The Best Gifts For Woodworkers | Gift Guide 2020

Check out my 2021 gift guide here

Holiday gift ideas for woodworkers

Woodworkers are a notoriously tough group to shop for. We tend to impulsively buy whatever we need, or just build it ourselves. Never giving our loved ones a chance to buy us any of the much needed (or wanted) tools and shop accessories. That is where I come in. Since going full time as a woodworker I can justify just about any purchase as a business expense to my wife. On top of that we just moved to a house with a detached shop that I have been converting into my dream woodshop. So I probably have some ideas for gifts your woodworker doesn’t even know they want. My list of best gifts for woodworkers has unique items from under $10 to over $3000. So you should be able to find something for the maker or DIYer in your life, at any budget.

Control your walls with wall control

I recently added around 25 of these galvinized steel pegboard panels to my new shop. And I can’t believe I waited this long to step up to metal pegboards. Traditional pegboards are made from a pressed cardboard material that bows out if you put anything heavier than a screwdriver on it. But even more frustrating than that, they only come with these frustrating round peg holes that rattle out every time you remove your tool. Wall Control panels are not only super strong steel that doesn’t bow or flex, but they come with both round and slotted holes. The round holes will take any hardware you have left over, but the slotted holes take Wall Control mounts for just about any tool. They click into place and won’t rattle out like traditional mounts. Any woodworker can benefit from a two-pack for $34. Although I have hung around 25 and plan on adding more. So feel free to bump that up to a 6-pack. Oh, and if your woodworker isn’t so “grey scale” like I am, they come in a variety of fun colors too.

Wall control hook-pack

If you want a stocking stuffer to go with the Wall Control panels above, you can’t go wrong with a deluxe slotted hook pack here . This kit includes a variety of pegs and hooks to get your woodworker well on their way to shop organization.

Dado Blade stack

Have been hoping your woodworker would finally make you that bookshelf or cabinet? Then this might be one of those gifts with fringe benefits for the giver. Dado stacks enables someone to cut exact grooves for things like shelves or box joints. This set by Freud even comes with shims to… you don’t care do you? Anyway, this is a gift that can last them a decade or more. Maybe do some gift-reconnaissance first though. Most woodworkers only need one set of dado blades. Click here to get this set for around $170. And don’t get too overwhelmed, get them the 8” set and it will fit any table saw (even if they have a 10” saw).

Blacktail t-shirt

The support I get from people is incredible, humbling, and most of all, shocking. I would have never thought anyone would pay to wear a shirt of my company. But turns out guys can’t have too many t-shirts, and most will wear a shirt until the armpits fall out. So get them a Blacktail shirt to replace that stretched out crew neck they normally wear in the shop. I like this slim fit one for $29 here. They do run a little small though. So select size accordingly.

Phone Tripod mount

Woodworkers are a prideful bunch, and I bet your woodworker likes to video themself (woodworking). Besides, if you didn’t post your project on Instagram, did you really even build it? The ironic thing is 10 years ago most of us would have more likely made fun of the guy filming himself, now we’re looking for ways to get ideal ideal lighting for the sanding timelapse. So your woodworker obviously needs an excellent phone mount for a tripod. I have tried a dozen different phone tripod mounts and this one is the only one I will use now. It’s more expensive than other out there, but it is head and shoulders above the rest. Check it out here.

Flexible Tripod

The phone mount won’t do much a if they don’t have a tripod. I have a couple in my shop. One big, one little. The big one is my workhorse that does 90% of the filming. I generally just leave my phone in it most of the day. The little one is for those low angle shots, or the really fancy ones when you’re on top of a ladder or up in a tree (happens more than you think). This little tripod has flexible legs that can be wrapped around tree branches, ladder rungs, or just about anything else decently solid. Get it on Amazon for under $50 here.

premium sharpener. for everthing.

I have had the Tormek T8 for around a year now and am loving it more each time I use it. If you are not familiar, the Tormek is a water cooled sharpening system for just about every tool you can imagine. If you don’t know, a motorized sharpener that isn’t water cooled will ruin your steel faster than a wife putting chisels in the dishwasher (yes, that happened to me). So don’t let any of your tools near a bench grinder. Tormek has jigs for everything from chisels to axes and everything in between. Gouges, single bevel marking knives, timber slicks, seriously, almost anything. And if you are the chef in the family this should be high on your list of gifts to give. It is the industry standard for putting scary sharp edges on any size chef/kitchen knife. I did my research and I recommend you do the same. There are lots of imitators out there for less money. However I read forum after forum of people who returned their cheaper unit to get a Tormek. Apparently they have some pretty integral patents that prevent someone from truly knocking off their machine. Be prepared to spend almost $800 for the T8 though, available on Amazon here.

Stand up shop light

Lights have gotten really good, and really cheap. I wish the same could be said for housing, but this is better than nothing. A lot of people will buy stand up “shop lights” that need to be plugged in and cast a weird soft yellow light. This photography light is battery powered, dimmable, and you can even adjust the temperature. They make an excellent light to use when you are sanding to check for imperfections, they also can help with product photography and those social media videos. I even bring mine along when doing electrical work and have the power turned off. Installing a light fixture is a lot easier when you’re not in the dark. Check out this two pack for under $100 here.

glubot

This item is so good, and so cheap, that I had to add it from last years list again this year. I’m not sure there is a safer bet when it comes to what to get your woodworker. I have three of these and just bought two more (I let glue dry up inside my old ones). There never seems to be glue around when you need it, so don’t be afraid to buy them this even if they might already have one. Around $8 for the full size, and definitely take a look at the mini Glubots for stocking stuffers.

Light stick

This was cool little item that one of my YouTube subscribers suggested. This tool is designed for photography, but I have found it makes and excellent inspection tool. You can use it when applying finish in hard to see/reach areas. Like the inside inside corner of a bookshelf. Or inspect your sanding progression on a table leg or top. Much more versatile than a fixed light. Festool offers a similar one for over $300. I recommend you stick with this one for just under $50.

Shaper Origin

This is the one tool on this list I haven’t actually used. Maybe its a subconscious hint for my wife to do some shopping. Or I am just that confident in what I have seen and heard about this product to add it in here. It is essentially a handheld CNC machine for those of us who don’t have space or can’t afford a traditional unit. The Shaper can actually do a lot of things larger CNCs cannot too. Like cut an inlay on a slab too big to fit on an regular CNC, or travel with you to a jobsite. They are also constantly adding files to their database for things to build. I just stopped by a shop that was using the Shaper to cut tailor fit French cleat mounts for everything from a domino to chisels. It’ll run you around $2500, so either your woodworker has been extra nice, or you have been extra naughty.

new shop lights (for less than you’re expecting)

As some of you know, I recently moved into a new shop. One of the first things I did was replace the old fluorescent lights with high output LEDs. What I didn’t realize at my old shop is that new 8’ LED strips were not only brighter and better, but a fraction of the cost of converting my old fluorescent lights to LED. I got this 8-pack of 96” 9000 lumen, 6000k LED lights for $160. That’s $20 per light! For comparison, Costco sells 4’ LED strips for $30. Anyway, go count how many lights in your woodworkers garage/shop and hook them up with a big pack of sunshine. So to speak. Check the latest price here.

Next generation storage (for more than you’re expecting)

Another piece I just added to my new shop was this awesome storage system by Levrack. They aren’t inexpensive, but they are worth it. Each sliding shelf can hold 800 lbs and glides effortlessly on an overhead track. Think of it like those library aisles that collapse on each other to maximize the space. This system does the same thing, but for all your tools or consumables. They start at $2500, have lengths from 7-12’, so they will be hard to fit under a tree. But any person with a shop or garage will love em. I am currently trying to convince my wife they would make great wrapping paper storage in the garage. Oh, and Jay Leno has some, so you can guess they’re pretty good. Check out out the sizes and styles here.

legit shop heater

Winter is here, and most of us are freezing in our shops. Don’t succumb to the space heater temptation, you are just as likely to burn your shop down as you are to reach a comfortable temperature. The people as King Electric have been making electric heaters right here in the USA for over 50 years. I just added their 7.5KW unit to my shop and it has worked extraordinarily well so far. If you are in a colder climate they make much larger units too. These are much more efficient than those sketchy space heaters you’ve used in the past. They can be mounted on a ceiling or wall, and can even be hooked up to your nest thermostat. So far I just use the included remote. Although it would be nice to pre-heat the shop in the morning, maybe I’ll add the nest next season. Mine cost around $850, check the specs here.

A better rasp

I’ve been testing out the new rasps by Kutzall the last few weeks and am sold. Check out my detailed blog review here. They are made from Carbide, so they essentially never get dull, can be used in either a push or pull direction, are more random than a hand cut rasp, oh… and they cost about as much as a basic mid-level traditional rasp. Despite performing better than most premium rasps. They start around $28, shop them here.

turn their circular saw into a beam saw

Almost every woodworker has a circular saw of some sort. But they generally can’t cut more than around 2-3” material. Prazi makes an attachment for their circular saw to turn it into a chainsaw hybrid that can cut capacity of 12”. Available for both standard and worm drive 7 1/4 circular saws.

Spiral router bits

Everyone wants a new router, but what most of actually need is better router bits. Forget the box store straight bits. For all my straight and flush trim bits I have gone exclusively spiral. They last exponentially longer than standard straight carbide bits, cut just as clean, and remove a lot more material a lot quicker. I recommend 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2” bits. I promise there isn’t a woodworker out there that would be disappointed in having these in their toolbox. Check them out here.

trim router

Speaking of not needing a new router… I recently got the new cordless Milwaukee trim router in a bigger 18v package deal I was buying. I wasn’t expecting much, but figured it couldn’t hurt to add a cordless router to my lineup. After a little bit of use, I was pleasantly surprised with the level of quality and precision. I don’t know why, but I think of Milwaukee as house framing tools, not fine woodworking. But this trim router blows my corded Makita trim router out of the water. Adjustments are simple and precise. Startup is soft and smooth. And unlike any of my other routers it appears to have some sort of motor brake that stops the bit in about a second after turning the power off. The bare tool runs about $150, shop here.

If you’re still looking for ideas, check out my Gift Guide from last year here!