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Present for Dad - suggestions?

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dsquire:
Chris

If he likes cooking then this might be for him. I know when I make a pot of stew or chili and having to stand there and keep stirring the pot gently to keep from burning can be a pain in the a&& sometimes. How about an electric pot stirrer, Just a single paddle that wipes 1/2 of the bottom and revolves slowly. Could be made out of stainless steel to keep from rusting.  :ddb: :ddb:

Remember, you asked for ideas!

Cheers  :beer:

Don

rleete:
Make him a custom pen/pencil set.  Kits are fairly cheap, and you can use whatever materials you want, from all kinds of exotic woods or acrylic.  Wooden blanks can be had for as little as half a buck to a few dollars for the more exotic materials.  I made mine out of rosewood, and they were less than $6 each including the kit and finish materials.

They are super easy (I made 3 in one night), kits are cheap ($4-12 each) and you have a gift that they can actually use daily.

Do NOT let them talk you into all sorts of specialized tool/mandrels.  You can make one yourself in mere minutes.

raynerd:
You know what Rleet, I first joined this forum because I was trying to make a pen from scratch and was struggling to multi-start thread the cap. I was using acrylic blanks but my interest was fountain pens and I was struggling getting fountain kits here in the UK, I could only find biro type. You know what... you`ve done it. That would get me right back into maching a pen!! Thanks for the suggestion....
Chris

rleete:
I just finished my first one last night.  Indian Rosewood and a gold slimline kit from Woodcraft.  Came out pretty nice for my first attempt, and I've got the supplies to make 4 more.  It's actually easier to turn metal than wood, IMO.

If I knew more, I would have ordered the stuff online (cheaper), and not bought the mandrel (a simple turning job), but overall I'm happy.  I intend to make lots more and give them away to all my friends and family.  For about 5 bucks apiece, it is a nice, useful gift.

NickG:
Chris,

Funny you posted this thread. I was thinking of making something for my dad too! I was thinking either  a rocking engine (make a couple, just to the drawings but blinged!) or a couple of elmers tiny. Then I thought, these are pretty useless, he won't even be able to run them without going into the garage and hooking up the compressor - which he would never do! So I thought, what about a finger engine. But they are relatively more involved to make compared to the other 2.

You mentioning the nut cracker might have sparked something off - I always remember seeing this screw design when I was little and thought I want to make one of those one day, this has just sparked my memory! I think the one I saw had an acme or square thread.

Some good ideas here - makes the present much more personal too. Like you say though - only 3 weeks! :dremel:

Nick

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