The holidays have arrived and with it, the season of rampant consumerism has also been ushered in. The ding of the cash register, the rustling of dollar bills, the whines of bratty, toy-obsessed children …. ah, yes, it is that time of year again. *tear*
If you’re part of that dying breed who is less than thrilled with the prospect of holiday shopping and prefer to use your woodworking talents to make a unique gift, we found two cool products from AREAWARE that might inspire you – one quite simple, one definitely not so simple. You better make sure you’re well-stocked in tools from Rockler, because these two gift ideas may get you itching to attempt your own versions!
First, let’s look at the simple – and that is the Bootle Opener by Brendan Ravenhill. It’s essentially a smooth wooden handle that features a small magnet and a bent nail. The nail is obviously used to wedge the bottle cap open. The magnet is to hold onto the bottle’s cap, making the job easier and tidier (no dropping of caps!). In this girl’s opinion, it’s brilliant in its simplicity – and something even novice woodworkers could replicate themselves, choosing the kind of wood or stain they like best. This sort of thing would be a cool gift or stocking stuffer for anyone trying to stock their garage or man cave with only the most essential of tools.
However, if making something like the Bottle Opener is beyond your scope and schedule, you can certainly buy it at AREAWARE for a mere $20.
Next up is the un-simple but mega brilliant Cubebot. A blend of art, innovation, whimsy and Japanese woodworking techniques, this cool creation by David Weeks can one minute be a robot, the next – it’s a perfect cube. It’s kind of like the grandfather of Transformers (but not like those weird ones featured in Transformers 2 – please get that thought – and entire movie, actually – out of your head). Unlike most plastic robots, the Cubebot is actually fully poseable, thanks to a smart use of elastic bands for joints.
By no means are we suggesting that making your own version wouldn’t be a challenge – there’s definitely some major planning, a touch of engineering and some rather exact woodworking involved in something like this – but in my opinion, a gift like this – whether to a kid or the adult geek in your life – would blow the bolts off of Optimus Prime.
If you love it but can’t see yourself making your own Cubebot before it’s time to exchange gifts, you could just get with season and buy it already (which is what yours truly is also going to do). At Areaware, the Cubebot by David Weeks is available in three different sizes – small (6.75″ tall or 2.5″ x 2.5″ when in cube form) for $25, medium (9.5″ tall or 3.5″ x 3.5″ when in cube form) for $35 or extra large (23″ tall or 8.5″ x 8.5″ when in cube form) for $390. David Weeks also has other wood creatures available on the site, such as gorillas and elephants and bears (oh my!).
At first I thought the cost of the large cube figure was a misprint but then I went to the site and discovered it wasn’t. While the cool factor is huge, the cost for the large one seems high for it’s size. Now if the little ones snapped onto the big one like voltron, I’d be in.