Work bench for a grandson

[royce]

One of our grandsons just turned 11.
He seems to be taking to working with his hands and was needing someplace to work.
I hauled a old Remline box and a low Vidmar box to his place.
Together we got it all painted, put a top on it and mounted a vise on it.
Also, gifted him some basic hand tools, to get him started.
We had a fantastic time and I am looking forward to our next project.

Royce

 

[Henricogolfer]

Very nice, he will treasure that!

 

[jhn9840]

That's a great start for an 11 year old. It's something he will have forever.

jhn9840
John

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I'd love to have had that at 11!

 

[LXCam]

That’s awesome Royce. It’s something he’ll never forget for the rest of his life.

Now I gotta brag about my 3.5yr old grand bubby. He can walk down the hand tool isle at depot and name off a third of the tools. I’m damn proud of that boy.

 

[txvwnut]

For some reason it seems more enjoyable doing projects with the grandkids than it was with the kids when they were young. Oh and the bench is awesome.

 

[gnpenning]

What a great way to spend your time. I cherish my memories and items from my grandparents.

 

[The Cobbler]

I just donated a small work bench my neighbor gave me as a child ( probably 50 plus years ago ) . It was a tough thing to do, but the time has come.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

Royce That is great!
Now I want an 11 year old grandson to hang out in the shop with.

 

[bdbecker]

Why am I not surprised that you would use a Vidmar as a base for your grandson's work bench... you really don't know how to half-*** anything, do you Royce?

 

[Bretny]

At 33 i still have my childhood work bench that was made out of wood by my grandfather. Still has the original vise on it too. My son is due in january so he will get it.

 

[Wilson12789]

For some reason it seems more enjoyable doing projects with the grandkids than it was with the kids when they were young. Oh and the bench is awesome.

I'm only 30, so I don't have grandkids, but my guess is that the stuff you were making with the kids was for you or the family but now with the grand kids you're making it for them to learn. Basically a whole different reason behind the project. Just my .02

 

[royce]

Thanks all,
Farting around with the grandkids is a true gift and teaching them some skills is as fulfilling as anything I’ve ever done.

Royce

 

[Stuart in MN]

Looks good. At age 11, I hope you have plans for raising the height...he's gonna be due for a growth spurt any day now.

 

[Dumber than lumber]

Great excuse to buy tools!!
Oh! I gave my [fill in the blank] to Timmy so I need a new one.
AND
Timmy gets my stuff when I die, and I want him to have good tools and pleasant memories.
Add more of your “excuses”

 

[mcdye]

Very cool. He will enjoy it and remember it forever....

 

[MFolks]

A set of screwdrivers,some of the wal mart wrenches in metric and imperial, a ball peen hammer,a hacksaw,and measuring tapes,adding to the collection as money and his knowledge grows.

 

[lardy1]

Thanks for the best Garage Journal post I ever read.

 

[Unruh]

Great thread. I am just now building one for my son as well!

 

[johnnyb71]

Great work Grandad.

 

[Bopbop]

Really nice. For those of you that don't have grandkids yet they are a lot more fun than the Kids. I guess with age we enjoy them more. Spent the weekend at a swap meet with my 7 year old grandson. He has to inspect every tool, part or what ever catches his eyes. The joke with his Memaw is that in a few years he will take her and the checkbook to the car carol and buy a hot rod. He has her wrapped around his fingers.

 

[bluebolt]

Nice project Royce! Wish my granddaughter was closer so I could spend more time with her. Looks like a Wilton Flip Grip vise on that workbench.

 

[signcrafter]

That's great. My grandpa was the one that got me into working with my hands. When I was in jr high he insulated and sheathed the garage walls and then we build a workbench together. It was nothing like yours but I will always remember those times. Our bench was just some 4x4 legs with some 2x4 framing and then a couple 2x12s for the top. Grandpa has been gone for almost 15 years now but that bench still sits in grandma's garage. I still remember every project we did together, from the metal swingset we put up when I was a little kid and I tore down when I was an adult. To the metal shed we put up when I was a kid and also tore down when I was an adult. Both were in rough shape and not used anymore. Many many little projects from running some wire for a new outlet or fixing downspouts to building a train table to building a speaker box for my first car. Glad your get to have the same effect on your grandkid.

 

[Unruh]

Like I said earlier, I was building one as well. I didn’t have any Vidmar boxes, but I did have a random toolbox that we had found awhile ago. I put Binford on the toolbox and vise. Of course that is from the TV show Tooltime with Tim Allen. He is also in Toy Story as Buzz Lightyear. In Toy Story, the toolbox Sid traps Buzz with is a Binford toolbox. So we both have reasons for the name change

I'm not sure what to do about a finish, I'm leaning toward just some shellac.