Christmas, a little late...

Since I just started this blog, I'm a little late in taking the opportunity to show off some of the woodworking Christmas gifts I received this holiday season.  And of course, I also would like to give thanks.

The first gift came before Christmas.  Knowing that I had been looking for many years, when the opportunity arose, my parents were kind enough to gift me the Stanley 55.  The plane is not that hard to come by, just difficult to find at a decent price.  This one was priced to sell. The plane came complete with all of the important parts and all of the standard cutters that originally came with the plane.  The box is missing the lid, but it probably won't be living in the original box for very long.  The only part missing is the screw for the cam rest.  I don't know how easy it will be to find a screw, but I can pick up a complete cam rest fairly easily.  Thank you Ebay.  While I love the plane (I know many people don't) the cutters are the true beauty of this gift.  I also have two Stanley 45's that I've picked up while rust hunting.  All of the symmetrical cutters that came with the 55 can be used in the 45.  Now I can set up three different operations and not have to tinker with the planes in between.  So far, I haven't experienced any difficulties with this plane, although I will admit there are a lot of moving parts.

Also from my parents, "Mouldings In Practice", by Matthew Sheldon Bickford, from Lost Art Press. Going back to my days of power tools, I've always enjoyed making mouldings.  This book will certainly make hand tool mouldings a lot easier for me moving forward.  Now I just need to fill out my wooden moulding plane collection.

My wonderful wife also made was very generous this holiday season.  "Calvin Cobb Radio Woodworker" also from Lost Art Press, was a fun read, even if I would have preferred a different ending.  Roy Underhill is just as entertaining as a novelist as he is a speaker, educator, and television host.

My wife's second gift was also greatly appreciated.  A Veritas dovetail saw.  I have been plodding along with an old, cheap gent's saw I purchased many years ago.  My dovetails have improved greatly with practice, but since getting this saw, the difference has been amazing.  The saw just feels so much better in my hand.  It is true of course, that every job is easier when you have the proper tool.  But I'm sure that this saw will cause additional purchases as I fill out my saw till.

Thank you to my entire family, for making this one of the best holiday seasons in memory.  I hope that it goes without saying that the gifts were a distant second to the blessing of their presence in my life.  But now I've said it anyway.