Our grandsons spent the night with us the other day, and Caden, the eight year old, wanted to build a project in the shop. There’s nothing unusual about that, he always wants to build something. But, in this case, he wanted to make a birthday present for his mom. What I think is unusual for an eight year old is that he knew exactly what he wanted to make, and had a pretty good idea how to make it.
His idea was metal flowers in a vase. I had a simple flower pattern from several years ago, so I knew we were on pretty safe footing. As soon as we went to the shop, he started looking for materials. He quickly found a piece of 3/16 round rod that he said was perfect for the flower stem. Then he started looking for vase material and spotted some old brass handrail tubes in the rack. He wanted a base for the vase and found a disk of 1/4 plate that I use as a spacer.
Once the design decisions were made, we went to work. I still do the cutting and welding, but I don’t think it will be too long before he takes over. He has an imagination that never stops. He can always dream up something to create. What amazes me is that he can also describe how to make it. He may not know (yet) which tool to grab, or how to use a welder or a plasma cutter, but he certainly knows what pattern needs cut out, and which pieces need welded together.
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