6 Simple Gifts You Can Make From Wood

Today I'm going to show you how to make six simple gift ideas that you can make from wood. And be sure to stay tuned to the end for some extra gift ideas. The first one is really simple. You'll need a block of wood and some matches. I started by tracing out a notch for the matchbox in the center of one end. I then took it over to my table saw and used a simple jig to carve out the notch, adjusting my fence slightly until I hogged away all the material. After a light sanding, I did a test fit with the matchbox and it was just right. I then took it over to the drill press and I used a 1.5 inch forstner bit to drill the recess for the candle, making sure not to go too deep. You want to keep the lip of the metal insulator above the wood. I then sanded and applied some oil finish and that's all there is to it. Next up is a catch-all. I started with a thin backer board and taped the edges before applying two coats of paint. Now you can decorate this however you want, but I went with a sticker that I sealed with two coats of clear water-based poly. While that was drying, I cut four thin strips of walnut. Using a stop block on my miter saw, I cut the miters on all four pieces so that they would all be at the same length. And because this is so small, I was able to simply use some painter's tape that I pre-applied, then just folded it all up and sealed the last corner with some more tape, making sure to wipe off all the excess glue while it was still wet. Okay, back to my backer board. I removed the tape and applied some glue to the frame and used some sprint clamps to hold it while it dried. Lastly, I cleaned up the base on my router table by trimming the edges square with a flush trim bit. Next up is a blanket ladder, and this is one of my favorites. All you need are two 2x3s and a couple dowels. I started by marking my 2x3 at five feet long, then cut them to length. You'll notice my lumber is bluish and pretty rough looking, so I spent a lot of time sanding from a low grit progressively up to a higher grit to make them nice and smooth. I'm going to add five ladder rungs, the first at six inches and then every 12 inches. I found the center of the board and marked it with an awl. I then used a depth stop on my drill press to make sure that the holes were all at a consistent depth, and made the holes using a foster bit that matches the size of the dowels that I'm using, in my case 7-8s. Using a stop block, I cut five pieces of dowel at 14 inches long. It's a good idea to sand the ends a little to ease the fit, and the glue-up is super simple if you start with one side, then fit it into the other side. Just make sure to have all your clamps ready. To finish off, I applied some stain and used a wipe-on poly as a finish coat. Next up is a simple yet elegant plywood ring. For this I'm using three-quarter inch baltic birch plywood. I started by punching a small hole using a scratch awl. Using that as a center point, I used a compass to trace a circle. Then over at the drill press, I started by punching a hole all the way through the center using a small bit. This will show me where the exact center is so I can drill halfway with a forstner bit, then flip it over and finish from the other side, avoiding any potential tear-out. To shape the ring, I started by cutting down the block as close to the line as I could get before taking it over to my sander and sanding it right up to the line all around. After that, I used some tape so I could hold the ring on a bit and use my drill press to help me sand the ring all around. I progressively moved to finer grit paper and made sure to round the outer edges as I went. To finish off, I applied several coats of tongue oil. Alright, next up is plywood pencil holder. For this, I'm again using baltic birch plywood because I love the look of the crosscut. I cut four equal pieces and made a sandwich by gluing them all together. After the block was dry, I used a chisel to clean off some of the dry glue before running it through my joiner to square up the faces. And I did this on both sides. You could just as well use a planer. I then squared off the end using my miter saw and made a first cut of a block that was nice and square. Now you can stop here, but I used my router table to round over all the edges. After laying out the hole spacing, I used my drill press with the depth stop set to about two inches and made all the holes. All that's left is a little sanding and a few coats of wipe on poly to finish. Another simple project that you can customize is a business card holder. I started by cutting up a few scraps and arranged them into a pattern that I liked. After a quick glue up, I ran it through the planer a few times on both sides to even it out. I then squared the ends and cut a few randomly sized blocks. Over at the table saw, I tilted the blade just slightly, maybe five or ten degrees. I then ran the block through several times, slightly adjusting my fence at each pass in order to make a thin shallow groove. After some sanding, I finished off these as well with a few coats of tongue oil, and that's all there is to it. Hey, I hope you enjoyed this video, and I hope it sparks some ideas for gifts that you can make yourself. Stay tuned for a few more ideas coming up from my previous videos, and if you have any other ideas, be sure to leave those in the comments below. Until next time, thanks for watching!