Of course you need more clamps, dear. |
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From the Woodworker Why do I like woodworking? My guess is woodworkers are strong on 3-dimensional reasoning, short on verbal reasoning. For me: fits my abilities, days are relaxed and enjoyable, get to spend days engaged in creative pursuits and with my pal Spooner. Getting paid to have fun. Can knock off and go flyfishing whenever we please. Get to spend whatever I like on fancy boards, tools, machines, and hardware, and call it "business expense". Our thanks to Timothy Juvenal for his contribution to this page. 
Find out about Woodworking You can find out what they're up to without much effort. The following resources should help. Imagine the fun of finally understanding what they're talking about! Ask your Woodworker If you want to find out about woodworking, ask your woodworker. Warning: Be prepared for enraptured monologues about the properties of wood, possibly accompanied by the display and caressing of various pieces of lumber. You'll quickly discover that they see every chunk of wood as a chunk of potential. They see what it can become in their hands, with a whole lot of careful, skillful, painstaking work. Listen to them talk about it. And don't underestimate your influence. If you read the web pages, many woodworkers talk about how they make furniture for their spouse or how their favorite piece was inspired by a family member. And, hey, if you sponsor a woodworker for all those tools and all that time, why shouldn't you get some nice stuff out of it? Look at what they make and imagine having something so lovely created just for you! If you want to find out what they're doing, try watching this show. You don't have to sit down and take notes or anything, but try turning it on while you're doing other things. Even watching out of the corner of your eye, you'll see beautiful pieces, nifty tools and pick up a lot of terminology by osmosis. Follow the TV Schedule links for the broadcast schedule. We also enjoyed the Shop Tour feature on their website. If your woodworker prefers hand tools to power tools, you might enjoy browsing this internet magazine. It's by, for and about "galoots" (woodworkers who like old hand tools). While you might not be interested in the tools themselves, the Snips section has lots of galoots telling wonderful galoot stories. The Shop Tours section is also a fun browse.
The appearance of hyperlinks on this web site does not constitute endorsement by Spousal Sponsorship Program of any of the hyperlinked web sites, or the information, products or services contained therein. Spousal Sponsorship Program does not warrant or guarantee the content or accuracy of any information presented in hyperlinked sites, and does not make any representations (expressed or implied) as to the accuracy, currency or authenticity of the information and materials of third parties that may be accessed through this web site. Any reference or hyperlink obtained from this site to a specific commercial or non-commercial site, product, process, or service does not constitute or imply an endorsement by Spousal Sponsorship Program of the site, product, process, or service, or its producer or provider. Any product information is provided by the hyperlinked site, and Spousal Sponsorship Program makes no warranty, expressed or implied, including warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, or assume any legal liability for the accuracy, completeness, usefulness or application of any product information from this site or the hyperlinks to other sites. Although the names of privately owned companies may be listed, that listing in no way implies endorsement of any company or its products by Spousal Sponsorship Program, which does not recommend or otherwise promote any of the services or products offered by any of the hyperlinked sites. Hyperlinks are provided solely as a service to users of Spousal Sponsorship Program, and therefore should not be construed as advocating or reflecting any position of Spousal Sponsorship Program. |
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Gift Ideas With these folks, it's all about tools and raw materials. They do this because they love to take a pile of wood and turn it into things that are beautiful, useful or both. They want good pieces of wood and tools that help them realize what's in their heads.
Surefire Winner! When we asked a newsgroup full of woodworkers what they would enjoy receiving as a gift, they did the internet version of jumping up and down and screaming that they wanted gift certificates to Lee Valley. Not only do they want them, they apparently can't get enough of them. They have long detailed lists of things they want from this place. Want the happiest woodworker ever? Get the family, the friends, the office or all of the above to chip in on one big gift card from Lee Valley. Get more than one zero on the amount and your woodworker will be walking on air.
Gift Certificates Woodworking is project work. They pick a project, then assemble the materials and tools they need to make it happen. There are small supplies they always need. Nails, glue, drill bits, etc. In addition, until they've been at it for a long time, each new project needs at least one new tool. If your woodworker likes a particular local hardware store, see if they offer gift cards. You can also snoop around and see which catalogs they're thumbing. Many mail order companies offer gift certificates. If not, or if you're not local, these stores are widely available and carry a large selection of the stuff your woodworker needs. This is a well regarded site with a wide range of quality woodworking tools and supplies. A gift certificate from here will be much appreciated, but be aware that there is a $25 minimum. Follow the Gift Center links to order gift certificates or stop into any Home Depot to buy prepaid gift cards. Lowe's offers their gift cards in lots of different designs, including ones with tools and for special occasions. If your woodworker likes Craftsman Tools, this is the gift card you want. If not, they carry many other good brands.
For The Hand Tool Lover If your woodworker refers to themself as a "galoot" or a "neanderthal", or they speak with disdain about any tool that plugs into a wall, then this site is all about the things they like. You can get your woodworker antique tool books, tool collecting books, even reprints of antique tool catalogs. If you're not sure what they might like, you can request a free catalog and let them pick for themselves. They also carry t-shirts with antique tool designs that we thought were quite elegant.
Materials Wood, wood and more wood. Beyond that, unless you're a woodworker too, you'll have a hard time picking. Selecting the wood is half the fun, so you don't want to take that away from them anyway. Local Hardwood Dealers Look in the Yellow Pages under Lumber. The ones that mention hardwood are a good bet. If there is one near your woodworker, they would probably appreciate a gift certificate to that place. If they don't offer gift certificates, a card with a prepaid credit card or good old cash accompanied by a suggestion to spend it at the local hardwood dealer wouldn't go amiss. Online Lumber Sites If you are not local to your woodworker, you might be tempted to get them a gift certificate to a site that sells wood online. Resist the temptation. Not only do you add the cost of shipping to the purchase, but your gift (while well-intentioned) is unlikely to be truly useful. Woodworkers don't really like to buy wood sight unseen. Also, since they want all the wood for any particular project from the same source - or even from the same tree - you would have to give hundreds of dollars to cover the materials. Since they would probably prefer to buy in person anyway, we recommend choosing a different gift option.
Something Old, Something New
If your woodworker is in the camp that loves to hunt through the local "for sale" ads and garage sales for great bargains on used tools and equipment, then they may enjoy hunting on eBay for the same kind of things. eBay Gift Certificates are good for anything your woodworker might want to buy or bid on.
Books
Publications Magazine subscriptions can be a great gift. They last for a whole year and your woodworker will enjoy flipping through them looking at cool tools, nifty projects and beautiful woods.
This is a very well regarded magazine at a good price. There are no ads and it maintains a good balance between material for the new woodworker and material for the experienced woodworker. It's a subscription that your woodworker will be glad to have renewed year after year. A great choice for a long-term gift. It offers six issues per year. Considered by some to be a bit "lighter-weight" than some of the other choices. Those who like a magazine weighted more towards techniques than complicated projects will like this one. It offers six issues per year. If your woodworker likes the unusual, pick them up a back issue or two of this one. There is no advertising and no subscriptions. They only do a few issues per year. Those who sign up are notified when a new issue will be available, so they can go and order it. An interesting concept: no ads, no bias, no schedule.
Fun Stuff
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