Great Christmas and Holiday Gifts for Woodworkers
- info3063374
- Nov 28, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 30, 2024
The holiday gift-giving season is here, and sometimes it's hard to know what to give the woodworker in your life. If they're well-experienced, then it's tough to find something—they probably already have most of what they need and want. But for folks just starting out with the woodworking hobby, there are plenty of affordable, game-changing tools and accessories that they might not even know they need.
Here are seven woodworking tools and accessories that I wish I'd had earlier in my woodworking career.
The MicroJig GRR-Ripper is designed to replace the flimsy and unstable push stick that comes with most table saws. The Gripper has a rubber base that grabs the board solidly, letting you put pressure in all of the necessary directions: down into the table, sideways against the table saw fence, and forward through the blade. It eliminates the inaccuracy that can come from the board wiggling, and the danger of kickback if that sideways and downward pressure falters. This is a must-have in my shop, and is my go-to method for pushing boards through the table saw.
A featherboard is a tool that helps to keep sideways pressure against the fence. It slides into the miter slot of the table saw, and then can lock into place. Align it so that it presses tight against the board you're pushing along the fence, and then lock the featherboard down. As you push the board forward through the blade, the feather board keeps it stable against the fence. There are many types of feather boards available, but I prefer the hedgehog type because it's easier to adjust and I feel like I can get better pressure with it.
I've had my 3M WorkTunes noise-cancelling headphones for several years now, and they are my ear-protectors of choice. They're easily adjustable and comfortable to wear for long periods of time, whether sanding or making a ton of repetitive cuts. They do a great job of reducing tool noise, without completely drowning it out so you can still hear if something is going awry with the tool. And the music sound qualify is top-notch—I wear them to listen to music in the shop even when I don't need hearing protection. They sync easily with the Bluetooth on my phone, and control music or calls with a single press of a button.
Simple and effective. Precision-milled piece of metal to specific sizes. Set up blocks are the best tool for setting heights of table saw blades, router bits, or small fence distances. And best, you don't have to worry about thicknesses if a line on a tape measure or any sort of wiggle or slop in how you're holding it. They're exactly the same size, every time, and that sort of precision is sometimes invaluable.
A thin strip jig is a tool that I don't use often, but when I need it, there's nothing better. Cutting thin strips of material between the blade and the fence can be imprecise and dangerous. As the thin piece releases from the rest of the wood, the blade often catches it and fires it backwards like a missile. You learn very quickly to stand out of the way. A better solution than dodging, however, is this thin strip jig, which works very similar to a feather board. Slide it into the miter slot, and then set it the distance from the blade that you want the strip to be thick. Run the cut, and then move the fence and board over until they're touching the jig again. Run cut number two, and you've got identical strips of wood. This tool is great for creating your own edge banding.
Aprons aren't just for cooking in the kitchen. A woodworking apron keeps your clothes and pockets sawdust-free—or at least sawdust-reduced. They also have numerous pockets and pouches for the tools that you need close at hand, like a tape measure, chisels, pencils, notebooks, hammers, calipers, or glue. I forget to wear mine sometimes, and I almost always regret it. Get a good one made of heavy duty material, and it will last for a long time.
No more lugging around metal toolboxes in my shop. I love my bucket tool organizers. These are heavy-duty pocket systems designed to wrap around a 5 gallon pail and hold all of the tools that you need when working off-site. I love mine because you can see all the tools that you have with you at a glance, and find them without having to dig through drawers. Plus the center of the bucket holds a bunch of things that a portable toolbox probably can't. I keep all my most commonly used tools in a bucket now, just because it's so much easier to access and use.
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