Santa's Lap - The Line Starts Here

[enjuneer]

First off, THANK YOU Ken Pywell for once again organizing Secret Santa. It must be a lot of work to sort through mail from all over the world and pair folks together. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.

So now, to help out your Secret Santa, here is your opportunity to sit on Santa's lap and tell him your hopes and dreams for the upcoming year. Some folks do not post a lot, so it is hard to get some ideas for what might be an appropriate gift. A WN search for my recipient revealed a net total of ZERO posts, so....help!

[Derek Cohen]

What about a gift exchange where every participant makes something, rather than purchases the gift?

Or, if this is to daunting for some, setting a limit on what may be spent (say $10 - that would make one inventive!).

After all, it is the thought - and the time given - not the receiving.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Gregory of Sherwood Forest]

Heck no. Some of us Santa's enjoy filling a goodie box with no limitations. Ask my kids if Daddy has a Christmas throttle governor. I don't, and they don't mind one bit.

That being said, not everyone can gift 'heavily' and the value or quantity of the gift isn't the important thing at all. I think after years of doing this, we all understand that the mutual respect and feeling of grateful community is the best gift. The item itself is just a representation of the spirit of the season. I've loved every gift I've ever received here, regardless of expense or size. I love the thought that has gone into every one of them.

[iclark]

I was thinking that a most-cluttered-shop thread/competition might be helpful, but it is going to be a few weeks before I can take pictures and figure out how to post them at a reasonable size from SmugMug.

You didn't get me, enjuneer, but I am probably not much easier than your giftee or mine. Reasonable number of posts, but little info about my/their shops or what I/they already have.

I got sucked into the vortex along with the rest of the family still in town so I have not had any flat work to post about lately. I hope to finally build my bench this year, but I already have the vises (an Emmertt's, a good wooden screw for the leg vise, an old fashioned front vise headed for one end, and a pop-up planing stop). I also have the parts for a couple Moxon vises. I have been lucky enough to find Dunlap Woodcrafts so (between them, last year's SS, and a tornado a couple of years ago) I have lots of nice turning wood. Of course, if the Santa who got stuck with me lives in Hawaii, never mind that last statement.

I like old tools and hand-made tools. I tend to be a bookaholic.

Probably an impossible suggestion but I have making 2 schranks (wardrobes) on my bucket list and the one that I inherited (and was going to use as a model) got stolen before I could figure out the joinery. So I have been hunting a good set of designs for Pennsylvania_Dutch/Pennsylvania_German furniture. So far, the only thing that I have found is 2 pages in one of Hylton's books. The schrank that I lost was probably made in the late 1800's and used some joinery and a fastening technique that I have not found anywhere else.

I hope that this is more helpful than it feels like it is at the moment.

Ivan
ps: enjuneer: don't forget to post in this thread yourself.

[iclark]

Gregory of Sherwood Forest said:

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That being said, not everyone can gift 'heavily' and the value or quantity of the gift isn't the important thing at all. I think after years of doing this, we all understand that the mutual respect and feeling of grateful community is the best gift. The item itself is just a representation of the spirit of the season. I've loved every gift I've ever received here, regardless of expense or size. I love the thought that has gone into every one of them.

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+1

[enjuneer]

iclark said:

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ps: enjuneer: don't forget to post in this thread yourself.

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What do I need? Sandpaper! I go through tons and that sh..tuff is expensive. I am running low on wet-or-dry sandpaper in all grits from 220 to 2000.

What would I like? Books and wood. Books on history, woodworking, machining, tool restoration, and catalogs from the Union Manufacturing Company. Wood of sufficient size for making plane totes and knobs, saw handles, and chisel handles.

If you want to make me work, box up the junk under your work bench. I'm always looking for planes, saws, and eggbeater drills to refurbish. Parts and pieces are good too. I have a bunch of tools on the shelf waiting for parts.

What do I desire? Continued friendship with the many great people I have met on WoodNet over the last several years. While distance has prevented face-to-face meetings with most, I am grateful for the sincere and often funny banter that goes on here. I visit daily to see what folks are up to.

[Aram]

Thanks, Bob. My victim is more shadow than substance around here. I think I know what he or she (I'm not sayin' which!) does for a living, but hand tool needs? There are no breadcrumbs to follow. I hope he or she posts on this thread.

I’m not easy. I have lots of hand tools and don’t lack for much. I wanted to ask for wood to make a box (or whatever) for my sister, a pediatric cardiologist, to auction off for her fund raiser, which raises money for kid heart patients. Unfortunately she no longer holds the auction. However, if anyone has a similar suggestion – a charity (preferably for serious medical conditions, or to help our military) then I can re-channel this idea. I do have serious wood allergies, and have to be very selective about what wood enters my shop, but our head elf Highpi can help sort that out. I’m serious – this is my first choice for a gift. My style is modern and unadorned, hard woods and especially figured woods featured. Not a huge fan of oak and other open-grain, more rustic looking species.

If we’re playing wish list: Anything hand-made will always be treasured. A side float would be great and useful. Same for an edge float. Those are definitely luxury items though. A riffler would be nice and get used. Pouch for carving gouges. A ryoba, mostly for ripping not very thick hardwoods (e.f. drawer sides). A super luxury item would be a panel gauge, but that's in off the charts territory. Old woodworking books are always fun.

[Arlin Eastman]

The only thing I can say is things for teaching the vets. I do not need any tools personally since I do not know what I need just for me. Now a days I do everything for them.

So whatever they want to learn in hand tools or wood turning things or whatever is good for me.

Last year was good that we got things we needed then like the bandsaw blades for the small bandsaw and a large 16" outside caliper and I do not remember what else.

If someone does have a 14" bandsaw to get rid of we would sure like that for making BS boxes.

We Highly like DVD's which we think of as Gold and not only do we watch time but I loan them to anyone here. Our biggest ones we desire are wood turning ones and we do not have any DVDs on making Bandsaw boxes and I do have about 30 on flat work including the first 10 years of Roy Underhill and we really like them. I have 1 with Sam Maloof and Tieg Frid and 5 of Frank Klaus and 1 of Mario Rodriquez and others like them.

On hand tools I am hoping I can trade my old Pre Stanley 80 with Mahogany body and metal bottom that I had posted here 3 years ago for 2 router planes hopefully with all the blades.

Today is not a good head day for me to do much thinking and this has taken me an hour to write so it might me mumbo jumbo.

Arlin

[PedroOhare]

I guess I have the opposite problem. My recipient has tons of posts and in almost every one he talks about the tools he has and uses to get every imaginable project done. Hand tools, power tools you name it.

Can I get a refund? JK

Pedro

[TroutVictor]

Seems my very early sign up didn't actually happen so I am a late comer to the party. Much thanks to the organizers for doing this and letting me in on it this late.

I don't have a victim, er .... gift recipient, identified yet but I do already have some items gathered together. There is a possibility someone is going to like Xmas this year.

As for me, I'm shutting the shop down and going on the road full time in an RV. I'm about as set a man can get for tools and given the need to 'thin the herd' because of space and weight restrictions in the RV I can not come up with anything I might need other than the offer to use somebody's tablesaw/bandsaw, etc. for a day or two. Another possible suggestion might be to make a donation to the charity of your choice (something to benefit vets if you're undecided) or else maybe helping out here.

Just some thoughts.

Victor