Top 10 Gifts for Machine Tool Users

What’s the best way to impress your favorite manufacturer this holiday season? Give them a gift from our Top 10 list, of course! There’s something here for everyone, and probably a few surprises. Check out these gift ideas, and feel free to add your own and share them!

OKUMA’S ANNUAL GIFT GUIDE FOR MANUFACTURERS

Do you know someone who constantly clicks his pen, twirls his pencil, or flicks his pocket knife? Quix Spinners offers a solution for people who need an EDC (Every Day Carry) item to fidget with. There are lots of styles to choose from, but how about the BadBiker shown here. This spinner is made with motorcycle chain and has a custom designed 3D-printed sprocket.

Keep necessities at-the-ready with this Compact Multi-Purpose Waist Pack. Simply slide the strap through your belt buckle and keep your phone, keys, small tools and whatever on hand for easy access.

If you have kids in your life and you’d like to encourage their engineering instincts, Tinker Crate offers a variety of projects that combine Science, Engineering and Awesome! Check out the Hydraulic Claw where kids can learn how to build their own hydraulic lifting claw and discover the scientific principles behind how it works.

Shop Floor Automations gave away this G-code t-shirt at this year’s IMTS, and it was extremely popular. LOVE what you do? WEAR what you do! You can still buy one on their website and they’re bargain priced at $10 each.

Ever try to describe what you're seeing on an insert over the phone? Now you don't have to! Take pictures of small features like inserts and surface irregularities with a clip-on lens for your phone! (Not responsible for bets lost or disagreements about proper surface speed!)

The Pitbox for tools was designed to stand up to the fast and furious environment of racetracks. But now you can use these high quality roller carts to keep your tools handy, organized and protected. This could be called your Tools Mahal (though it didn’t take 20,000 people to build it!).

Have you ever worried about what happens when seat belts are left for trash, sitting in junkyard cars? Well one man’s trash is another man’s treasure as we learned in this fascinating article by Noah Graff of Today’s Machining World. Check out the craftsmanship and artistry of these bags made of seat belts and see if they’ll delight someone on your list.

Tim Thiessen (VP of Sales for Okuma America) recommended the book Lincoln on Leadership for this year’s Summer Reading List and it's worth another mention. Tim says he found many of Lincoln’s methods with people effective, not only during his time, but today as well. His two favorite concepts from the book were MBWA (Management By Walking Around) and writing a letter that you never plan to send (get it out of your system!).

CNC Cookbook recommends some “insanely cool” greeting cards called MechaniCards. Shown here is The Radial Engine, featuring an operable cross-section demonstration of the crankshaft arrangement found inside a seven-cylinder radial engine, similar to those found in many propeller-driven aircraft. Watch the video here and prepare to drop your jaw.

How about this Engineer Nutritional Facts mug? It seems pretty accurate, containing 1000% Critical Thinking, 500% Unrivaled Skill, 0% Wrong Answers, and so on…

BONUS!

If you have one of those hard-to-please people on your list, an LB3000 EXII is sure to impress. And yes, we can give you a gift receipt for that

Feel free to Share this list by using the button at the upper right of this page. Better yet, comment below with your suggestions and add to the list.