Dremel for kids?

I'm sick to death of small bandsaws wandering and breaking their blades, but yes, if you have a decent one they're brilliant. That's something which would present a problem though, due to its size.
There certainly are some good looking alternatives to the Dremel, eg there's one at 200W. It's those useful-tool-looking accessories which I'm leaning towards though. I expect the others have caught up with Dremel - I must search for tests. I'm nor sure if "other brands" would fit the accessories.
The router-end is probably the most udeful , and maybe the flexy for small hands. A £35 quid kit has those. The vertical drill stand its appealing - I haven't seen how big their shed is!

The cost is actually low enough to be in the noise even at £200+, the quality of the BOX is probably about the most important thing. something in a strong squared shaped case is much easier to store.

The more I think about it, the less I like the idea of home schooling. KIds need to mix with other kids, see some bullies and how they're handled, that sort of thing. These kids are undeniably bright. I'm gong to sit them down and teach them what voltage is, in a way that works, then Ohm's law. Then how to use a transistor. I HAVE taught a kid all of that in an hour at about 14yo, and she just said OK, Easy. Never managed my wife to "get it" though.
 
robinbanks said:
Not sure what point is being made here, but I specifically mention a scroll saw because you don't cut your fingers off if they come into contact with a running scroll saw blade

No way would I let any children, least of all my neighbour's children, anywhere near a bandsaw, but a scroll saw is very easy to master and orders of magnitude safer
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I get what you are saying, but of the saw types, bandsaws are one of the safer saw types.
 
I don't disagree with that.. It's just these kids aren't even teenagers yet; scroll saws were the only powered saws at all in primary (styrofoam shapes) and using band saws in tech was at least 13+ in secondary. And that was many moons ago, in a lower H&S/blame-claim world

If you choose to let them use a powered saws, maybe continuous observation and stand somewhere you can easily push them back if they're going to cut a digit off. I'm happy to let my 7 year old use a sliding compound mitre saw, but only if i'm holding their arms while they do
 
Justin Passing said:
I'm going to have to "lend" things
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Better that they come to your properly set up workshop and be under your supervision for design&technology lessons, than you lending your stuff to her (and I'm sure she will appreciate the few hours' break to get other life admin stuff done)

She probably isn't the only one in the same predicament; the home educators I know have WhatsApp groups where they support each other. Not sure how many kids you could accommodate but it could be a great thing for you (in terms of the mental boost/distraction) to give up some hours on a few different days to a few home eds in her network..?

Perhaps also, contact some charities or churches that do education related activities and see if they can help you get a DBS check if you don't have one (you can cover the cost for them I'm sure) if you enjoy the process and want to expand this.
My church run a listening service where they go into primary schools to just be a trusted adult to sit and listen to kids worries and struggles, you get lessons for yourself on how to deal with things that come up, and it's somewhat disturbing how many kids out there need someone to hear them and just don't have anyone. There are online curses you can do for acquiring safeguarding skills too, as it's quite likely that eventually you'll become the one person one of these kids feels they can talk to, or you'll overhear things you may want to talk with them about

Justin Passing said:
this for example only has a 6.4mm cutting depth
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An oscillating multi tool has a similar or greater depth, easier to control (most circular style saws in this world do not look like a pen- circ saws, mitre saws, Stihl saws, chain saws etc; all of them you hold in line with the blade rather than having a blade at the end of a long lever) and carries a lower injury risk

Don't underestimate the independent, misplaced confidence a fiercely intelligent nine year old will acquire after their first few supervised cuts, to launch into something risky when your back is turned :)

I think the manual saw is a good idea and the finer the teeth the less risk. Teaches them too the skills of using hand tools and that power tools aren't always a good solution
 

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