. old) who I openly welcome into my workshop. But they were both taught at a young age (about 3yrs old) that Dad's shop has rules. Rule #1: Always wear shoes in the shop. Rule #2 Always wear safety glasses when machines are running (kids safety glasses cost me all of about $5 a pair online and they are hung right next to the shop door). Rule #3 Never touch machine switches. Rule #4 Never go into the shop without Dad or Mom. And that is pretty much it. I keep the rules simple and concise.

   For the rule you hit upon in particular, I showed them the switch on the tablesaw and [with the blade down] made them push the start button. The starting sound of the tablesaw alone is enough to scare a child. Then [with the saw unplugged] I raised the blade and made them feel how sharp the blade is. Then I explained [with minor graphic detail] just what that sharp blade could do to a finger. And that was it.

   I'm not claiming to be some fantastic parent but I truly believe that kids are keen to doing what they are first taught. If you first allow a child to fumble with switches that are locked then you haven't instilled in them the concept of simply not touching switches. The same goes for chemicals under the sink or kitchen knives or hot stoves or firearms. You must instill in them that precedent knowledge (and fear if necessary) of what something is and how to react in the presence of that thing in the future.

2. 
   FollyMaker | Mar 24, 2015 02:27pm | #2

   Regarding telling students about your embarrassing mistake with your project, I certainly would urge you to do so.

   Some years ago my friend Nancy lived through an extensive kitchen remodel. One day she commented to me: “Now I see that woodworking is just like sewing, all you need to learn is how to fix your mistakes.” Over the years I have often thought that learning how to fix your mistakes actually covers quiet a bit of want one needs to know in a lot of areas of life.

   Indeed, if your students learn to fix mistakes, they will be empowered to experiment and take the risk of taking on challenging projects.

   I think one of the problems today is that those of us who have been around long enough to have made a good number of mistakes don’t talk about overcoming (or not overcoming) those mistakes. Because we don’t talk about dealing with mistakes, people with less experience can conclude that making mistakes is a sign of their lack of skill and they may give up rather than deciding to keep challenging themselves until the develop new skills.

   Perhaps you could show the students your problem door and ask them to come up with ways to overcome the problem. In addition to specific fixes, they also should consider whether your should just start over, change the design to be less challenging, or quit woodworking altogether. Personally, I would reject the last option. I do not know how skilled you are as a woodworker, but I do know you talk about woodworking in a way that has helped me build my own skills.

3. 
   FollyMaker | Mar 24, 2015 02:44pm | #3

   PS One further thought on mistakes – I have found that little mistakes get noticed, but big mistakes almost always are thought to be design elements. So, an option to consider is to make the fix much more obvious than the original mistake; and, perhaps, introduce related “fixes” elsewhere in the piece.