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How young is too young to begin woodworking? Some in DuBois, Pennsylvania, say beginning at three to five years old is. Preschool easy woodworking activities at an elementary school in DuBois have drawn the ire of parents and a teacher’s aide but school officials claim that the work is safe and part of the approved curriculum.

The activity in which the preschool kids were engaged involved working with a hammer and fourteen-inch handsaw. The handsaw was kept in a miter box, which is a plastic box that keeps the saw and wood in place.

The chief concern of the parents is that they were not told of the program or given permission slips to sign beforehand. One of the parents, Scot Moldenhauer, found out about the program and visited the school, which has an open door policy for parents. He brought a camera and was concerned when he found a nail lying accessible to the children. He says that he considers the children too young to be exposed to woodworking and that the tools are a hazard to them.

The program also alarmed a teacher’s aide at the school named Mary Doloroso. She voiced her concern that the parents had not been notified of the presence of the woodworking tools beforehand to school officials. She was told not to notify the parents and that if she did it would be insubordination. She was so upset by this that she resigned her position.

Cen-Clear Child Services, the administrator of the preschool program, pulled the tools from the classroom when they learned of the parents’ concerns but defend the program. Amy Weible, a child development specialist with Cen-Clear, cites that it follows a nationally approved and recognized curriculum. She also says that the activities were age-appropriate and that the children were always supervised. She defends not having permission slips by saying that the woodworking was not a special activity but part of the approved curriculum and that they plan to reintroduce the tools to the children in the 2009-10 school year, but with prior notification to the parents.

These woodworking tools that were being used by three to five year-old children alarmed parents and a teacher’s aide and were pulled from the classroom. Apparently some people believe that sharp tools and toddlers just don’t mix.

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Nails are one of the most basic materials in woodworking. But you want to get the right one for the job you have in mind. Nails come in different types for different uses and there are things you should know when choosing them and practices to avoid when using them.

Some of the different types of nails include common, finish, casing, brads, cut flooring, roofing, masonry, gutter spikes, drywall, and duplex. Common nails are heavy-duty and thick with large flat heads. They are used in rough work such as framing carpentry. Finish nails have a small, cupped head and are used with wood filler when you don’t want the head to show. Casing nails are thicker and heavier finish nails used for larger work. Brads are tiny finishing nails used for lighter work. Cut flooring nails have a rectangular shape and blunt tips to avoid splitting the wood. Masonry nails, also known as concrete nails, are very hard and thick with a fluted shaft. Gutter spikes are large, six to eight-inch nails used to hold gutters in place. Drywall nails, with large round heads and fluted shanks, are used by professionals to nail drywall to studs. Duplex nails have two heads on the same shank, one below the other. They are usually used for the temporary bonding of materials.

When choosing a nail, you want to consider what it is used for and whether or not it is galvanized. The above paragraph lists the uses for each type of nail that you would want to consider. For example, you would probably want to use finish nails  on cabinetry because you would not want the heads to show. It is also important to consider whether or not the nail is galvanized, or rust-proofed, when doing an outdoor project such as decks. If a nail is galvanized, it is coated with zinc but may have a shiny or dull finish. Make sure to check the label.

There are also practices to avoid when using nails. Using the wrong nail for the wrong type of job is always a bad idea. For example, if you use a nail with a fluted shank for a temporary purpose, you will damage the wood when you remove it because of the sharp rings in the shank. One misconception in woodworking is that you should nail a thicker board over a thinner one. The opposite is actually true. The nail should go into the thinner board first and should be three times thicker than the thin board. That way, two thirds of it will go into the thicker board and create a stronger bond.

It is important to know the different types of nails, their uses, what to look for in them, and how not to use them. It is one of the fundamentals of easy woodworking.

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Some say a focus on service is the way to lead a fulfilling life. According to an article from Grand Junction Free Press, four middle school girls in Palisade, Colorado, are living by that creed by working on a woodwork project for a family in need. The four girls got the idea to create a playhouse, worked to get the project off the ground, and are putting in overtime to get it completed.

Andrea Lopez, Tahverle Hodges, Lacy Townsend, and Joslyn Orellana are graduating eighth graders at a middle school in Palisade, Colorado, who took a Tech Ed enrichment class together this year. Near the end of the year, they had the idea to build a playhouse as their woodworking project when they saw a large piece of plywood leaning against a wall in their school’s shop. It was supposed to be an easy woodworking project, such as a coat rack or coin box, so their teacher, Kevin Elisha, first discouraged them. However, they were persistent and determined to do the playhouse for an underprivileged woman in town who is raising her grandchildren.

Because it is not a cheap project, the girls had to find funding. There was not enough for it in the school budget. They made many calls to building suppliers for donations but were rejected by everyone until 84 Lumber agreed to supply them.

After getting the supplies, they had to learn everything about woodworking and construction to get it done, such as working with plans, power tools, safety, etc. They had no previous experience. They thought it would be much easier when they began, but did not complain when they found the work more involved than they had previously thought.

They put in extra hours to complete the project. It is still under construction, but will be completed and installed at the house by the end of the summer. The girls have put in time during lunch breaks, before and after school hours, and during teacher in-service days to work on the project. They are now committed to coming in during the summer and finishing the project with the help of their teacher, Elisha.

These four girls initiated and are completing an altruistic woodwork project. In the process, they have learned not only about woodworking but also about the reward in helping others.

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How small can woodworking get? Well, it can’t get much smaller than peach pit carving. The small woodworking practice of peach pit carving has been done for centuries, can be done in different ways, and includes a variety of subjects.

The peach pit ( also known as peach stone) itself is composed of two parts: a hard, wood-like material on the outside (putamen), and a nut-like seed on the inside (kernel). The uncarved pit has an irregular, wrinkled surface, resembling a tiny brain. The wood-like putamen is what is carved. The kernel is sometimes removed but is never part of the finished product. The pits range in size from about 3/4 to 1 3/4 inches.

The practice of peach pit carving probably originated in China, where the peach is a symbol of longevity. The first record of it dates back nearly one thousand years to the Song dynasty. It is also known that the art of peach pit carving was very popular during China’s Ming and Qing dynasties, stretching from the fourteenth to the twentieth centuries.

However, examples of peach pit carving can be found throughout the world. Apparently some people everywhere just like to sit and carve tiny objects out of peach pits.

The practice can be done with different cutting instruments and may include finishing. Some carvers use only penknives, jackknives, or pairing knives. However, professionals may use additional tools such as files, gouges, chisels, or X-Acto knives. These are essential for carving fine details into the pit. Sand paper and similar abrasives are sometimes used to shape or finish the pieces. They may also be painted or rubbed with oils to give them a lustrous finish.

There is a limitless number of objects which can be carved out of a peach pit. Two standards are baskets and monkeys, especially one biting his tail. Animals seem to be a favorite subject of many carvers, although I have also seen portraits and various symbols such as hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades also done. The only limit is the imagination and skill of the carver.

Peach pit carving is a very old practice which can be done with different materials and made into many different things. If you want to do some really small woodworking, this is definitely one option.

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