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Go back a couple of pages and see
this one . It has the guts of a good bench without the fuss. Sounds like you have an excellent top for it. You would have to scale it down for a boy that young, but just make it lower and change out the legs when he gets bigger. Making an all-around child-size bench would be a waste. They grow very fast if you haven't noticed.
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I built a quick base for my lathe. It is 2x4's and 4x4's assembled using 1/4-20 bolts. I think the whole thing took 2 hours to build but I did use power tools to do it. The thing is rock solid and would make a perfect bench for a kid. It will also be easy to add a cabinet in the future if you decide too. I'll take some detailed photos of it this evening and post them so you can see how basic it is. It is also very inexpensive to build. I think you could build the whole thing for less than $25 in material not including the top.
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Another thought, once you get the bench built, is to put a piece of non-skid under each leg. Something like this-
Cheap and easy to find at home centers, big boxes, hardware store and probably your local grocery. Help your buddy minimize frustrations and a chance for an injury.
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Deck screws and 2X4s work really well. Not fine joinery, I know, but you can make simple lap joints by laminating the 2X4s (you can even "laminate" them with screws instead of glue) and then fixing everything in place with the screws. L-brackets will hold the top on just fine.
Do your best to make the bench as heavy as possible, which can be tough with a small bench. As soon as your son starts using a hand plane, it will be really important that the bench not move when he uses it, otherwise he will probably get really frustrated. A bottom shelf with something heavy on it (tool boxes, lumber, sandbags, whatever) will help keep it in place.
Also, build it high enough for him to grow into. Kids grow tall before you can turn around.
Steve S.
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Tradition cannot be inherited, and if you want it you must obtain it by great labour.
- T. S. Eliot
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I built a couple for my boys. For the vises, I made face vises with 1/2" cold rolled and 1/2" coil rod. Coil rod is used in place of snap-ties in concrete forms. When I told the form hardware place they gave me a couple of pieces and nuts. The other thing to make is a small tool tote box.
I filled it with a small egg beater drills, useable German ones were still being sold, 8oz hammers, short homeowner hand saws, the ones with hardened teeth, and try squares out of the on sale bin.
In a couple of years my granddaughter will get her father's.
A man of foolish pursuits