How old was your kid before you could trust him with a power tool?

Question

A chainsaw for example? Or a trimmer?

Was it a wrong decision that you made?

Answer 1

My dad left me alone with the table saw for the first time when I was in my late 20s. HUGE moment for both of us.

(And girls use power tools, too, you know.)

Answer 2

Chainsaws are notoriously dangerous. Even for adults. There is no way i would allow a child to use a chainsaw or trimmer. I have allowed my son (9) to use sanders, drills, and routers. He enjoys working with wood. And he does while supervised. I dont think it was a wrong decision to allow him to use them.

Answer 3

2 yrs old. My son has a little plastic Home Depot power tool bench. LOL!! He's gonna be mamas little carpenter building me stuff :)

Answer 4

I would NEVER let my kids near a chainsaw, not even my 14 year old! As for other power tools, Lia (my 14 year old step daughter) took shop class the past 2 years so she already knows how to use power tools. We don't let her use them unsupervised obviously, but if she wants to build something (like a birdhouse) my husband will supervise her using his tools

Answer 5

My girls are WAY too young to even think about power tools right now but I wouldn't let them mess with one until they are old enough to handle it and strong enough to handle one...probably late teens or something like that...h**l I don't even trust my hubby with a power tool and he is 23 lol.

Answer 6

Chain saws require a good deal of upper body strength, I was 18 before I ventured to work with a chain saw, or spot wield.

The rest of the shop tools lathes, table saws .drill presses planers , hydraulic presses had been shown safe operation procedures since i was 7 so for me to use them I have to show my Dad Not only the safety procedures but the ability to design and draft the plans so as to have the smallest amount of waste material.

I grew up  with a complete shop and I would never tackle anything bigger than I was.

I believe respect for the danger involved in a shop and a sincere respect for those people who have the expertise is self explanatory.  

Answer 7

im 14 and my parents still dont trust me with any power tools. they said "you can use powertools 100 feet away from the house"

Answer 8

ha! even at the age of 12 i was cutting the cords off my dad's drills and pretending they were lazer guns.  this depends on your kid, man.  if he's a little twerp like i was, wait until he has a job and can buy you new tools.