Which Woodpecker Tool for a Gift?

[m8]

A family member of mine is retiring this summer and I wanted to get them a Woodpecker Tool as a retirement gift.  If you had to pick just one which one would it be?  In advance I appreciate the help.

 

[live4ever]

Hard to say without knowing about what they have in the shop/garage already and what their woodworking plans or experience are. But that being said squares/rules are always useful and there's a useful offering from Woodpeckers for any gift budget.

26" precision woodworking squarehttps://www.woodpeck.com/woodpeckers-26-and-18-precision-woodworking-squares.html

In-dexable combination squareshttps://www.woodpeck.com/in-dexable-combination-double-squares.html

Paolini pocket rulehttps://www.woodpeck.com/ppr-2019.html

Delve squarehttps://www.woodpeck.com/delve-square-2020.html

 

[rvieceli]

It is a difficult decision, not knowing how they work.

They do have gift certificates available.

t%20certificate

Ron

 

[pixelated]

As mentioned, without knowing his style, a bit hard to say.

But a really good rule, or square is always useful, and likely to be well appreciated.

Clamps or their clamp storage system might be another possibility. As we know, too many clamps is almost an impossibility, and that brings on the problem of what to do with them.

 

[MikeGE]

Congratulations on your friend's upcoming retirement, and for having you as a friend!

Unless you know for certain what your friend wants and doesn't have now, or will not buy soon, I recommend a Woodpeckers gift certificate.  It would not be good to spend a lot of money on a gift that would not be wanted or used.

A few years ago, my friend retired from the military and wanted to build up his shop.  I was going to buy him some items from Incremental Tools, but decided to give him a gift certificate from Incremental Tools instead.  It was a good choice, since he had already ordered some of the items I was going to buy him.

 

[rmhinden]

Of the Woodpecker tools I own, I probably use the SS 642 square the most.

Bob

[attachurl=1][attachimg=1]

 

[Chainring]

Stainless squares are on sale right now...
http://e.woodpeck.com/public/previewmessage/email/34643/1720277/html

 

[clark_fork]

For a gift, I would first select an item that the receiver would never buy. Secondly, I would select a gift with the presentation in mind. Lastly, I would upgrade from Woodpeckers and go to Bridge City. The item arrives in an extraordinary gift box with the item set in place in an indented tray. All you need is to add a ribbon and card.

T Squares on Sale

 

[Cypren]

I'll also add to the chorus for the Woodpeckers stainless steel squares. The 1282 stainless might be the single most-used tool in my shop, not just because of its accuracy, but because the indexed marking notches make it very easy to scribe precise offset lines.

The Paolini pocket rules are another tool I use constantly and would highly recommend.

 

[Holzhacker]

As others have mentioned without knowing how he works being completely appropriate is difficult.
Anyone of the squares would be great. Any carpenter is going to use one of those. Whether its the 1281 or the newer SS versions.
Also have to second the Paolini pocket rule. Again any one of the squares is a good introduction to Woodpecker stuff. He can then buy other stuff he'll use.
The Bridge City tools idea is a good one. Lots of Bridge City stuff on Ebay most of the time. Some of it goes pretty pricey but sometimes some of it goes more reasonable.
You'd probably want to think about if your friend would be into the Bridge City tools. They aren't for everyone. The WP stuff is more 'approachable' I think is the phrase some would use.

 

[RobS888]

My wife bought me the stainless steel paolini set a couple years back as a OTT, I was afraid to use them at first, but they are great. I use them all the time.

 

[waho6o9]

Delve squarehttps://www.woodpeck.com/delve-square-2020.html

The Delve square will make a nice gift and it'll be well received I bet. 

I use mine quite a bit.

 

[Bob D.]

If you are not sure what to get and you want to get them something from Woodpeckers consider this.

If giving just a gift card is not to your liking get something small plus a gift card. They will have something to appreciate in the moment and the ability (thanks to you) to pick out something they want.

The Woodpeckers Mini Square makes a nice small gift with which you can include a gift card so they can choose that Woodpeckers tools they have been drooling over. Moreover the Mini Square is something you can use more than one of, so if they have one another will be welcome. I have one I keep in my shop apron and another I keep in my travel kit of handtools. I've given them as gifts and they are well received. My SIL thanked me a year later (I gave as XMAS gift) and told me he uses his all the time in the shop.
https://www.woodpeck.com/woodpeckers-mini-square.html

The advantage of this is you don't dump a large sum into a gift you're not sure is something they want or would pick for themselves. If that 'thing' they desire most is something expensive they may not be willing to share that with others as they might feel they are asking for more than is polite.

 

[Packard]

I guess I am an outlier here.  The Woodpeckers 6" aluminum square is $75.00.

A Starrett 6" combination square is $74.00 from Amazon.com.

I would always take a Starrett over a Woodpeckers square.
https://www.amazon.com/Starrett-11H...crid=1EQIVR6RKRMIG&dchild=1&keywords=starrett+6+square&qid=1622812472&sprefix=starrett+6%22+square%2Caps%2C179&sr=8-3

 

[mino]

For a gift, I would first select an item that the receiver would never buy.
...

THIS ^^^^

That is why I do not like gift certs. I may as well give money or some silver coinage at that point ...

I once bought a huge 60-pound 6" vise for a friend as a marriage gift. Ordered a specialty lacquered version with custom bearing for added force and made sure to include a full selection of aluminum, rubber and fleece pads for the jaws so his would be can take advantage of it.

When I visited them 10 yrs later, it was still standing proud in the shed and it came out his other is the "heavy" user for holding stuff in the fleece jaw pads ...

Besides, the bewilderment when he tried to lift the "small box" at the wedding party was priceless.
[big grin] [big grin] [big grin]

 

[Cheese]

I'm with Packard on this one...the Starrett's more accurate and more flexible. A woodworker's first 6" square is Starrett the second 6" square could be WP or BCT or Vesper or...

I think the straight gift card or Bob's Mini Square + gift card idea is the way to go. Kind of point them in a direction but then let them make their own choice.

 

[Cypren]

I would always take a Starrett over a Woodpeckers square.

Strong disagree on this. Starrett is very good, but they aren’t magic, and a movable-head combination square simply cannot repeatably reach the same tolerances of a fixed square of the kind we’ve thus far been discussing. It would be one thing if WP were sloppy and careless with their squaring, but I’ve never found that to be the case; my 26” WP square is provably more square (using the flip test with a scribed knife mark) than my 24” Starrett combination square (that cost almost twice as much) when its head is fully extended. Part of that is because of fixed vs. movable, part of it is because the contact surface on the WP square is simply so much larger than the Starrett.

 

[Packard]

Starrett guarantees the accuracy of its fixed squares to 0.0002" (two-tenths of a thousandth).  But that really begs the question of what accuracy is required of even excellent woodwork. 

The extra versatility of a combination square along with the Starrett accuracy is more than enough to sell me on the product.  Indeed I have a 6" and a 12" Starrett combination square but only with the 90/45 degree head.

I prefer the combination square because it is sufficiently accurate for woodworking and vastly more versatile than a fixed square.  A fixed square it designed to check the squareness of a part.  It was meant to be used looking up towards the light to see if light leaks between the part and the square. 
https://www.amazon.com/Starrett-302...2BYR8A8/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&keywords=starrett+6%22+precision+square&qid=1622829944&sr=8-9

 

[Cypren]

Starrett guarantees the accuracy of its fixed squares to 0.0002" (two-tenths of a thousandth).  But that really begs the question of what accuracy is required of even excellent woodwork.

Yes, Starrett fixed squares are more accurate than Woodpeckers ones (which are only guaranteed to 0.0085°, or 0.0009" on a 6 inch square), but Starrett's cheapest 6" fixed square is also nearly twice the cost of Woodpeckers' most expensive one. The $75 combination square you linked above isn't guaranteed to anywhere near that level of accuracy.

A fixed square it designed to check the squareness of a part.  It was meant to be used looking up towards the light to see if light leaks between the part and the square.

This is true of the Starrett fixed squares, which are traditional machinist squares without scales, but it's not true of the Woodpeckers squares, which are far more versatile and designed for measuring and marking in addition to squareness checks.

A combination square is a very valuable tool and every woodworker should own a highly-accurate one. But the WP squares are also extremely valuable tools which fill a different niche, and if you're trying to select a gift, the chance that a woodworker already owns an equivalent to the WP square is probably lower than them already owning a good combi square.

 

[Stan Tillinghast]

You owe it to yourself to go to eBay and look at Bridge City vintage rosewood and brass squares and the like. Particularly if you find one that's NIB or LNIB, they are gorgeous and no longer made due to the unsustainable character of rosewood.

I have a number of these bought at Whole Earth Access tools in the early 90's. I think it's time to polish them up and put them in a display case along with my Lie-Nielsen planes. Or is that too boastful?