Woodworking With My Special Son

My interest in woodworking was sparked at an early age by my father. He created many beautiful things from wood, some from plans, many from his own designs.

His creativity and craftsmanship inspired me, and with his help I began to work with wood too.

One particular project that my father helped me with as a young teenager was a small wooden serving tray that I used to get my woodworking badge in the Boy Scouts. I still have and use that tray, over 50 years later!

As my children grew, I hoped to pass along some of my passion to my own son, but I was not sure that would happen. You see, my son Paul has Down syndrome.

As a child Paul helped me with some of the tasks on my projects and seemed to be genuinely interested in the work. I was excited when, in Junior High Shop class, Paul started to become more interested in woodworking. He continued that interest through High School where he selected Wood Shop as his option for all three years. In those classes he had lots of help from his teachers, and experienced success as he saw his projects through to completion.

As he grew older, I was not sure if that interest would continue, but more recently has wanted to do some projects of his own choosing. The purpose of this article is to tell you a little about that journey.

Paul, now 34, has grown up in Calgary and has always been active despite his disability. He was in Scouts for many years, ending as a Scout leader. He played community softball and is currently active in Special Olympics where he plays softball in the summer and curls in the winter. He graduated from Columbia College and gave one of the valedictory addresses. He has had a job as an Awareness Leader for nine years and lives semi-independently, with a supportive roommate. In 2019 he was able to purchase his own condo, which he helped to renovate.

Independence sparked interest

As Paul has gained more independence, he expressed an increased interest in working with me on some projects of his choosing. I wanted to support that independence and to help Paul become more skillful and confident in his work. He and I first went to the library. There we found several books with projects that I thought he and I could work on together – the criteria were that they had to be simple, quick, use standard tools, and be useful.

It was Paul’s apartment living that helped us choose the first project. Paul is not tall and reaching some of the higher cupboards is a challenge. Using a chair is not always safe, nor handy. Thus, we decided that a simple step stool would be the most useful place to start.

The material was plywood; it was easy to cut and sand. There were few pieces, and the assembly was done with screws. Painting was simple because all sides were easily accessible. The simple construction allowed us to complete it over a weekend or so, and thus Paul’s interest and enthusiasm remained high.

It was a great success and remains in use in his apartment today.

After that initial flush of success, Paul was keen to do more, and Christmas was approaching. He and I made some desk nameplates for his co-workers and friends, and Paul was able to proudly distribute them as presents.

More recently, just before the pandemic hit, Paul got a new bed for his bedroom – a bed with a head that raises and lowers. This created a problem with his night table. When the bed was flat, the night table placed near the pillow was useful for his clock, lamp, etc. However, when the bed head was raised, the night table was too far back to be useful and had to be move forward. But, if left in that location, when the bed head was lowered the night table was too far away and there was a gap between it and the wall. Clearly, a different solution was needed, and no commercial night tables were readily available. We realized we would have to design something ourselves. I explained how the process would unfold and Paul was eager to start.

Paul and I put our heads together and began the design process. We considered the needs: a longer table with space on top as well as a drawer and open shelf to hold the items normally stored on and in a night table. A concern was what to do with the large amount of space in the cabinet. We did not want it to go to waste, yet a long drawer or a very deep open shelf would not be useful. We came up with several designs and evaluated the pros and cons of each. Through this activity, Paul developed a deeper understanding of, and appreciation for, the value of time spent on refining the design.

Because the night table is between Paul’s bed and his desk, we ultimately came up with a solution that incorporated a drawer and shelf at the end of the cabinet, and two drawers on the rear at the side, facing the desk.

The next step was to determine the size of the unit and how it would be constructed. We based the overall size of the cabinet top on the relative position of the head of the bed. We based the height on the height of the bed and the current night table. We then determined the size of the drawers and shelf by dividing the cabinet into the most useful spaces. Thus, we were able to develop working drawings.

Construction phase

The design done, we then turned to construction. Again, plywood was the material of choice for the cabinet, and we decided that biscuits would be a good way to join the pieces. Dadoes were considered, but I wanted to minimize the use of the table saw to allow Paul to do more of the project. This also allowed me to purchase a biscuit cutter – after all, what good is a project unless it allows one to purchase another tool! We used manufactured drawer sides from Windsor Plywood to construct the drawer boxes rather than make our own.

We have always focused on safety in the shop and we always wear eye and hearing protection. Prior to each stage of the construction, Paul and I went over the steps we were going to perform, discussing potential problems. We ensured that our work area was clear, and nothing would interfere, and that we were situated in a safe position.

I cut the pieces to size on the table saw, then Paul helped me cut the biscuit slots and assemble the case with glue and clamps. We built the drawers together, with Paul cutting the pieces using the chop saw, drilling the pilot holes, and driving the screws. The drawer fronts were cut from the same plywood as the case, and all exposed edges were finished with iron-on edging. We designed the drawer pulls to fit Paul’s hand size and milled them from solid wood.

Paul did the sanding and most of the finishing. I only had to finish the hard-to-reach areas and interior corners.

The fact that this project took several weeks to complete and involved the whole process from design through to finishing, helped Paul gain a better appreciation for why some projects cannot be completed in a weekend. Because he was able to do more of the work himself, he gained confidence with the tools and working safely, and he felt more ownership and pride in the outcome.

The finished product, as you can see from the photos, was a source of great pride for both of us, and it more than meets the purpose for which it was intended, as evidenced by the photo in Paul’s room.

I have been incredibly pleased with Paul’s progress as a woodworker, and he has been excited by his success. This has been very gratifying for me as a parent and has shown once again that people with disabilities can often do more than we ever expect of them. It has been wonderful for me too, to pass on some woodworking interest and skill to another generation.

ps – Paul’s success has encouraged him to think more broadly and that has begun to challenge me. He now wants to make a banjo! Perhaps I have created a monster!