How to Choose a Woodworking Gift When You Are Not a Woodworker?
Non-woodworkers tend to be like deer in headlights when seeking to buy a gift for a woodworker. As a woodworker, I can shed a bit of light giving you some more direction in shopping for a gift for a woodworker. This will better ensure that your gift is useful, rather than being put away in the back of a closet or returned.
Using the Toolstoday Gift Ideas page, I put together some more details regarding several of the listed gifts. Here you can learn which tools are meant for what machines and what they are used for. I hope this guide will enable you to choose the correct gift to further enrich your loved one's woodworking experience - not to mention the chances of you getting the next project as a gift.
To begin with, let us identify some of the listed gift ideas. Here you will find the technical name for the gift, and more importantly, the name of the corresponding machine and the different projects which can be made from each.
Used with the Following Machines
Machine: Router/Router Table
What is it used for?
Just as shown in the image above, these router bits enable one to create perfect raised panel doors. The large bit cuts the decorative molding on the front panel while the two small corresponding bits mill out the ends to where the bottom/top and sides come together. If your woodworker is a cabinet maker, this is the perfect gift.
Note: The woodworker most likely has this tool in his/her shop because it is very popular.
Used with the Following Machines
Machine: Table Saw
What is it used for?
It is important for all woodworkers to have sharp tools which will not only be safe to use but will also leave a clean edge after the cut. That being said, there is a special blade made for cutting along the wood grain and a special blade which cuts against the wood grain. Using the right blade for the right cut will ensure a cleaner and safer cut. So what is the third blade for? Well, for those like me who do not like to switch the blade back and forth, there is a combination blade which can cut both with and against the grain. If your woodworker has a table saw, this is a very fitting gift. Although these blades last a long time, they do not last forever. We all need backups.
Note: Are you unsure whether there is a table saw in the woodworker’s shop? Well, just walk in; it is a very large machine with much of the floor space designated for it.
Used with the Following Machines
Machine: Table Saw
What is it used for?
A shaper is used to cut profiles and joints in wood. Meaning that when you see a number of hardwood cabinets with rounded edges, they were most likely cut on a shaper. The shaper is a powerful tool which allows for long usage without over heating the motor. The shaper set above is the answer to those who ask, how am I going to be able to afford so many bits to cuts different profiles and joints? Well, here is a versatile tool which allows one to put on and take off knives of different profiles for each individual customized job they do.
Note: This is not the most common tool in the shop, but it is sure to bring a smile to the woodworker’s face.
Gift Name
2 Blades with Free Router Bit Set
Used with the Following Machines
Machine: Table Saw
What is it used for?
Like we wrote about earlier, table saw blades are used for either cutting along the wood grain or against it. In this set, you get one of each and a free set of router bits as a bonus. Of all the gifts, this might be one of the most useful for any shop. Whether it is for the professional or the hobbyist, these items are often in need of renewal.
Used with the Following Machines
Machine: Table Saw
What is it used for?
Most furniture makers have at least two or three drills and a few battery packs charging at all times. These bits are used with this most popular tool. Its function is to allow the head of a screw to sit below the surface of the wood. As you can see in the image of the drill bits, the silver carbide tipped drill bit drills into the wood while the black metal creates another larger hole which is cut just below the surface. This space allows for both the surface of the screw to sit below as well as allowing room to insert a wooden plug, hiding the screw all together. This is a very affordable and very useful tool. There is no way that this gift will not be appreciated.
The great thing about these gift ideas is that there is no question regarding whether or not one NEEDS these tools. The reason is because each of these tools has a life span and can always be replaced for something newer and sharper. The real question to ask is does the woodworker have the corresponding machine for the gift?
With the images shown in the pictures, you will just need to do a bit of investigating. Take a look in the shop to ensure that they do, in fact, have the corresponding machine. This is a great opportunity not only to choose a useful gift, but also to impress the woodworker through your knowledge. For more gift ideas and details regarding the gifts listed above, click here.