The adult's part
Scouting America's SAFE Project Tool Use sheet sets out four protocols for tool use in service projects, and they work as a frame for any workshop with children in it:
- Supervision. A qualified adult is on site, with the knowledge and skill to use or supervise every tool in the project.
- Assessment. The area is checked for hazards and cleared between users, and the supervising adult decides what protective equipment is needed — the sheet's examples include safety glasses or a face shield, ear protection, work gloves and sturdy shoes, and the tool maker's recommendations.
- Fitness and skills. Who uses which tool depends on the child's maturity — mental, physical, emotional and social — not only on age.
- Equipment. The most restrictive guideline applies, and a tool maker's age or skill limits in its own safety literature override the table. When in doubt, a trained adult does the job.
In practice the adult chooses a project the child can finish, cuts and drills every part that needs a machine, and sets up each step so the child's part — marking, sanding, driving screws, painting — can be done safely and well. A kit with the parts already cut does much the same; what to check in one made for children is in woodworking kits.
Which tools, at which level
The sheet's table lists tools against Scouting America's program levels. Cub Scout dens are organised by school grade, from kindergarten to fifth grade, and the levels run from Lions and Tigers, who work with an adult partner, through Wolf, Bear, Webelos and Arrow of Light to Scouts BSA; the sheet defines older Scouts BSA as 13 and past eighth grade, or 14 and up.
| Tools | From which level |
|---|---|
| Hammers, screwdrivers, wood sanding blocks, paint brushes | Every level, Lions and Tigers with an adult partner |
| Pocket or wood-carving knives | Bear, then Webelos and up, after the Whittling Adventure or Totin' Chip |
| Handsaws, wood chisels, planes, brace and bits | Scouts BSA and older |
| Small handheld electric screwdrivers and palm sanders | Scouts BSA and older |
| Belt or large sanders | Older Scouts BSA, Sea Scouts and Venturers |
| Circular, reciprocating, radial, band and scroll saws; routers, planers, drill presses | Adult use only |
From the 680-028 sheet, 2026 revision. It is written for service projects, not for tool use inside advancement requirements.
Two points in the sheet are worth reading closely. It says Lions and Tigers cannot use tools during service projects, while its own table ticks hammers, screwdrivers, sanding blocks and brushes for Lions and Tigers with an adult partner; the stricter reading is the safer one. And the table is a ceiling, not a target: a level being ticked does not mean a particular child is ready.
Outside Scouting, the US law on child labour treats woodworking machines as a hazardous occupation: 29 CFR 570.55 declares operating, setting up or cleaning power-driven woodworking machines particularly hazardous for employees aged 16 and 17, and defines those machines broadly enough to include portable saws, nailers and staplers. It governs paid work, not a family workshop, but it shows how seriously machine work by minors is treated.
Projects that fit, and how to divide them
| Project | The child's part | The adult's part |
|---|---|---|
| Unit blocks | Sanding every face and easing edges with a sanding block | All sawing to a stop; checking the toy rules on that page |
| Bookends | Marking lengths, sanding, driving screws by hand, painting | Cutting the parts and drilling the pocket holes |
| Boot rack | Sanding, positioning the cleats, driving screws | Checking the scrap for metal, and all the cutting |
| Star ornament | Tracing the pattern, filing and sanding the points, painting | Cutting the star out, unless the child's level allows a handsaw |
| Heart token | Carving, only at a level where knives are allowed and with a glove on the holding hand | Teaching the knife grips and staying beside the child |
BenchRoot's suggested division. The project pages give the sizes, cut lists and steps.
Anything made for a young child to play with is a children's product, with its own rules on small parts and coatings; those are set out in wooden toy plans. Paint and finish follow the label of the product used.
Cub Scout projects
When cub scout wood projects are part of an adventure, the current handbook's requirements — not this page — say what each one involves. The knife row above is the one that comes up most: Scouting America's table allows pocket or wood-carving knives from Bear upward only after the Whittling Adventure or Totin' Chip, so cub scout whittling projects such as the heart token belong after that, not before. For a pack or den building together, the sheet's protocols — supervision, assessment, maturity and the most restrictive guideline — apply to every station.
Safety— The adult's checklist comes first
Eye protection for everyone at the bench, work clamped rather than held, and machines run only by the adult, following their manuals. The rules for any workshop are in woodworking safety rules.
Before a project with a child
- A qualified adult present for the whole session
- The project chosen so the child can do most of the hand work
- Every machine cut and hole done by the adult beforehand
- Each tool checked against the child's level and the maker's limits
- Protective equipment decided by the adult for each task
- Toy rules checked if the result is for a young child
Projects for the adult to build first, in an order that adds one skill at a time, are in beginner woodworking projects. The tools themselves, and what a first kit needs, are in the beginner tools guide.
Sources
Scouting America's sheet is written for service projects and says it does not cover tool use inside advancement requirements; it is used here because it is the only published table of youth tool use by age group we found. The federal rule applies to employment, not to a family workshop. How each project is divided between adult and child is BenchRoot's suggestion, to be judged against the child in front of you.
- 1.
SAFE Project Tool Use (680-028, 2026 revision). Scouting America, 2026.
Used for: Qualified adult supervision on site; a hazard assessment and protective equipment set by qualified supervisors; tool use based on maturity; the most restrictive guidelines followed, with tool makers' age and skill restrictions superseding the table; Lions and Tigers not using tools during service projects; the age-appropriate table of tools by program level; knives after the Whittling Adventure or Totin' Chip; the sheet not covering tool use in advancement requirements.
- 2.
Cub Scouts. Scouting America.
Used for: Cub Scout dens organised by grade level, kindergarten to fifth grade.
- 3.
29 CFR 570.55, Occupations involved in the operation of power-driven woodworking machines (Order 5). U.S. Department of Labor, via the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations.
Used for: Operating, setting up, adjusting, repairing, oiling or cleaning power-driven woodworking machines declared particularly hazardous for minors 16 to 18 in employment, with power-driven woodworking machines defined to include fixed and portable tools for cutting, shaping, surfacing, nailing and stapling wood.
About this guide
Written by BenchRoot Editorial. How BenchRoot sources, checks and corrects its pages is set out in the Editorial Policy. If something here is wrong or unclear, the contact page explains how to tell us.