Non-Woodworking Gifts for the Woodworker in your Life

Years ago, someone bought me one of those little hot plate warmers that keep your coffee at a nice warm drinking temperature. Not sure whatever happened to it but I recently decided I could use one. I’m not a fan of travel mugs and prefer my coffee in an open cup. Obviously, open cups cool much faster. To make matters worse, I frequently step away to make a few cuts only to come back to a cold cup of joe. If this is annoying to me, I can only imagine what it’s like for folks in cold climates. This got me to thinking about some other things that woodworkers might be able to make use of, even though they have nothing to do with woodworking. Nicole and I brainstormed for a while and with the help of some friends on Facebook, we have some cool suggestions for you to consider. Feel free to send this article to your friends and family if you like the list!

Coffee Warmer – Inspired by the above story, this bad boy will keep your hot beverage nice and warm for the duration of your drinking time. Now I can take a sip, make a few cuts, take another sip, make a few cuts, and just like that I’m more productive and more caffeinated! WIN!

Keurig – Speaking of hot beverages, how about something that makes individual servings quickly and cleanly. If you have a detached shop or just don’t want to go to the kitchen for a refill you can’t go wrong with a Keurig. Even though I keep mine in the kitchen, it gets used all of the time. It makes coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and even cider!

Mini Basketball Hoop – If you’re lost for something to do while your finish dries or while the glue sets up, why not play a little b-ball. A mini basketball hoop is a great distraction and brings an extra element of fun to the wood shop. Just watch those rebounds around the chisels.

Tweezers – Woodworkers get splinters. It’s a fact of shop life. And there’s nothing worse that using dull crappy tweezers to yank those splinters out of your supple soft skin. A high quality pair of tweezers should be all you need to get those buggers out. Or you could just wait for it to get infected. Whatever floats your boat.

Tin Signs – Much like TGI Fridays, I believe that every interior space is improved with the addition of tin signs. For me, it’s all about classic comic book characters. While they serve no real purpose, they do make me enjoy stepping into my shop every day. I’m a kid at heart and my shop reflects that.

Hand & Foot Warmers & Gloves – Recommendeded for the woodworker that doesn’t have a good heat source in their shop. Keep your cute little tootsies warm and cozy! Thanks Becky H. for the suggestion!

3M Respirator – This is one of the most asked about products that I use in the shop. You need your lungs in order to live so you should treat them well!

LED Magnifier Lamp with Adjustable Arm – I recently picked up one of these bad boys. It’s great for doing inlay and marquetry work when detail really matters. It can also come in handy when inspecting an edge during sharpening as well as when extracting splinters.

Mini Punching Bag – Sometimes, our tempers can get the best of us. Ever put a mortise in the wrong spot on a precious workpiece? Yeah, me neither. But for those that occasionally do such things, having a safe place to direct that frustration is a good thing. Thanks for the suggestion Todd M.

Bluetooth Wireless Speaker – Who doesn’t want to rock out to “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” in the privacy of their own shop? Just me? OK maybe you want to listen to something else, like perhaps an episode of Wood Talk? Well here’s a great way to do it. This bluetooth wireless speaker with work with any bluetooth enabled music device! Pretty awesome! Thanks for the suggestion Stephen M.

Pandora Subscription – Speaking of music, give your music-loving woodworker a subscription to Pandora. I’ve been using Pandora to fill my shop with great tunes for several years now and I highly recommend it! Thanks for the suggestion Jacob H.

As you can see, there’s no shortage of cool ideas for just about any woodworker. Have more suggestions? Leave them in the comments below.