Replies

1. 
   BarryE | Jan 30, 2008 05:42am | #1

   Just buy him some Ryobi tools. ;)

   Are you talking woodworking? general construction? or?

   At 8 my dad was buying me standard tools. I think you would be better off at that age handpicking tools of the right size and weight and put the kit together yourself

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   Barry E-Remodeler

    

   
   

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   Edited 1/29/2008 9:43 pm by BarryE

2. 
   ToolFreakBlue | Jan 30, 2008 05:43am | #2

   no sets, they usually have junk you dn't need to get the tool count up.

   pick a decent tool box (that he can outgrow but still keep)

   pick out some USEFUL tools for him.  8oz hammer, 12 foot tape, torpedo level, square etc.   keep going til you hit your budget.

   You can always add to it going forward.

   These he will cherish,down the road.

   I still have the pair of linesman pliers my grandfather bought for me when I was 12 to start my tool collection, cool beans.

    

   TFB (Bill)
3. 
   junkhound | Jan 30, 2008 05:53am | #3

   When the last  grandkid hit 7 YO I gave him his very own knife and small hatchet. (and a list of which trees they can hack on, and ones they better not!!).  My 42 YO son still has the estwing hatchet I bought him when he was 7. 

   They have so may other tools nearby both here and at there house, I wait till they are older for sets, then get them something that will last their entire life.  e.g. will likely give the 11 YO a full set of mechanics tools - combination of Snap-on/Thorsen/old Craftsman for his next birthday. 

   If the 5 YO could take any tool home with him, it would be a Ryobi scroll saw, has great fun with that making 'puzzles' out of 1/8" ply, has not cut himself yet. 

   When they are older they will get my grandpa's planes and such, the backhoe and dozers, etc. <G>. 

1. 
   JulianTracy | Jan 30, 2008 08:16am | #7

   I still have the hatchet my Grandparents gave to me for Xmas when I was 10 (29 years ago)I treasure that hatchet and use the heck out it every time I go camping.JT

4. 
   dovetail97128 | Jan 30, 2008 05:55am | #4

   Just hit the store and buy him good quality hand tools.

   I would avoid high dollar power tools because by the time he is old enough to make real use of them the technology will have changed so much as to make many of them so antiquated as to be useless.

   ( Look at battery operated tools for example)

   The other posters have it correct.

   They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
5. 
   MrSQL | Jan 30, 2008 06:30am | #5

   I did this years ago for my sons. What I got them was real tools just smaller. Example: 12 oz finish hammer; 12" square; small Jorgensen parallel clamps; real tool belt with waist strap sown back; small hand crank drill, .... you get the idea. My oldest son is almost 19 now and we still have and use some of those tool [he got a Stihl chain saw at 13].

   Regards,
   Roger

    

6. 
   JDRHI | Jan 30, 2008 06:43am | #6

   Stay clear of any sets. Pick him up some decent tools, in smaller version, and have him build his own tool box with you.

   Simple basic design out of inexpensive 1X that can be easily worked (cut, nailed, drilled, screwed) by him with his new tools.

   J. D. Reynolds
   Home Improvements

    

    

   
   

7. 
   JeffBuck | Jan 30, 2008 08:53am | #8

   nice idea is get the plans for a real basic tool box / tote ...

   buy the hand tools needed to built it plus some extras ...

    

   then work side by side building his first tool box.

    

   back in trade school I made a nice old fashion open tool tote ...

   the kind with a dowel for the handle ... think the Woodwright's from PBS.

    

   I'm sure basic plans are everywhere.

   I'd adapt them to be nailed together ... if a table saw is available dado the bottom in the sides so it lasts ... but as basic as possible. He can always get a real toolbox later as the collection grows.

   Jeff

       Buck Construction

    Artistry In Carpentry

        Pittsburgh Pa

1. 
   ckorto | Jan 30, 2008 02:25pm | #9

   I agree with everyone else, build him a custom set of decent tools.  Then when you're in a pinch you can borrow them!

   Chuck

2. 
   MikeHennessy | Jan 30, 2008 03:59pm | #12

   "back in trade school I made a nice old fashion open tool tote ...the kind with a dowel for the handle ... think the Woodwright's from PBS."

   Hey, Jeff -- check out the toolbox under the bench -- look familiar? LOL

   View Image

   Same deal, but I used a debarked hunk of maple branch for the tote. Still use it, too.

   Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA

    

   
1. 
   Sphere | Jan 30, 2008 05:56pm | #13

   I like a tote like that for my special collection of hierloom tools from my youth, back when Fischer -Price was QUALITY!Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

   "Success is not spontaneous combustion, you have to set yourself on Fire"

1. 
   MikeHennessy | Jan 30, 2008 06:00pm | #14

   "back when Fischer -Price was QUALITY!"

   You mean, back before they were made in China -- outa lead? ;-)

   Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA

1. 
   Sphere | Jan 30, 2008 06:06pm | #15

   No lead, cast pot-metal..mostly zinc :)Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

   "Success is not spontaneous combustion, you have to set yourself on Fire"

8. 
   peteduffy | Jan 30, 2008 03:34pm | #10

   Buy some decent ones, like Craftsman.  He will likely take better care of better tools.  I still have a socket set my brother gave me about 30 years ago.  If it was a $1.99 set, I'm sure I would have lost or trashed it long ago.

   Craftsman are reasonably priced, and if they get damaged, easily swapped for new ones.

   Buy an engraver, and engrave his name on them too.  That will really give him a sense of ownership.

   And buy or build a nice toolbox to keep them safe and organized.

   Pete Duffy, Handyman

9. 
   McDesign | Jan 30, 2008 03:45pm | #11

   <The one's I have seen in the box stores are #### with #### tools?

   Whoa!  Prospero is censoring  C h i n e s e  now?

   Wow!

   Forrest