Mateo “The Apprentice” – March 2013

Video - May 19, 2013

There’s only one thing more important to me than woodworking and that’s family. Jersey tomato pie and BBQ are tied for third.

I have no intention of forcing my son to enjoy woodworking, but if he wants to go that route I’ll be happy to help him along. So far, the signs are positive. More than any room in the house, the boy absolutely LOVES being in the shop. Of course the shop isn’t exactly safe for a little guy so we spend most of our time chasing him down and making sure he doesn’t hurt himself. So far, the biggest hazard in the shop is the grit in the epoxy floor.

So here’s a fun little “slice of life” video of my boy enjoying a day of work in the shop.

Discussion

Dan Mule` May 19, 2013 10:46 am

Hey Marc. How funny. He’s just the right height to clean under those hard to reach places! He definitely seems to have the Spagnuolo look too. Take care.
Dan

Reply
Marilyn May 19, 2013 12:26 pm

Nooowww! I know why you made such a big workshop! Running room.

Reply
Tom L May 19, 2013 2:42 pm

Wow. Seems like it was just the other day you were reporting on his birth.

Reply
jason piper May 19, 2013 4:22 pm

it’s a shop monkey!!!!! I have a 6 yr old one too. they come in handy picking up things that fall on the floor. I can see a shop stool build in the near future so he can reach the bench.

Reply
Malcolm May 19, 2013 5:06 pm

I showed this to my 2 year old little girl and I think she now has a crush on Mateo.. she made me replay it 4 times!

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo May 19, 2013 5:10 pm
  
  aww lol that’s awesome!
  
  Reply
Jim May 19, 2013 5:49 pm

Thanks Mark. It is always wonderful to see them healthy and having fun. Also seeing mom & dad chasing after them. It’s healthy for all of you.

Reply
james May 19, 2013 5:54 pm

Marc, he is the cut out of you as we say in Ireland… Wait til he is a year or two older and you won’t be able to keep him out .. I have a 5 and its very hard to get into the shop without them and its impossible to do anything when they are in there lol

enjoy it

James

Reply
Stan P May 19, 2013 6:14 pm

It is hard to believe that he is walking (I should say running) already!!!! But what is scary is that he looks like you.

Reply
Patrick May 19, 2013 7:48 pm

Awesome Marc. File these memories away for when he is a teenager.

Reply
eric1978 May 19, 2013 7:51 pm

Turning the wheel on the leg vise…it’s so cute at first, then they realize how far they can back it out. It’s how he’ll “help” you…over, and over, and over again. :)

Reply
Kevin May 19, 2013 7:56 pm

Of course he loves it, it’s like a mall of danger in there.

Reply
Riley May 19, 2013 8:30 pm

He is getting big, my 2 year old loves being out in my shop with me as long as I am no where near a tool. Yesterday I was out there tidying up, but as soon as I started roll out the dust collecter he was out the door in 2 seconds flat. I wish they could stay this size forever.

Reply
Johnny May 19, 2013 8:52 pm

Congrats Marc.. He looks just like you. As I have just recently gotten married, I look forward to having my own apprentice in the shop as well.

Marriage was the only way to keep being able to visit the site after your blondie in the bed episode lol!

Reply
Dave May 19, 2013 10:02 pm

Marc – That’s awesome. Nothing like the pure innocence and curiosity of a toddler. My kids are 6 and 9 now, and I already find myself longing for the early days. No agendas, no strings, just pure unbridled chaos!! Love it. Cherish it all, it moves by quickly.

Dave

Reply
Steve Bobilin May 19, 2013 11:05 pm

Awwh!

He is the spitting image of you! Reminds me of my son at that age. You have you priorities right! Enjoy each minute. He is precious!

Reply
Mark Loughran May 20, 2013 2:40 am

Congrats Marc and Nicole, he is soooo cute!!!

Reply
Frank May 20, 2013 4:59 am

What is Jersey Tomato Pie?

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo May 20, 2013 6:06 am
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato_pie
  
  Reply
Jay May 20, 2013 6:22 am

Marc,

You started my day off perfectly! He is adorable — must be Nicole’s genes?!?!
That was a whole new view of the shop.
Jay

Reply
Nathan Martis May 20, 2013 7:06 am

He looks just like you marc

Reply
Skee May 20, 2013 10:02 am

It is like an alternative shop tour… You see all the tool stations and get a totally different perspective on the shop!

Reply
Peter Smith May 20, 2013 10:09 am

Marc – I do believe you’ve made the original Wooden Boy! He’s Awesome! In a year or so I’ll expect to see the same shoot with foam taped to all the edges of things he now fits under.
Peter

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo May 20, 2013 11:26 am
  
  We just plan to completely wrap him in bubble wrap. Should take care of it. :)
  
  Reply
Jay May 20, 2013 10:46 am

Marc/Nicole,

Two things…I know he’s a little young, but I trained my 5 year old daughter that the shop was a no running zone…EVER. As he grows you can get him in that mode and hopefully avoid major injuries. My daughter now does a heel-toe walk around the tools and she’s been coming to shop for over three years.

Second…the end caption should say…That’s enough work for today…but I see what I’m going to get into tomorrow. :)

I enjoyed the video. It made me smile and think of good times in the shop with my little one. She now has her own tools, workbench with vise, list of projects she wants to build by herself and one of projects she’d like to build with me.

Here is to many more years of shop time with Mateo!

Jay

Reply
Mike Baron May 20, 2013 12:50 pm

Marc,

I have daughter about the same age and as soon as she is in the garage, I think I say “No” or “don’t touch” that about 100 times a minute and I love every second of it. What we did do that I highly recommend is, create an email account for our daughter and send it picture and video…..At 19 months old we have already spent some time looking back. You have a beautiful family thanks for sharing.

Reply
Todd May 20, 2013 1:05 pm

Great video Marc and Nicole. You need to be pretty proud of yourselves. So when is he going to have a sibling?

Reply
Devildawg91 May 20, 2013 6:49 pm

Marc & Nicole very cute video of Mateo in the shop.

Reply
Jonathan May 21, 2013 6:50 am

Makes me feel bad that my kids get a cramped dust filled shop. Just a warning though, once they grow a little all the surfaces they can safely walk under suddenly are at right height to hit when they aren’t looking up.

Reply
muddlermike May 21, 2013 8:18 am

Notice he went for the workbench and not a power tool? He’s gonna go all galoot on you in his late teens, buying up used, antique tools in dark alleys and flea markets, and get a tat of “Festool Sucks!” on his neck in an effort to declare his independence from his father. My advice? Just roll with it and suggest getting the tat in a spot that can be covered up later on with, say, a long sleeve Eddie Bower shirt.

Reply
Scott Ronsse May 21, 2013 8:39 am

Thats Mateo?!? He walking already? man time flies… Wonderful video, thanks for sharing it!

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo May 21, 2013 8:49 am
  
  That’s actually Mateo about 3 months ago. Time’s flying. :)
  
  Reply
Richard May 24, 2013 8:54 am

Not only does he look like his father but also walks and talks the same. Must be the bad genes for the father’s side of the family.

When my son was young (but older than Mateo) wanted to build ‘remote-controlled’ boats like he had seen that day. His boat consisted of shop scraps in a rather non sea worthy configuration. The ‘remote’ as an empty electrical box with non electrical things inside and out. As he was building these two items I kept saying that it was ‘make believe’ only to get ignored.

When finished he told his mother that “I was good with the wooden stuff but not with the metal bits!” putting my B.Eng (electical) to shame!

Reply
Eric R May 24, 2013 9:34 am

He is a lucky little fellow.
Great video, dad.

Reply
Bruce B May 24, 2013 9:48 am

aw sooo cute. Thank goodness he looks like Nicole :) No 5 o’clock shadow
My baby just turned 25!

Reply
Ras May 24, 2013 3:29 pm

Really really cute. Man, time flies.

What’s in the really big box????

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo May 24, 2013 4:13 pm
  
  Cabinets. :)
  
  Reply
jHop May 25, 2013 10:22 am

Coly Hrap! Walking? Already? And you haven’t made him stop yet?

nice vid of a cute kid. Brought a smile to my face, and a couple of “uuhhh, don’t touch that,” “watch out for …,” and “Hey! Get back here!” to my mouth before I realized it. So the parent in me is thinking that there’s a lot of child-proofing to do… and the woodworker in me is going “Yes! Another one!”

Congratulations, you two, on a great kid! And here’s hoping he likes working with the tools in the future.

Reply
Philip Shie May 29, 2013 2:53 pm

Awesome!

Reply
Randy June 2, 2013 7:06 pm

Great video! Good to see him running already!

Reply
Greg June 4, 2013 7:18 am

Boy this brings back memories. Reminds me of when my own kids were that age and how they used to want to be where I was and do what I was doing.

Good times. They’re grown now and times are still good.

Reply
Ryan June 7, 2013 1:58 pm

You know, this reminds me of a topic for safety week….

I have young kids as well and I can’t tell you how often I go into my garage shop and realize that I’ve left a tool plugged in or something sharp and/or heavy laying about. We haven’t had any accidents, but every time I catch myself I cringe at the thought. It’s pretty easy to think about personal safety from the perspective of an adult, but as a woodworker, you also need to think about the safety of other people that have access to your workspace when you aren’t around, especially kids – and that’s not always easy to do. The tools we use aren’t only dangerous when plugged in and moving.

There are a lot of really useful tips I can think of in this area… One that I’m sorry I didn’t think of in advance is to put a set of kill switches up high on the wall so I can power off all the outlets easily. Making sure that your wood racks are secure and stable. Things like that.

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo June 7, 2013 3:41 pm
  
  Honestly, I have trouble thinking of how I can ever make my shop truly safe. Right now, he passes under most head obstacles and he does take the occasional tumble. But eventually, he’s going to want to get into every nook and cranny and child-proofing a shop is going to be impossible. So very soon, I’m going to have to limit his access dramatically. And I doubt I’ll ever be comfortable having him in the shop without me being just a few steps behind. Fortunately, I have the sub-panel in the shop to disable power as needed, but there are a few hundred blades in various forms around the shop. As you say, they don’t need to be powered to do damage. It’s going to be a difficult ride! :)
  
  Reply
  - Mike West January 21, 2014 11:46 pm
    
    Marc, That boy of your’s is the spitting image of you! Incredible what you can create from a few splinters of wood! LoL. Great work he’s beautiful!
    
    Reply
    - Marc Spagnuolo January 22, 2014 8:28 am
      
      Thanks so much Mike!
Grantman June 9, 2013 3:32 am

Sweet, Marc. It put a real smile on my face this early Sunday morning. Ironically, I just came back upstairs from checking the first-half glue up on my “Cut Above” end grain cutting board.

Neither of my kids followed me into the shop but my son (22) just built a stone retaining wall. He actually said, “Dad, I didn’t follow you into the wood shop, but I can do this” pointing at his incredible work. I told him I didn’t care what he did as long as he worked with his hands.

Best to you and Nicole

Reply
Charles Kwakye June 9, 2013 8:32 pm

You it is really nice to see your son on the cam. He is really happy just like my son, when he was Mateo’s age. My son was always happy to go to my shop, until I moved my shop to Ghana.
I haven’t been able to set up a new shop yet, but I hope some day my son Jeremiah would get excited just as Mateo does, at least for now. Marc You and your lovely wife , have done a great job. raising him up.
You are young and I admires you a lot, most of all your greatest supporter, your wife.
I need to start taking the guild lessons from you before Mateo becomes my Master.

Reply
Paul D. June 16, 2013 9:58 pm

Happy father’s day Marc!

Reply
Gary June 17, 2013 9:35 pm

Cute video. I also checked out that tomato pie. Yum.

Reply
Ron Dennis June 21, 2013 10:32 am

Precious! As a guy who has no children, it was heart-lifting to see this.

Reply
Rafael June 22, 2013 4:09 am

Great to that Mateo is doing so well, oh yea you’ll enjoy the “WHY ?” stage soon, keep up the good work.

Reply
Gary Bell July 29, 2013 12:44 pm

too dang cute

Reply
Tim Harrelson August 19, 2013 3:48 pm

Poor Nicole….she did all the work and Mateo is a Spagnuolo through and through. He is a beautiful boy! This is a great time in your lives – enjoy!

Reply
Desertelmo August 12, 2015 11:18 am

When I was about 8 I got into my dads tools in the garage without him knowing it. I built a crystal radio from a library book and he took to radio shack or something like that for the crystal diode. However his enthusiasm for my working radio was tempered by my use of a chisel and hammer to split plywood for my project. He didnt know much about woodworking and never seemed to have the time (9 kids) or inclination to help me out. Although he is no longer here, I know he is smiling down on me as I work on my projects.Patricia

Reply

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Mateo “The Apprentice” – March 2013

Advertisers