(rock music) (romantic music) marc: welcome to episode 5 of the wood whisperer video podcast. today, we actually have a very
wood branding iron reviews, special holiday edition of the show. it's our holiday buying guide. i've actually got my beautifulwife here with me, nicole. she's going to help me out withjust introducing some of the
products to you, and, infact, tell everybody what we usually do every year whenthese catalogs come in the mail. nicole: well, as you saw,when these catalogs come in, marc finds a lot of differentways to let me know exactly what he's looking forfor christmas this year. so, we thought we'd putthis podcast together, to kind of give you and your loved ones a better headstart this holiday season. marc: a lot of the itemsthat we're going to feature
today are actually availablein the wood whisperer store. now, that's a new feature of our website. just click on the woodwhisperer store button, right there on the home page,and it'll take you there. the wood whisperer store is actually an amazon.com affiliate site. so, everything that you canfind on amazon, is also in the store, but it's a goodplace for me to feature special products, things iwant to bring your attention
to and make them very easily available to you directly through the website. it's a great way to support the show, and it's all the sameprices that you'd find if you went directly to amazon.com. nicole: yes. marc: see. (nicole laughs) nicole: so, the first categorywe're going to talk about
are the gifts that are $10 and under. so, these are really greatfor stocking stuffers. really? marc: get a big stocking. that's not big enough. i've got one twice this size. that's what you need to get. nicole: yes, exactly. so, the first product we're going
to talk about are nozzle caps. these are actually really affordable. they're about $7.00 for a bunch of them. how many, do you think? marc: i don't know, 25 or 30. nicole: 25 or 30? marc: yeah, they comein a little puck-shaped container, but they'reactually pretty cool. if you look here, i've got alittle tube of liquid nails.
i actually ran out of them. had i had a few of thesearound, you actually can sort of roll it down on the tip of this and stop it from solidifying in the tube. nicole: the next product that we're going to talk about are the acid brushes. now, these are great little things, and i know marc uses them a lot. i see them laying around onthe shop floor all the time.
in fact, i've evenstole a few of them from time to time and used them in my class. he doesn't know that,though, but you know now. marc: how dare you, woman. nicole: (laughs) these are great tools. you can get a pack ofthese, 72 of them, in fact, for around $6.99 fromthe wood whisperer store. marc: 72 for $6.99 is an awesome price. i know a couple of times ayear rockler has a big sale,
and i stock up, and i wasn't even aware that this price was out there. so, i think from now on,i'm going to do that, because that's just theregular price for 72 pieces. nicole: so, the next item that we have are ez-mark marking lines. these run around $3.99, andyou can get these at rockler. i actually have no idea what they are. i've probably bought them at some time.
marc: actually, we haven't. this i found at rockler lastnight, and i guess they're new. it's one of those things,and rockler has a knack of inventing things that we canmake ourselves, but if you're a little bit lazy, and youwant to save some time, you can purchase these things. they're actually elastic cords,connected with just little metal pieces at the end, andyou can stretch these across. let's say you're making a bookcase.
so, they're usually forcasework, and there's actually a piece ofmaterial under the workpiece and you want to drive some nails through. usually, you have to scribe a line. sometimes, you might run apiece of tape across there, to mark where your actual nail line is. these, i think they come in a three-pack, and there's three different lengths. so, 10-inch, 20-inch, and30-inch, and you just stretch them
across the space there, andit gives you a perfect line. it tells you exactly whereyou need to drive your nails, and it doesn't mar the surface. nicole: okay, so the nextproduct that we're going to talk about are push blocks, not to be confused with push sticks. so, these run around $7.00,and again, you can get these at the wood whisperer store. so, i know for me, i feel muchbetter knowing that marc is
using these to push woodthrough his table saw. marc: still got all my fingers. nicole: yay! so, i know these are veryvery handy for the woodworker. marc: yeah, i mean, i liketo keep two of these at every work station, the routertable, joiner, table saw. it's a real safe bet, if youknow a woodworker, chances are they could probably use acouple more of these guys. so, it's a good thing to stock up on,
and it's a pretty good price too. clear! nicole: now, we're going to talk about the price range between $10.00 and $25.00. now, these kind of open upa lot of different areas for us with the books and the dvds. so, really, what i've givenmarc a few times, that i personally even like reading,are the taunton books. so, basically you can getany of the taunton books,
and really know that you're getting your woodworker a very quality product. so, here's just an example of a set. now, this definitely goesbeyond the $25.00 mark, but you can buy these books separately. marc: yeah. nicole: so, things like usingwoodworking tools, finishing. marc: definitely. these, in particular, i knowwhen i was first starting
out, were just an incredible resource. they were just packed withawesome color pictures and really great explanations. i have to say anythingby the taunton press, i think i even told nicolethat a few years ago, just anything by the tauntonpress, i'll take that book, because it's going to be awinner, and it's going to be something that you willuse as a reference, probably for the rest ofyour woodworking career.
nicole: in addition,you can also, if you're not really looking foreither a dvd or a book, they also have magazinesubscriptions out there. i know i've gotten marca number of magazine subscriptions, includingfine woodworking, but you can also get those from ourwood whisperer store. marc: those are available through amazon? nicole: yes, they are. marc: who knew?
nicole: the next productthat we'll talk about is the project, is itthe project calculator? marc: project calculator. nicole: the projectcalculator, and that runs- marc: $19.46. nicole: yeah. marc: 19 dollars and 46 cents. nicole: i couldn't remember. anyway, you can get that at the
wood whisperer store aswell, among other places. i think i actually got ours from lowe's. i remember buying this. marc: i don't know, but i love it. the project calculator is essentially for the average woodworker. it's just a time saver. anytime we have to dofractions, if you have to know simple math, like 15-30seconds minus three 64ths,
this guy can actuallyplug in the numerator and denominator of a fractionand do the math for you. nicole: the next productwe'd like to recommend is the tri-roller, oh tri-functionroller stand (laughs). i don't know. i'm just reading these things. and that's going to run $19.97 from the wood whisperer store as well. marc: yeah, the tri-functionroller stand is awesome.
i think most of us have some form of a roller stand in the shop,for either the outfeed of the table saw or ifyou have a miter saw, and you need something tosupport a long work piece. this tri-functional oneis actually pretty cool. it's got a rotating head atthe top with three different functional sides, and i believeone can actually be used as a stop on the miter saw, butit's flat, just plain metal. rotate it once, and you geta side that is a standard
roller, ball-bearingroller, and the third side is actually eight ball-bearingrolling individual balls, so, it's sort of amulti-directional stand. these things are justpriceless to have around in the shop, and it'sbasically like having a helper there with you,since i don't have a helper. nicole: no, not me. marc: okay. nicole: so, the nextproduct that we'd like to
talk about is the leather shop apron. that's pretty sexy, huh? marc: mm-hmm, it looks good. marc: especially if you have a bigger... nicole: (laughs) that'sgoing to run around $29.99, and again, at the wood whisperer store. marc: yeah, shop aprons, i don't know. some guys don't like to wear them. i've got one.
i wear it in the wintertime, because it's too hot in the summer. but it's just nice, ifyou got a pocket plane, some pencils, a little measuring device. it's nice just to haveit on board, ready to go, and it makes you looklike a real woodworker. nicole: not a nerd? marc: no, that's pocket protectors. nicole: oh.
marc: for nerds. nicole: so, the nextproduct that we're going to recommend is the marples chisel sets. well, hello jacks. marc: we have a visitor. hey, jacks, want a cookie? go lay down, good boy. nicole: those are goingto run around $49.99. again, you can get these atthe wood whisperer store.
(dog howls outside) marc: that's the other dog. now, this is actually a six-piece set. it's one of those- gifts that, you know, that your woodworker may alreadyhave chisels, but the marples are just a great shop standard. for me, i have a japanese chisel set. i really baby those.
i'm really careful aboutwhat i use them on, but i need a knock around set. i need one that's goingto take the use and abuse, of just everyday usage, and the marples are a great way to get there. nicole: the next productthat we'd like to recommend is david marks woodworking dvd. this runs $29.95, andyou can get this from david's website at djmarks.com.
marc: if you're not familiarwith david, he is the host of the woodworking show,woodworks, on the diy channel. he's actually just an incrediblewoodworker, and i had the good fortune of apprenticingwith david a few years back. if you've ever seen any of hiswork, david is just amazing. he's an amazing artist. he's amazing as a friend and a person. his work is just neverstraight, everything is curved, and that's really a toughbarrier for a lot of
woodworkers to break through. we want to make everything straight. we're comfortable with, youknow, shaker and mission style furniture, but how dowe start making things curved? that's what this dvd is all about. it's actually focusedon jigs and fixtures, to create curved linear work. so, it's definitely, if youreally want to start stepping up the complexity of your projectsand moving on to that next
level, that's a good way to start. the $50.00 and plus category. this is really power toolterritory that we're in, so, if you are wanting to buy power tools, we recommend that youactually talk with your woodworker about the type of tools that they're really wanting for christmas. marc: mm-hmm. nicole: so, what we'd liketo do instead of talking
about power tools iskind of talk about some alternatives in this price category range. so, the first product thatwe're going to talk about in this $50.00 plus rangeis the worktunes headset. this is going to run$59.95, and again, you can get this at the wood whisperer store. on many occasions, i'vegone and tried to get marc's attention, and lo and behold,he's wearing these things. so, i have to do the littlelight flashing thing,
and that doesn't reallygo over so well either. marc: can i sing for you? nicole: of course. marc: i've had a lot ofrequests for more singing. i'm going to start singing. i'm just kidding. these guys are awesome. i believe they have likea 22 decibel protection. they're earmuffs, and they'rea radio at the same time.
nicole: the next productthat we're going to recommend is similar to the past product, that we just talked about, the headset. this is actually by the same company. nicole: and it is theworktunes i3 headset. now, there are someadditional features with this headset, if you're looking tobe attaching your ipod to it. marc: it's actually the same price. interestingly enough, i did alittle research last night and
found it $30.00 cheaper thanmy other sources at sears.com. it's $59.99, and it's thesame price that the other worktunes are available for,except that these actually not only have the am/fmtuner, but they've also got a port, so you canplug in an mp3 or an ipod, which is awesome for me,because i like to listen to podcasts during the day,and these are just very comfortable things to wear,and if i've got the content i want going through them,i'm a happy camper all day.
so, highly recommend them. yeah, two thumbs up,and that's on my list. i want it. nicole: okay. recommend is a branding iron. this particular one we got at rockler.com. nicole: and it runs for $69.99. marc: it's actually pretty cool. i mean, i know a lot ofguys want to know, and girls
want to know, how do you sign your work? you know, how do youactually put your name on it? this is one way to do it. it's an awesome little branding iron. it says, handcrafted by, and they'll put your name on it for you. you just basically heat itup for about 10 minutes, press it to the workpiece,usually somewhere out of the way, and it brands it right inthere, and it will last forever.
so, very cool gift. again, something i wouldn'tnecessarily buy for myself, but i did receive this as agift, so i use it all the time. it's also really good formarking your property. (hissing branding noise) nicole: ow! marc: now, i know we'vementioned specific items in different price rangesthat are really going to help you out, but i justhave a little bit more
advice, if you're reallystuck for an idea. if you happen to be somebodywho likes to frequent yard sales or flea markets,things of that nature, keep your eyes peeled forhand planes and bench planes. you can get these oldclassic planes for just dollars, three dollars, fivedollars, whatever it is. they're very cheap, and idon't know any woodworker that would turn down a free plane. it's just a nice refurbishing project.
there's a lot of information on the net about how to process them. it's a lot of fun, and it'sa great way to spruce up a classic tool, even ifyou never really use it, you can put it on the shelf,it's a great decoration, but most of them arecompletely serviceable. a very cheap, really inexpensive way to make a woodworker happy. nicole: we hope you've enjoyed our holiday
gift guide podcast. now, whether you get yourgifts from either catalogs, the internet, our store, oreven the brick and mortar stores themselves, we hopethis information will help you get the perfect giftfor your woodworker. marc: and we're actuallygoing to have all the links to all of these itemsright there in the writeup on the website, and don'tforget, anything that's available at amazon.com,you just click on the
wood whisperer store button,and i'm going to have every item there for you,very easy for you to shop. nicole: so, if you haveany questions or comments, or just need help findingthat perfect gift for the woodworker in your life,please e-mail us at thewoodwhisperer@gmail.com. marc: and we hope youguys have a happy holiday. drink lots of coffee and hot chocolate. eat lots of cookies and otherbaked goods, and we will
see you on the nextnon-holiday edition of the wood whisperer podcast. nicole: happy holidays! marc: bye!
