Christmas Gifts

Nice Job, Santa!! Looks like your workshop is gong to be in full swing!

stay ahead of the xmas rush,
and the boss !

they all look great , charlie .

-- david ,new mexico ,allheart

Great look Charlie—the elves will be envious!!

-- Jeff - Dayton, OH

looks like you got the job santa doesnt need to come here this year i’ll take your presents anyday mate

-- cut it saw it scrap it

Lucky kids to have a grampa who is so talented. Not many have walnut toolboxes :)

-- Canadian Wood Chuck (Bruce)

Ho, ho, ho!! Make that list, check it twice…Good to see the Elves are in full swing!
Nice work, Charlie!! There’s four happy children come Christmas morning!! :)

-- Mike in Manchester, NH---Unpleasant tasks are simply worthy challenges to improve skills.

Those are sweet looking boxes. Christmas is such a fun time of year for woodworkers. Busy too. Good thing you got an early start.

Great job!

-- Dennis, http://www.maplegrovewoodworks.com/

Funny how this works, isn’t it Charlie. The domino effect in woodworking, and I don’t mean those little flat rectangles with spots on them. My wife has just told me that, among other things, she wants me to build a mission style bed. Now that is a lot of work. If I start on that there is no telling when I will get back to making boxes, cutting boards, and so on. But I guess it is nice to be wanted without having your picture put on the wall in the post office.

Anyhow, the toys and so on look nice and I am sure the recipients will appreciate them.

-- Rowdy in Kechi, Kansas

Your choice of tool boxes for the boys and jewelry box for the girl was very appropriate. You have personalised them so beautifully. The jewelery box is superb and the boys will envy the girl. The joinery and the wood is very special. Pl elaborate about how you have put the names.
Sharad

-- patanjali

Charlie nice to see you posting again, thought you must have retired. LOL
Very thoughtful gifts.
Larry

-- Drink once, cut twice. New website up.... lazylarrywoodworks.com.au

Thanks, everyone.

Larry: I just don’t have your work ethic!

Sharad: The lettering was done with a Milescraft Signcrafter.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Great looking tool trays! I was really surprised when I saw the walnut! I am a tool tray nut, having built a few myslef. I like your corners with the plugs.

-- Chesapeake Bob, Southern Maryland

Great job, Charlie. Getting your christmas woodworking done early. I was wondering how easy is it to use a Milescraft Signcrafter?

-- Dennis Zongker

Dennis, it’s easy to use. A little boring to set up what with hunting for the letters you need and assembling them into the frame.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Great looking gifts Charlie

And you have another reason to be in the shop making the next ones.

BTW I love the lettering for each child.

-- Whether You Think You Can or You Think You Can't, YOU ARE RIGHT!!!

Charlie, very nice work as far as it goes… you are going to fill the tool boxes aren’t you, and for the girl perhaps a small diamond on a white gold chain ?

-- RTB. "dumb animals are not stupid they simply can't talk "

Wow wish I had an Uncle Charlie.What great xmas gifts that they will cherish for years.

-- Dustygirl..Hastings,Ontario.. How much wood can 1 gal chuck if 1 gal can't cut wood?

Way to go Charlie, good to see you back posting again…....
I am sure the kids will love each of these, I love working with walnut!

-- Gene, Majestic Eagle Woodworks, http://majesticeagleww.etsy.com/, http://www.flickr.com/photos/majesticeagle/

i really like all of these…

-- Matt, Napa, CA...fun is beautiful...just trying to have some fun...

Great idea Charlie! Now you’ll have to start filling them…. little wooden saws, wooden hammers, sanding blocks, pipe wrenches and so on. I can’t wait to see them, now get back to work.

-- Terry Roswell, L.A. (Lower Alabama) "Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans."

Hey, I’m not making anything small enough for a 2-year-old to break and eat!

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

CharlieM1958,
Hey, I’m not making anything small enough for a 2-year-old to break and eat!

—Charlie M. “Woodworking – patience = firewood”
Now that’s the spirit! Charlie I just knew you’d add something like Nielson shoulder planes in the tool boxes and something from Maceys or Zales for the jewelry box. I mean Uncle Charlie isn’t going to come across as the other Ole Christmas character-”Scrooge”-now is he? Gald to see that you knocked off some of the sharp square corners on the tool boxes for the boys?
If , on the bright side, you have already met your lists’ end and have no more nieces and nephews to build for. Please let me know and I’ll forward another list for you. I mean, what are buddies for, you don’t want me to come across as a “Scrooge”- now do you? I’ll be sending the wood and project plans to you shortly, along with needed completion dates, Oh and if you don’t mind the drop ship mailing addresses also. We don’t want those idle hands to become the culprits in the Devils workshop, now do we?
CarlieM1958, I appreciate your pitching in here and making Christmas enjoyable for all of us!

Bah Humbug!
Ken McGinnis

-- woodbutcher north carolina

Ken, you don’t perchance have any cute 18-year-old girls on your list, do you? You could just send them down for a visit so uncle Charlie can decide what type of gift is best-suited for their individual personalities. By the way, tell them to bring their bikinis. I have a pool and it’s still very warm here. :-)

Funny Uncle Charlie

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Real nice gifts Charlie. It looks like very good craftsmanship. I hope someone is going to put some toy carpenter tools in those for the kids.

-- Mike, American in Norway

Charlie, Walnut tool boxes…...how cool is that. now just tell you wonderful wife that you did your part, all she has to do is put a $100 Gift Cirtificate from WoodCraft in each one and of course some jewlery for the jewlery box. LOL. They all look great.

-- John @ Myrtle Beach

Very nice Charlie, very cool. Nice starters.

-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com

CharlieM1958,
Must be your lucky day! I have in fact twin 19year old sociopaths that we were loading into a van to be sent to the state mental institution for the criminaly insane. I’ll give the driver your address instead! Here they come special delivery to “Uncle Charlie”. Thanks much Buddy!

Sincerely,
Ken McGinnis
p.s I sent thier mother a note, telling her where they were heading. She’s in the Old Folks Rest home here in the state also! I’m sure she’ll be coming down soon also. You know, just to keep things all Hunky Dory! Enjoy Christmas!

-- woodbutcher north carolina

Sounds like they’ll fit right in with my own 20-year-old daughter! My 23-year-old masters-degree-holding unemployed son will welcome the company as well, I’m sure. :-)

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Charlie,
Too bad you didn’t make a tool box for the niece. The jewel box is beautiful, but beauty will only take you so far, good skills last a lifetime.
If you are interested in filling those tool boxes – Hearthsong.com has real tool kits, leather tool belts and goggles for kids. If you go to their site put “tool belts” in the search box and the whole thing will come up. (notice the model is a girl!) Their quality is top in everything I have bought from them over many years and they specialize in toys that encourage creativity and imagination (although not quite Lie Nielson) – no video games in that catalog! They also have jewlery making kits that would fill that box, while providing hours of creative fun if you are interested. I imagine though, the budget may have been maxed out with the walnut. Fancy shmancy!

Thanks for the suggestion and web referral, scottishrose, but I think I will leave the filling of the boxes to the parents. :-)

For what it’s worth, I figure the cost of materials was under $20 for each gift.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

You might want to clue them in to that web site, just in case, so they can plan ahead

Very nice Charlie… Plant those woodworking seeds early. They’ll be lucky if they get some of your talent…

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17) †