Shopping for woodworkers can be a struggle especially if you don’t know much about woodworking yourself. I am here to help demystify gifts for woodworkers shopping list.
Hand Tool Woodworker or Power Tool Woodworker
First thing in gifts for woodworkers, we need to determine is if he or she is into hand tool woodworking or more of the power tool route or both. So how do can determine this while being stealthy like a ninja? If you have been to their shop and you don’t see a table saw, miter saw, dust collector and other large stationary equipment. Then it’s probably safe to say there more of a hand tool woodworker.
But Why?
Why does this hand tool vs power tool matter for woodworking gift ideas? Well, the main reason is we can become more laser focused in our gift giving instead of giving somebody a table saw blade that doesn’t use a table saw! Or giving them a $900 dollar Festool domino cutter when they don’t have any use for it.
Ask A Friend
My first tip is to ask a friend that knows the woodworker so there won’t be any overlap in items they don’t want or need. This will help save time and money in both parties.
Gifts For Woodworkers
Most of the links are going to be to Amazon which is just for an ease of use for you and me. Amazon will give me a very small commission to help keep this site going with anything you purchase through the links.
Clamps….Never Enough
Clamps in woodworking are a key element for glue ups and holding things in place. As woodworkers, we never seem to have an enough and this why I think they make a great gift. With clamps, there is a lot of different styles available for different tasks.
Pipe Clamps
These clamps here require 3/4″ black pipe to be used but provided great clamping power!
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Ratcheting Bar Clamps
These style of clamps are extremely versatile in my shop and I am sure in the shop of the person you are shopping for! Here are some that have and use in my shop.
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What I like the Tekton brand is that it gives you the ability to not only clamp your workpiece but also the ability to spread as well if needed.
Parallel Clamps
Parallel clamps similar to the pipe clamps but a lot lighter and don’t but such a death grip on your work piece. These style of clamps are wonderful for just about everything in gluing of table tops and holding joinery together. These are on my Christmas wishlist every year!
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F-Style Clamps/Bar Clamps
F-style clamps are what I first started purchasing when I began woodworking along with the pipe clamps I mentioned above. These two styles of clamps will make a deadly combination for a new woodworker! I am not only saying they are a beginner clamp cause I still use them daily in my shop.
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Final Recommendations On Clamps
When looking at clamps it’s important to pay attention to lengths of clamps and buy accordingly. If you’re able to, I also recommend purchasing more than one clamp because as I stated in the beginning woodworkers never have enough clamps.
Kreg Jig
What is a Kreg Jig? Well if short it creates what’s called a pocket hole in the material and then you use a Kreg screw to fasten the pieces together. Pocket holes give you the ability to hide your screws so they are not visible by looking at your project. Pocket hole joinery creates a very secure joint that can be used in a wide range of projects. If the woodworker on your shopping list doesn’t have one of these they sure will be happy that you got them one. This as a gift for woodworkers will open up their capabilities.
Kreg mini
This Kreg Mini is the most basic of the pocket hole line-up but can very versatile for hard to reach areas that larger jigs cannot reach.
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Kreg R3
The Kreg R3 was the first pocket hole jig I every purchased. The R3 opened up a lot possibilities for me in the shop. I used the R3 to build my dining room table, coffee table, end tables and much more.
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Kreg K4
The Kreg K4 is the first Kreg product that has clamp built into the jig. This gives the ability to really work efficiently in the shop.
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Kreg K5
The K5 is one of the new pocket hole jigs in the Kreg ecosystem. Giving you the ability to make adjustments without any additional tools. The dust port is also another great feature.
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Kreg Foreman
Kreg Foreman is for the serious woodworker and will surely make a great gift for woodworkers. This pocket hole jig has a motor built in it so no need for an external drill. This product is sure to speed up production!
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Kreg Screws
If your woodworker already has a Kreg jig a good gift choice would be to pick them up some screws of various sizes.
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Shop Safety
Shop safety is a very important. Things like safety glasses, dust masks, dust control are extremely important to the health of your woodworker. Sometimes these basic things of safety can be over looked but I will lay out some gifts for woodworkers safety below.
Safety Glasses
Everyone needs to protect their eyes in the shop especially when using power tools.
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Dust Mask
When sanding in a shop or even general cutting a lot of fine dust is created which can be harmful to your health. Here is a suggestion to help protect it.
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Hearing Protection
We all know hearing protection is very important. Especially around loud equipment make sure your woodworker has the proper equipment to protect his/her hearing.
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Air Filtration
Like I talked about under the dust mask with the fine dust in the air. Air filtration systems like this JET product do a great job.
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MICROJIG
MicroJig is basically the ultimate push block safety system on market. It gives great control over the workpiece while keeping your fingers well away from any sharp spinning objects.
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Power Tools
Power tools for woodworking can make tasks a lot easier. There some power tools that can be very expensive and some that can be more budget friendly. Some tools I am about to suggest may seem basic but if you’re purchasing for someone who’s beginning woodworking it could be the perfect gift for them.
Drill/Impact Driver
A drill is an essential tool for joining material with different styles of fasteners and is a must for a Kreg Jig user. If your woodworker is just beginning this a great gift for woodworkers.
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Router
A wood router is a gift I received last year as a gift. It has given me the ability to put more detail in my work with a lot less trouble than before.
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Orbital Sander
After your woodworker completes his or her project of course there going to need a sander before applying finish. When looking at orbital sanders I recommend looking for one that has variable speed control. This is a very useful feature giving them more control.
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Festool Domino
Festool is the Rolls Royce of woodworking equipment and its price shows for it. If you’re buying for a serious avid woodworker, this tool is the ultimate gift. This tool will change your woodworker looks at projects and how he or she completes tasks. It’s on my Christmas wishlist we will have to wait and see if Santa brings it or not!
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Measurement Tools
I am sure most of us have heard the old saying “measure twice cut once”. Help your woodworker not measure twice and cut twice by getting him/her the proper measurement equipment. I am going to assume that they should have plenty of tape measures if not there is one gift idea for woodworkers.
Calipers
Calipers will give them the ability to check dimensions of their stock material and also make sure their equipment is running nice and square.
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Protractor
Starrett is up at the top when it comes to precision measurement tools. This awesome protractor will give your woodworker the ability to really dial in their angled cuts and eliminate the need for a second cut.
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Square
A good quality square is a must have in the shop. Giving you the ability to check your quality as you work is essential in making a great piece of furniture. This is the one I use currently and can’t recommend it enough.
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Wixey Digital Angle Gauge
This Wixey Digital Angle Gauge is also on my list this year. It gives you ability to really check angles on your table saw and miter saw very quickly and efficiently.
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Hand Tools
If your woodworker is more into hand tools these tools listed below might suit them better. Just because there “hand tools” doesn’t mean somebody with power tools doesn’t have use for them.
Chisels
Both a hand tool and a power tool woodworker will greatly benefit from a nice quality set of chisels. Giving them the ability to chop mortises or clean up a cut from a saw.
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I have the Irwin Marples set and they hold an edge very well. They just take a little time getting the back nice a flat on the first sharpening after that they are perfect.
Hand Saw
I purchased this hand saw probably 8 months ago off Amazon and it is amazing!! It was the first Japanse style saw I have ever had and I am truly impressed with it.
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Marking Gauge
A marking gauge could of fell more into the measurement tools categories I talked about above but since we are talking about hand tools I slipped it in here. A marking gauge is great for marking your dovetail layout lines in general.
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Chisel/Plane Blade Sharpening Guide
If you have chisels to sharpen or a plane iron that needs honing I really recommend one these. It gives you the ability to keep the same angle held during the whole sharpening operation.
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Books/Magazines
If you’re still having trouble thinking of a gift Idea a book or a magazine subscription could be a great choice. Here below are some of my recommendations for gifts for woodworkers in books and magazines.
The New Bandsaw Box Book: Techniques & Patterns for the Modern Woodworker
The author of this book is a guy that’s a pretty popular YouTube Woodworker called the “Drunken Woodworker”. This book is a sure to not disappoint.
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Paul Sellers Hand Tool Woodworking
Paul sellers is an amazing talented hand tool woodworker. He has been woodworking for many years and his very work is very impressing. If your woodworker has a spot for hand tools check out these amazing books.
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Fine Woodworking Magazine
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Popular Woodworking Magazine
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Wood Magazine
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Woodworker’s Journal Magazine
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Nic-Nac Items/Final Ideas
If your still having trouble thinking of ideas here even some more ideas that might help get the ideas flowing for you. These items are little more affordable and smaller items that just about any woodworker could use in his/her wood shop.
Glu-Bot
A lot of woodworkers including me usually buy there wood glue in bigger 1-gallon jugs. The glu-bot gives you something to transfer wood glue into to make it more easier to use.
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Bench Dog Cookie
Bench Dog Cookies let you get the workpiece up and off the table to apply finish, stain and much more. This cookie also has grippy surface that almost locks it down to the work surface.
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Painter Pyramids
Painter pyramids are very similar to the Bench Cookies but are not as grippy. The pyramids are more intended for applying stain and finish to the workpiece. While having the ability to raise it up off the bench.
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Wood Glue
Wood is about like the clamps we talked about at the beginning of this article I don’t think you can ever have to much of it if you spend a lot of time out in the shop.
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Gift Cards Never Fail…
If you still are unsure of a good idea I suggest you go ahead and give them a gift card to a local woodworking supply store or even Amazon. Here are below are some links to woodworking supply stores in the US and Amazons gift card page.
Amazon Gift Cards
Rockler Gift Card
Woodcraft Gift Card
Final Thoughts
I really hope this guide helps someone out in getting the perfect gift for the woodworker in their life. I know it can be difficult trying to get a gift for someone that you know nothing about the hobby.
The items I listed above are just my recommendations in gifts for woodworkers. There is a lot more items that could be discussed but that would turn into a 100-hour page report. These items were just used to help get you thinking of ideas.
If you enjoyed this article please share it with others who can use benefit in finding gifts for woodworkers.
