Official Luthiers Forum!

Now that the holidays are upon us, I have been scrambling to find appropriate affordable, useful gifts (beyond a bottle of Basil Hayden Dark Rye) for the builders and repair persons in my immediate circle. As I imagine others here with an active social calendar may find themselves in a similar situation, it seems appropriate to solicit ideas from the members as well as offer a few suggestions of my own based on relatively new-to-us items we've found useful in the shop.

Here are a few ideas:

1. Milwaukee 445-Lumen LED Rover Rechargeable Pocket Flood Light with Extra Battery. The angled case on this dual-intensity portable light rests at the perfect angle for flooding the inside of a flattop for mirror or borescope work. Home Depot has this kit for the same price as the core light with single battery.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-445-Lumen-LED-Rover-Rechargeable-Pocket-Flood-Light-with-Extra-Battery-2112-21P/306695525?MERCH=REC-_-PIPHorizontal2_rr-_-302204636-_-306695525-_-N



2. Polypus 'Alligator' Jaw Forceps. These are very handy tools for working in confined spaces, avoiding the additional clearance requirements needed for standard forceps or tweezers. Ours come from a former student who works as an ENT, but available at a reasonable price from Amazon and Ebay. I've used these to grab and lift pots, wiring, and jacks inside shallow-bodied semi and hollow-body electrics, retrieve or run ground wires, and place audio transducers in mandolin and ukulele bodies. The 5"-6" range and 10" range instruments are the most useful in our shop. Image is of Micro-Mark's offerings.

https://www.amazon.com/Ear-Polypus-Alligator-Forcep-10/dp/B00DE8J6AK



I am certain other things will come to mind, but that should get things going.

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A constellation only takes shape when one maps the whole.
- Beth Brower

Please enlighten me as a dumb U.K. citizen. What holidays are you celebrating? We are looking forward to Christmas here.

Jewish people celebrate Hanukah this time of year. It is also a gift giving holiday...

I picked up one of these the other day. It is very handy. The magnet attaches to the band saw or drill press and swivels to put the light where you need it. If you need to grab a flash light it'd right there.

https://www.harborfreight.com/household ... 63930.html

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

Here's somthing completely frivolous!

https://www.roadietuner.com/?utm_source ... BLOG-EPB1r

Turns out the company is right here in our little town of 9500 people.

My wife got me a Tonewood amp for my birthday. It's actually pretty fun though it goes through a set of batteries in a couple of hours. I bought a set of Rechargables.

I would be tickled pink to receive anything from the "PEC Blem" collection. Good quality, USA made, decent precision, low cost.

In terms of gift-giving events:

- Hanukkah began on the 3rd and continues through the 10th of this month.

- The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (although I have only attended one, and only small children received something beyond a lovely dinner).

- The historically pagan December Solstice takes the place of Christmas Eve and Christmas for some of my acquaintances, with the activities similar to those much more recent arrivals on the holiday scene.

- Modern Christmas...

-Boxing Day...at least for tradesmen and those in service in Canada and other parts of the Commonwealth. I quite like this holiday, and it is on this day that my postman, my refuse collection gentlemen, and others I find myself taking for granted during the year are rewarded.

- Kwanzaa - a cultural holiday of modern creation - is celebrated from Boxing Day (although I doubt those celebrating Kwanzaa would refer to it as such, likely preferring 'the first day of...') through New Year's Day, with gift exchange on that last day.

- New Year's Day is a gift-giving event for some (my family has always exchanged small gifts for the new year), and the gift of a kiss at midnight is the usual practice on the eve.

This is but a smattering of the celebration of holidays which fall between the 2d of December and the 1st of the year, but explains my choice of the more accurate term.

And speaking of New Year's, I find the following observation to be quite appropriate to the discussion...

_________________
A constellation only takes shape when one maps the whole.
- Beth Brower

Something that comes to mind is Chris's dot doctor: https://elevatelutherie.com/product/dot-doctor/

I always try to think of gifts that the recipient is unlikely to get themselves for whatever reason. This is one of those things that it's "just as easy to line it up and drill without a jig" so might prevent someone from splurging on it. But having the jig is nice.

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I'd take a Bridgeport mill every time.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I'd settle for a good long Nap !

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The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

That should fit in a stocking, right?

_________________
A constellation only takes shape when one maps the whole.
- Beth Brower

I would like to receive a bit of talent, theres seems to be plenty around here, surely one of you could spare some and send it my way.
Happy Holidays to all.

B

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My memory is so good, sometimes I remember things that never happened.

I guess you could put the stocking ON the mill.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I am very much enlightened. I cynically thought the current trend to use "holidays" was a deliberate attempt to be politically correct by not referring to Christmas. I now know otherwise and wish everyone a good one no matter which you choose to celebrate.

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lee, and may the season bring you and your family peace and joy.

_________________
A constellation only takes shape when one maps the whole.
- Beth Brower

How about a gift card for just about any $ amount for soundboard products and or Bracewood from Alaska Specialty Woods Inc. https://alaskawoods.com/product-categor ... ard-gifts/