Need ideas for Christmas presents

[Al Launier]

I'm hoping some of you may be willing to offer some ideas for hobbyist size woodworking gifts for Christmas. I will have to either ship in advance or carry in my luggage when flying to relatives this Christmas, so size is definitely a factor.

Thanks for any ideas.

[Tom Bain]

Shaker Oval Boxes ... Can be made in various sizes depending on which forms you buy or build.

[lowell holmes]

Google "woodworking christmas gifts".

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Al, last year I made 40 of these oven push sticks.

I made a template for pattern copying on the shaper, really makes them fast to produce. Of course you could copy them with a router and template as well.

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?250429-Creeker-s-Weekend-Accomplishments&p=2641412#post2641412

In that thread I have a sketch of the stick in case you want to make them.

It's amazing how popular they were........Rod.

[Laurie Brown]

I would give gift cards for Amazon, Woodcraft, or something similar so the woodworkers could get whatever tools they would like without you having to guess if it's something they will want or need. I would LOVE to get some of those for Christmas myself!

[Tony Leonard]

Spoons! (and other kitchen utensils) Small boxes (like those popular 'router' boxes that are fairly easy to make). Frames. Wood puzzles.

[Carl Beckett]

Frames have always been a hit for me. It keeps memories (and even better if you have a pic of the person in it to start with).

Or small boxes. Keepsakes.

[Mike Ontko]

How about a brooch or shawl pin (see pic below)? This is something I've been looking to make...just as soon as I work my way through the backlog of other projects I'm supposed to have made by now.

393470

[Doug Garson]

It would help to know what tools you have and what age range you are building for. I have made cutting boards, pizza peels and pizza cutters, a variety of boxes, baby rattles, childrens toys and puzzles, beer flights/ tea light candle holders, bandsaw vases, sushi serving boards (including chop sticks), salad servers, router bowls and cheese serving boards. I'll be watching this thread for more ideas, I like the shawl pin idea.

[keith wootton]

cutting boards. if you want wow factor, make boards with patterns of contrasting wood.or my favorite, the drunken cutting board (google.)

[Gary Ragatz]

Several years ago, my Dad and I made a bunch of waffle-pattern kitchen trivets as Christmas gifts - did them in cherry with an oil finish. They were quite popular: trivet plans (http://www.craftsmanspace.com/free-projects/waffle-pattern-trivet-plans.html) . Fairly light weight and "packable."

@Rod Sheridan - thanks for the oven stick idea - I'm definitely going to give that a try.

[Gary Radice]

Earring racks are easy if you have people on your list who wear earrings. You can make them any size. Plenty of images of similar on the internet. A good use of scraps. They often have both slots and holes. My wife found that she liked the holes better on the one I made. This one was made to be wall mounted but of course you could make it free standing, and any other shape.
393502

[Bill Dufour]

You could make little open boxes to hold loose change and keys. Make them in graduated sizes so they stack inside each other and hand them out one by one. How about those Russian dolls that nest together.
Bill D.

[Stan Calow]

My plan is to make small trays using cutoffs. And turning some kitchen (mixing) spoons. I broke a couple of them this year and realize how flimsy the store-bought ones are. In the past Ive done batches of rolling pins and pizza cutters.

[Al Launier]

Your suggestions are all appreciated and all very good. I probably should have given a better idea of what I'd like to make. I've already made several different types of gifts, examples shown, and have basically run out of ideas. I'm trying to think of something that is a little different, yet would be well received. I have to make (6) gifts before Christmas. I'm limited to flat work as I don't have a lathe. Any additional ideas would be appreciated.
Thank you again for taking the time and for your suggestions.

[Jamie Buxton]

Puzzles. You can make them with any degree of difficulty, depending on your audience.

[Al Launier]

Jamie, that's a good idea. In fact that leads me to consider puzzle boxes. Thanks

[rudy de haas]

I am making my wife two drawer organizers for cutlery. The ones she got from a store are terrible.

[Mike Ontko]

Here's another quick idea -- nail and callus files. They're relatively simple to make but you can certainly get creative using different lamination and carving techniques. Once you've got the wooden part completed, just use a little spray adhesive to glue on a 100 or 150 grit cutout piece of drywall sandpaper.

[Al Launier]

Here's one you folks might consider. To those I made these for they have told me these are the best they have ever used. Who am I to argue/ :D

[Michael Costa]

Sorry, I can't help myself. Chia Pet.

[Al Launier]

Sorry, I can't help myself. Chia Pet.

Now that is a very interesting & funny suggestion. I might just give those out to my bald headed friends & family. Sorry, couldn't help myself.

[Keith Outten]

For many years I have been making Christmas ornaments for family, friends and people that my wife and I do business with throughout the year. My ornaments list grows almost every year, the list has decreased a couple of times when the design gets more complicated and the time required to make them forces me to reduce the numbers. My wife and daughters usually submit the names of their friends and people they work with each year and we work up reasonable number based on the final design. I do make generic ornaments, for instance with Christmas 2018 engraved rather then the person's name so I have some to give away to clerks at the grocery store, the bank, etc. I would have to check my projects list to see how many years I have been making ornaments but I think I started about 18 years ago, the one exception is 2017 because I hurt my back and was unable to work.

This year I hope to be able to produce two ornaments for our family members to make up for last year and to assure that everyone has a complete set of ornaments which is now a family tradition.

[Lee Schierer]

I made a couple of tea caddies, one for my wife and one for a charity fund raiser. Both were very well received.
393785393786393787

[Chris Fairbanks]

This year I hope to be able to produce two ornaments for our family members to make up for last year and to assure that everyone has a complete set of ornaments which is now a family tradition.

Keith, do you have any pictures of previous years ornaments you can share? Looking for some ideas myself. I have been saving the stump of each of of our Christmas trees since my oldest son was born 7+ years ago. Used some of the wood last year to make turned snowmen ornaments for the grandparents and they were a hit. Looking for some other turned and flat ideas for 2018. Thanks

[Keith Outten]

Chris,

I'll try to find pictures of my older ornaments this evening and share them.

[Charlie Hinton]

Tablet/phone stand.

393873

[Roger Feeley]

games have always been a hit with my extended family. The first one I made was a game called Mancala. It's just a board with 14 pits and a bag of stones. I've made chinese checker boards, checker boards, and dominoes.
I've also done ice cream scoop and pizza cutter sets.

I've also made a point of 'archiving' wood with significance to my family.
-- I have wood from the ranch where my dad grew up in Montana around 1915. The ranch is long gone and turned into an estate for some millionaire complete with artificial creek.
-- I have wood from the house where my mom grew up around 1920. The house is still there. I lucked into the wood because they were doing some renovations and I talked them out of some original wood.
-- I have the wood that was my dads first office desk.
-- I have the wood from my daughters crib (doesn't meet regulations).

Since my dads ranch really isn't a place anymore, I used some of the wood and made christmas ornaments in the shape of Montana. I inlaid a little brass dot where the ranch was. On the back, I lettered the latitude and longitude.

One year, my wife and I went to England and took a metal spinning class from Terry Tynan. We brought home some bowls and painted them up nice. Then my wife made soap.

We can always outdo my family. I plan months in advance and make the gifts. They order Harry and David. One year, we got a broken crystal vase. I wouldn't have wanted it if it weren't broken and never mentioned it.

My wife took on the christmas presents this year. She's doing a selection homemade soap in a slump glass bowl. In a way, I kind of miss doing the presents but she should have her day in the sun.

[Rich Enders]

Al,

I made up a few of these folding bookstands and the beta version (to my sweety) has been well received. It is from the June 2018 issue of PopularWoodworking by Christopher Schwarz. It definitely solves the size problem. Photo attached.393908

[Al Launier]

Some really good ideas above!

[Al Launier]

Tablet/phone stand.

393873

Charlie, those are really neat. They are very appealing with the figured wood and don't require much material. Since I don't have a lathe I could use dowels instead, although they wouldn't be as attractive as your figured pieces.
Any chance you have dimensions & what angle did you use for the upright? Do the knobs on the end thread onto a threaded rod to tighten & hold the upright in positon?

[Charlie Hinton]

Here are some more pictures that show how the stands are constructed.
I patterned it after an adjustable aluminum stand my wife has had for several years.
The ones I made are infinitely adjustable for the tilt. The angle is held by friction generated by the knobs.
Some of them hold better than others.
I do not have a lathe, to make the knobs I cut a strip off a board and then cut that into pieces ~1.25" long.
Drilled a hole and installed the brass insert, it's very hard for me to install the insert straight so I needed a little extra length for the knobs.
Then I squared the bottom surface to the brass insert on the disc sander, I put a 1/4-20 screw through a piece of wood screwed the block down until a corner touched and used a flat metal ruler to transpose a line around the block and then sanded it by eye on the disc sander.
Eventually I embraced the irregularities of the knobs and my stress level went down considerably.
I knocked the corners off the blocks with the bandsaw, using all-tread I put the octagon on with a jam nut and the using a drill I spun it against the disc sander until it was somewhat cylindrical and rounded over the end.
After they were all done I paired them up and adjusted the length on the rounded ends as required to get each two to match. I sanded them to 320 using the drill and hand held sand paper.
There are two things of note about the hinge.
Make sure the dado for the all-thread is slightly undersized so you have to screw the all-thread in and then strip the threads, do this after you cut the pattern on the bandsaw so you only have to strip short sections. This makes the action of the hinge feel much better.
The other thing is to cut the dado so it is positioned so the thickness of the bottom wood 'bar' is just a little bit thicker than the stand material, otherwise the stand will sit on the center piece and it will rock.
I thought I would be able to productionize these but it really never happened for me.
Repetition was the only efficiency lift I got by building 20 at once.
My wife has claimed two, her mother has claimed two, her sister has claimed one, and I have given two away to friends.....I am running out of them and Christmas is still 3 months away.

[Al Launier]

Thanks Charlie, that was good of you to take the time to do this; I really appreciate your effort.

[Charlie Hinton]

There are some YouTube examples of the Roubo book stand that's pretty cool too.
Chad Stanton did you not to long ago.

[Keith Outten]

Chris,

These are a few more of the ornaments that I have been making since 2002. Several of the ornaments I have made were from clear acrylic which is difficult to produce a picture.
394030

394031

394032

394033

I'm pretty sure that I have other pictures that I have taken of my ornaments that I will share if I can find them. With exception of the snow sleigh I shared in a prior post most of my ornaments have been fairly plain simply because of the numbers I had to produce.

[Scott Snavely]

How about ladies' hand mirrors?

I did several of these a few years back.

Made a template for the body and another for the mirror pocket.

I don't have photos of both sides, but you can get the general idea from these:

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/saspa906/ladieshandmirrors007-1_zps5a4b3980.jpg (http://s113.photobucket.com/user/saspa906/media/ladieshandmirrors007-1_zps5a4b3980.jpg.html)

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/saspa906/ladieshandmirrors005-1_zps8d2483a6.jpg (http://s113.photobucket.com/user/saspa906/media/ladieshandmirrors005-1_zps8d2483a6.jpg.html)

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/saspa906/ladieshandmirrors002-1_zpsfd5c89ac.jpg (http://s113.photobucket.com/user/saspa906/media/ladieshandmirrors002-1_zpsfd5c89ac.jpg.html)

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/saspa906/ladieshandmirrors003-1_zps3453d301.jpg (http://s113.photobucket.com/user/saspa906/media/ladieshandmirrors003-1_zps3453d301.jpg.html)

I got mirrors custom cut from a local glass shop, just took the template and told them the tolerances I wanted . . .

My wife and daughter still use theirs daily . . .

[Charlie Hinton]

The mirrors are cool.

[Jim Mackell]

I don't know about anyone else, but this thread is giving me some wonderful ideas for winter projects! Keep them coming..... Drunken cutting boards and earring racks currently top my list for various family members.

[Keith Outten]

FWIW the full size plans for the Snow Sleigh are available from the Vectric web site. I scaled them down to make ornaments from them but they would make very nice sleighs for decoration or possibly snow riding.

Vectric produces a monthly project for free, many are worthy of Christmas presents, ShopBot does something similar.

[Chris Fairbanks]

Thanks Keith for the pictures!



Chris,

These are a few more of the ornaments that I have been making since 2002. Several of the ornaments I have made were from clear acrylic which is difficult to produce a picture.
394030

394031

394032





I'm pretty sure that I have other pictures that I have taken of my ornaments that I will share if I can find them. With exception of the snow sleigh I shared in a prior post most of my ornaments have been fairly plain simply because of the numbers I had t o produce.