Woodworking Tools; Could Anything Be Less Selfish?

I was feeling guilty the other day when I realized how expensive my favorite bandsaw blades had become. Years ago I gave up on original Shopsmith-branded bandsaw blades as they seemed to dull so quickly and for some reason they drifted very badly. That was about the same time that I discovered Timberwolf Thin Kerf Bandsaw Blades and have been a believer ever since. But I digress...

So I'm feeling guilty and somewhat selfish but then it stuck me. What was I needing the blade for? Well, I have the need to do a bunch of resawing for my next few projects, which include: A cradle for my future grandchild, a rocker for my pregnant daughter, some wooden craft pieces for my Bride to scroll saw, cutouts for my sister and a few other things for my wife for around the house. Nothing for me at all!

But what about the projects that have come out of my shop in recent years? That list includes a cheese fountain for our son's wedding, a sleigh and several decorations for our daughter's wedding, a souped-up belt sander for a belt sander race for my company (modified class of course), a bunch of Shaker oval boxes for sale and demo at a local woodworking show, etc, etc, etc. Again, nothing for me!

Thinking back on my years in retail sales at Shopsmith I recall that the vast majority of the projects that customers and students were working on were being made as gifts for loved-ones. Clocks, rocking horses, tables, cabinets, and lots and lots of crafts. Sure, there was the occasional cigar humidor and golfbag holder, but those were far outnumbered by jewelry boxes and hope chests.

Hey Scott, what about workbenches? Sure, they might sound like selfish things to want to build, but when you compare the cost of building a bench vs buying you realize that this is far from a selfish project too. In fact, once the bench is complete I bet that it will be put to use on a whole new round of gifts!

No Virginia, power tools are not selfish. So feel free to buy or add to your Christmas wish-list all you like, but do us all a favor and make sure that you make lots of sawdust!
(Oh yeah, that reminds me. Santa needs to bring me a new dust collector too!)