Setting up Toolboxes for Children

[Adrien]

Hey all, haven't been around in a while but I've been lurking a lot lately.

I've inherited/accumulated A LOT of tools from relatives passing away over the years (still haven't finished cleaning out my Grandpa's garage) and I have a ton of duplicated tools.

I have three sons, one is getting ready to graduate high school and the other two are ten and soon to be eight. I would like to start building them toolsets to have not only while they live here at home, but also something they can take with them when the move away. Each kid has a bit of different interests but overall would like to at least get them going with basic hand tools for a homeowner, etc.

Curious if anybody else has started doing something similar, and if you went with a portable toolbox for basic hand tools or started building out a modest tool chest, or maybe even something in the middle like a tech cart.

Would love to hear any thoughts on this.

Thanks!

Adrien

 

[Firebrick43]

I bought a kobalt 200ish piece set for my 10 and 8 year old. It has a plastic tool box and a place for every tool.

When they get to be 16 or so and prove to be responsible they will get their own 26” box and cheat and we will start building them a quality set for when the leave the nest.

 

[Zewnten]

My kids are young but like to help. I bought them each: needle nose pliers, small claw hammer, 1/4 ratchet with metric sockets, adjustable wrench, safety glasses, hearing protection, and leather gloves. Right now each one’s tool kit is in a plastic tote of their preferred color.

 

[four.cycle]

A couple years ago I was asked "What do you think I should get XXXX for Christmas?"
I said "Harbor Freight is having a sale on a small rolling cabinet for $200 bucks," so we went up and she bought one for the boy, and one for me.
The photo is a bit fuzzy, but this was the first load of stuff that went into that box for the kid:



You will find NO Snap-on in that photograph.
Just the basics: pliers, screwdrivers, wrenches, sockets and ratchets. Nothin' fancy.

"Gimmick" stuff - like the **** Craftsman introduced every Christmas - only good for paperweights.

12-inch Diamond adjustable got used
3/8" drive swivel-head ratchet got used.
He's got three or four vehicles at any given time so he got both SAE and Metric wrenches and sockets.

(** NOTE: Harbor Freight's $1.99 socket rails are not worth hauling home. Garbage. Do not buy. **)

 

[sherlocktk]

I have an old tool chest, mid 80's non ball bearing slide type of thing. All my "extra" tools go in there, Basically have 1 of all the cheap stuff screwdrivers/pliers/hammers. The goal is for them to have their own tools so they do not take yours. They will never break them.

Also one of my favorite "kid" tools is the IKEA drill. Its $20, powered by litihium batteries, and does not have any real torque so they cannot get hurt by it.

 

[ClarkShort]

I give my 2 boys a basic tool every Christmas. It started out when they were young: 7 and 5 with a hammer or pair of pliers. I have kept track of what I have given them over the years so not to duplicate what I have given them in the past and have continued the tradition. One of them is in the trades with his own swimming pool repair business, and his need has far outpaced what I have given him over the years, but they both still look forward to the ‘tool of the year’ even though they have both moved out of the house and have places of their own. Reading through the forums here have increased my knowledge of what to get them: the quality of the tools that I give them has increased due to what I have learned here.
This year’s gift was a Swanson Tool 24” Anodized level - Contractor Series.

 

[Citation]

I've been thinking about this as well. I took tools to college and when I was on my own I started needing tools to fix my car. So the tools I needed were largely based on what I needed to take apart things like radios, computers, consumer electronics and later, parts of the car (interior bits then engine bits).

I started with a small Plaino box about the size of a fishing box. I would suggest either something that can be reasonably hand carried or rolled. In college I certainly didn't have space for a tool chest. When I finally got out and was living with friends we didn't have a garage so again I was limited to what I could carry. So with that in mind I would suggest either a large hand carry box or those wheeled stackable boxes as a starting point.

 

[AEAdam]

When I started converting my barn into a house, I kinda fantasized about my boys helping and learning carpentry. Thought they could have that in their back pockets.

I bought them really basic, but good quality vintage chisels and block planes, let them pick out hammers from the hardware store and bought them tapes with fractions. They helped a little then lost interest.

Kids are dumb. They were always late, wore the wrong clothes for work and basically didn’t give a F. Every time I turned around theyd be sitting down.

I also built a kids/guest automotive toolbox. My girl expressed an interest in taking automotive classes with me at the local community college. She never did. That box has basic Lube tech type tools. Almost all Snap On. It’s a helpful little box and I use it for its intended purpose.




A couple ideas I had with that box was to label the sockets at least. So the box isn’t arranged the way most Lube techs do (with as many tools as possible crammed in the top well.




My idea was to reinforce learning the bolt head sizes to predict what socket is the right one. The few times I worked with the boys, they would start with a 8mm and try every subsequent size until they found a ”match”, which wasn’t always the right match. They'd use 9mm sockets on 8mm bolts and if I said that was the wrong socket, they’d argue “works great Dad, it’s not an airplane, doesn’t need to be perfect” Did that with Allen’s on the sweet VW GTI I bought for them until they ruined it. (The car, not the bolt).

Just my perspective with my kids, if you get involved, that takes all the fun out it for them. If you want your kid to learn to skateboard, don’t buy him a skateboard or buy him skateboard lessons. You’d be better off hiding a skateboard somewhere they will never find it, and they‘ll love it. If you want them to play piano, for the love of god don’t get them piano lessons. That’s the best way to ensure they will NEVER play piano.

I’m currently taking my own advice and waiting until they ask me for help. So far they know everything (26, 23, 20), but I know the reckoning is coming.

PS that’s a 1/4” piece of cork on the lower shelf of that roll cart. That’s a beautiful little box.

 

[BTL-A4]

My daughter was constantly borrowing my tools, so I got her a set of her own for her 18th birthday. I tried to get her decent, American-made ones. I made her a screwdriver handle. I put it all in a small, plastic tool box. She's now 21 and she still uses it. I put a note in it that told her she could ask me for more tools and help any time she needed it.

I got her what I thought she could use if she ever moves into her own apartment. The note I wrote her is still in the tool box.

 

[Cruzan80]

Right now, my son has a 2D carry box (grey/red he "stole" out of the FS pile, as "It looks like yours, Dad"...Pretty hard to argue with that). I. There he has a bit of a mish-mash of random junk stuff that has caught his eye. Filled it when he was 6-8yo, and I have been stashing "better" stuff in a pile ever since. Plan is to shadow-box or label it, so he knows what is his when he gets old enough to start using it primarily.

The other half of the question, I am going to actually start teaching a "Basic Home Repair" class in HS next year. Goal is for everything they need to fit in a plastic carry box (screwdrivers, pliers, pipe wrench, multimeter, etc). Will be putting a "guide" in the syllabus, so parents can "re-build" one at home, goal is to keep it under $100-150. We will be talking basic plumbing/electrical/drywall/etc. Jokes the subtitle should be "How to stop your first $500 repair bill".

 

[tarmy]

I have been giving my two boys tools for decades. Been teaching them how to use them too!

They have complete set ups for auto, wood, plumbing/electrical and some welding stuff. They have both learned how to fix all kinds of things around the house and garage…makes me feel good too!

 

[Sumboodie]

I built my first toolbox at around age 9. Worked on snowmobiles, atvs, mowers, snowblower, chainsaws, etc.


The high school kid should be decently setup with at least the basics by now.

My brother's oldest is 10. Got hin! "Cheap" wrench set last year that I keep telling him I'm gonna take back, it's better than the stuff I own!

 

[engineer2]

I learned with kids in college, expect the tools to be loaned out and never returned.
Thus, Harbor Freight or cheap used tools are appropriate.

 

[matthew]

My grandfather gave my mom a basic tool set when she left home. When she met my dad, she had more tools than he did. Grandpa knew that wherever you were, certain things were just basic, useful, essentials.

My dad liked the idea, and when me and my siblings were about 10-12, there were 2 or 3 christmases where we were received pieces to make up a similar set. They are still the cornerstone of our tool collections. They roughly included:
- set of screwdrivers
- pliers - long nose, diagonal cutter, lineman, slip joint
- adjustable wrench
- tape measure
- utility knife
- claw hammer
- hacksaw
- basic socket set (about 75 pieces, 1/4 and 3/8 drive)
- combo wrenches
- hand carry toolbox

Combo wrenches aren’t strictly necessary and slip joint pliers are kind of useless. But I would add a set of hex keys, Vise Grip 7WR, and a 10” set of water pump pliers.

 

[ogtrek77]

I give my 2 boys a basic tool every Christmas. It started out when they were young: 7 and 5 with a hammer or pair of pliers. I have kept track of what I have given them over the years so not to duplicate what I have given them in the past and have continued the tradition. One of them is in the trades with his own swimming pool repair business, and his need has far outpaced what I have given him over the years, but they both still look forward to the ‘tool of the year’ even though they have both moved out of the house and have places of their own. Reading through the forums here have increased my knowledge of what to get them: the quality of the tools that I give them has increased due to what I have learned here.
This year’s gift was a Swanson Tool 24” Anodized level - Contractor Series.

@ClarkShort
Dude this is like the best thing I ever heard
My GrandBoy is 1yr now be 2yr in Sep2025
I will do this!
Tell All my folks to do the same for those male kids(especially)
How old do I start?
Do I have to wait til 5yr??
#ToolOfTheYear

 

[KnurledNut]

As a young child, I never had my own tools. What I was given was a childhood of education and experience working on stuff. I would never trade that quality time at my fathers side for any amount of tools. As I got older, he allowed me to use his tools and I was expected to use them properly and put them back where they belonged. I did do some ignorant stuff like destroying his cherished mini flush cutters cutting guitar strings because I didn't know any better.
Spend quality and quantity time with your children beginning at an early age. Take time to explain how things work. Teach them the name of tools and what they do. Instill good and safe work habits. Let them learn from mistakes. That will go much further than handing them a box of tools when they are walking out the door at 18 and telling them good luck.

 

[Junkdrawer Dog]

Lol. I think the only tool I had at ten was my Scout knife.

 

[Semi-hole mechanic]

My son and step-son both got tools for XMas a couple of years. My son has my dad’s old CMan handbox that I gave him for XMas in the early 70s with a set of SAE wrenches from Menards that were mine, a bunch of mostly USA Thorsen and some Japanese KMart Pro 1/2 drive sockets, a 83 pc CMan tool set that I got with my 26” Homeowner’s box, a set of Crescent metric combo wrenches, and a set of Jobsmart screwdrivers that I got both of them for XMas. He uses his tools for minor automotive repair and some household stuff,
He has updated some of his stuff to better quality stuff like Tekton, but still uses a lot of hand me downs.

My stepson I gave an old set of KMart Pro 3/8 drive metric socket set with the ratchet, cobbled together a set of no name Taiwanese SAE sockets in 3/8 and 1/4 as well as 1/4 metric, bought him a set of Jobsmart combo wrenches in both metric and SAE, the screwdriver set and a cheap Jobsmart pliers set, and a plastic 18” toolbox to store it in. He uses it occasionally for stuff around his house but doesn’t really do anything serious.

Neither of them do anything serious so I gave them a lot of cheaper hand me downs from my dad and some cheaper toolsets from TSC, so they have basic toolsets with okay tools that pretty much cover anything they might need to do.

Edited to say they were teenagers. My son was 19 and stepson was 15. Son lived with me and just used my tools but stepson lived with his dad who is not very handy and doesn’t have tools.

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

@ClarkShort
Dude this is like the best thing I ever heard
My GrandBoy is 1yr now be 2yr in Sep2025
I will do this!
Tell All my folks to do the same for those male kids(especially)
How old do I start?
Do I have to wait til 5yr??
#ToolOfTheYear

How I would recommend starting, since you have a toddler, is GARAGE SALES!!!
Even then, finding some older gentleman, I've seen them donate some stuff to someone young, starting out, like my niece.
Also, you need to see what direction they are going. The three tools I remember getting young, were, a 4 ounce hammer (mom took for hanging pictures), and a coping saw (learning to build things like birdhouse), as well as a shovel (they didn't have a kids size) as dad made us all gardens one year. (I only planted flowers, as I understood they were less work and didn't know a plant from a weed before things were growing on them)


Things I remember getting:
Hammer
coping saw
shovel
nail sets
leatherworkers mallet
#2 screwdriver, flat head screwdriver
basic pliers (to hold the nail when I started hitting hands)
small toolbox.

 

[hobie18]

"Just my perspective with my kids, if you get involved, that takes all the fun out it for them. If you want your kid to learn to skateboard, don’t buy him a skateboard or buy him skateboard lessons. You’d be better off hiding a skateboard somewhere they will never find it, and they‘ll love it. If you want them to play piano, for the love of god don’t get them piano lessons. That’s the best way to ensure they will NEVER play piano.

I’m currently taking my own advice and waiting until they ask me for help. So far they know everything (26, 23, 20), but I know the reckoning is coming.

PS that’s a 1/4” piece of cork on the lower shelf of that roll cart. That’s a beautiful little box.
[/QUOTE]"

So far they know everything (26, 23, 20), but I know the reckoning is coming


Hide it hahaha
You are killin me.

 

[redragoon]

My dad did this for my brother and I one year at Christmas.
Screwdrivers, pliers, a hammer, and a hand saw. There were probably a few other things like a level and chalkbox.
He put them into large Plano toolboxes.



Most of these were lost over the years, or "borrowed" when my dad couldn't find his own or didn't feel like looking.
I still have the toolbox and it has served several purposes over the years.
Now I have several large boxes in the garage.

I'd recommend starting with a similar $20-30 toolbox and some cheap but decent tools.
When they are older, they can upgrade to larger steel boxes with heirloom tools and their own.

 

[Shoreline_]

My boy got my little KRA that I started with 22 years ago.

 

[Hannahranga]

No real suggestions on tools, imho worth focusing on what they'll specifically need. What I will get on my soapbox for is having it in a decent tool bag. Toolboxes are great for workshops and tool benches but they're gonna be doing stuff in random locations. Plus imho makes it more obvious if there's an empty pocket