It’s that wonderful time of year —  after Thanksgiving and before Christmas — where the Black-Friday and Cyber-Monday frenzy has died down and last minute shoppers are coming to the realization they’ll have to visit a brick and mortar store or start clicking on expedited shipping if they want their gifts to arrive in time for holidays.  It’s also the time of year where bloggers offer their holiday gift guides, last minute project ideas and holiday drink recipes.

Fear not, I’m willing to attempt the holiday blogging trifecta with this post.

Gift Idea for the Woodworker In Your Life — Learn the basics of Drafting by hand

Earlier this year I made a 2 hour video ‘webinar’ for Popular Woodworking titled “Hand Drafting Skill Builder” wherein I talked about the basic tools and techniques required to draft by hand. I started with a terminology and supply overview, then walked through several samples and discussed appropriate practice exercises.

From the course description:

With the basic drafting skills covered in this course you can quickly and efficiently communicate ideas and generate working plans.With a solid set of plans in hand, your woodworking in the shop will benefit from all the design details you worked out on the drawing board, where changes are easier to make. Your wood rack and your wallet will also benefit from the decreased waste.

Course Highlights:

• What constitutes a basic drafting tool kit
• How to layout a good working drawing with standard elevations, scales etc.
• How to properly draw lines and make use of line weights
• How to dimension a drawing
• Basic lettering
• Correcting mistakes
• Where to find more information

The recorded version of this course is now available online and you can learn more about the course and see a sample video here on ShopWoodworking.com

The above content is also available as part of a 9 piece bundle called ‘9 Key Tools For Better Furniture Design’ which includes a lot of other great resources for anyone interested in stepping up their furniture design skills and sells for half off of what the 9 items would cost individually. This bundle can be found online here.

Both of the above are digital download content so there is no waiting or shipping necessary.

Last Minute Holiday Project Idea — Cutting Boards

I bet you have a lot of scrap around your workshop — most woodworkers are also wood hoarders. A cutting board is a great way to use up some of that scrap stock that has been haunting your woodpile for way too long. It’s also a great way to make room for the next project.

Holiday Drink — Gløgg

This classic warm Scandinavian holiday drink is great at a party and everyone seems to have their own recipe for it.  Here’s a good starting recipe.

With the holidays quickly approaching it’s time to don the holiday sweater, have a warm drink and a snack and start drafting the next project.

Happy Holidays.

Take care,
-Bill