Chances are, you know an engineer or two, whether it’s a friend, coworker, or family member. If that’s the case, you’ve also probably noticed that engineers have some pretty unique interests. While that’s great and all, it can make gift shopping challenging. When I tell my family what I want for Christmas every year, I usually get responses like, “What even is that?” or “That seems like such a boring gift!” So whether you are doing some Christmas or birthday shopping for an engineer in your life, or just a fellow engineer looking for some great stuff to buy, hopefully this gift guide will give you some helpful ideas.
As an engineer, I’ve picked up a lot of useful tools and gadgets over the years. I tend to do a lot of research on products before I buy anything. Whether it’s a heated blanket for my wife or a new tool for my shop, I’m going to skim over the technical specs, read half a dozen reviews, and compare to at least two similar products before I click “Add To Cart”. As a result, I usually find products that are the best bang for your buck. The items listed here are either some of my favorite possessions, or products that I’ve used or researched heavily and added to my own wish list. Every single product is something that I would buy again and recommend to friends and family with similar interests or needs.
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So with that, let’s check out some deals!
Perfect Tools for the Shop
Looking for the best multitool? The Leatherman Rebar is just the tool to buy. I’ve been using my Rebar for 8 years, and in that time I’ve used every feature at least once at some point. A multitool should have every tool that you will use frequently, plus a couple of tools that you will only need once or twice, and it has to be sturdy and easy to use. Leatherman nailed it with the Rebar, in my opinion.
Here are a few of the features:
Replaceable wire cutter blades - although I’ve never needed a replacement
Straight and serrated blades
A saw - perfect for cutting wood and plastic
Two slotted screwdrivers and one Phillips screwdriver
Bottle opener
File - I’ve used this on everything from steel to 3D printed parts
Pliers - sturdy enough to use for just about anything
Locking mechanism to keep everything stable during use
Sometimes a full-sized multitool is just too bulky to carry around all the time. The Victorinox Rambler is a true pocket knife that you can take with you everywhere and forget that it’s in your pocket until you actually need it. Naturally, the tools are a lot smaller and there are less of them but in a pinch it’s often exactly what you need. This is the best knife for EDC, in my opinion.
This is what it comes with:
Straight blade
Small Phillips screwdriver with bottle opener
Small flat screwdriver with file
Scissors
Tweezers and tooth pick
The Spring Tools Hammerless Center Punch is the perfect tool for marking hole locations in metal prior to drilling. This will leave a small dimple in the material, which makes it easy to find later and keeps a drill bit from walking. The tip is made from hardened tool steel, making it extremely durable and difficult to blunt. The simple elegance of the design eliminates common failure modes that you inevitably get with other center punches. The point is very sharp, making for superior precision and performance as well.
The punch tip has a hardness of 65 HRc, and it can deliver up to 3,500 pounds of impact striking force. And, unlike an automatic center punch, you can easily control the striking force based on how far you pull the spring back.
When hand tapping metal, or putting threads in a drilled hole, the last thing you want to do is get off to a bad start. This tool will keep your tap perfectly straight, which reduces frustration and cuts down on broken taps. This also helps prevent cross threading. This is a great gift idea for engineers, mechanics, and metal fabricators of all kinds.
Sometimes, you need to drill a really straight hole but don’t have access to a drill press. The Big Gator drill guide is the perfect solution. Just clamp it anywhere on your material and use the appropriately sized hole in the hardened steel block as a guide for your drill bit. This will keep your drill from walking, and ensure that it ends up perpendicular to the surface that you are drilling. Also include a V-notch for drilling pipe, dowel, or other round materials.
Awesome Office Accessories
The CAD Mouse Pro from 3Dconnexion is engineered for performance, durability, and ergonomics. Unlike other products on the market, it’s specifically tailored to individuals that use CAD software on a daily basis. The middle mouse button (MMB), a secondary function of the scroll wheel, is used all the time in CAD applications like Solidworks, AutoCAD and Fusion360. While most people rarely have a need for the MMB, an engineer might use it hundreds of times in an hour.
As surprising as it might sound, repeated clicking of the MMB can lead to finger fatigue over time. 3Dconnexion tackled this unique problem by creating a mouse with a dedicated button. Located between the scroll wheel and right mouse button, it requires significantly less finger movement and force to press than traditional scroll wheel middle mouse buttons.
In addition to the ergonomic design, it also comes with dedicated buttons that can be programmed for specific functions in Solidworks, AutoCAD, and other CAD software packages for increased productivity. The wireless model charges with a USB micro, and has both Bluetooth and USB dongle modes of connection. I frequently switch between working on my laptop and desktop PC with just the flip of a switch.
In addition, you can get this mouse in a left-handed version for the lefties out there. It’s the exact same mouse, ergonomics and layout, just mirrored!
Nobody wants to run out of hard drive space, whether it’s for a PC or gaming console. Engineers in particular tend to use a lot of hard drive space, for installed CAD software, Solidworks files, and the occasional video game or movie.
This M.2 NVME solid state drive from Western Digital is one of the fastest storage drives that you can get, making it perfect for upgrades to smaller drives or adding more storage with a 2nd drive.
This is a great storage drive, but before buying make sure that it’s compatible with the computer or gaming console that you are buying it for. There are also SATA versions of these SSDs if you don’t have an M.2 port available.
Commonly referred to as the “Bible” for engineers and machinists, this book has 3000 pages of tables, charts, formulas, and practical explanations. It was first published in 1914, and serves as a detailed and practical handbook for design and manufacture of mechanical components. Mechanical engineers, machinists, and tinkerers alike will benefit from the vast knowledge contained in this book.
I’ve had the same copy since I started my first job as a manufacturing engineer, and it’s always within arms reach from my desk. Even in the age of the internet, this book withstands the test of time and will always be relevant.
Every Day Essentials for Engineers
Engineers love well-made mechanical devices, and drafting pencils are no exception. I’ve had the same Pentel GraphGear 1000 mechanical drafting pencil for about 10 years and it’s still the best drafting pencil I’ve used. They come with different lead options but my personal preference is 0.5mm.
My favorite feature is the retractable metal tip. Most pencils have a thin metal tip, roughly 1mm in diameter, which can easily stab you through a pocket or get bent out of shape in a backpack. This pencil has the same tip, but has a fancy retracting mechanism to keep it out of harms way when not in use. Simply press the top of pocket clip to retract with a satisfying mechanical click and press the eraser end to extend.
If the engineer that you are shopping for is still in college, there’s a pretty good chance that they go through a ton of this gridded paper. Essentially just glorified graph paper, engineering paper has 5x5 grids with nice, crisp lines. Engineers at all stages of their careers are oddly obsessed with it, and for good reason.
There are various brands out there, but Roaring Spring is arguably, or maybe not so arguably, the best. Proudly made in the USA, the paper quality and precise printing quality really stand out. It comes in a yellowish buff color, as well as light green. The buff paper is a heavier #20 weight and comes in 100 sheet pads, whereas the light green is a lighter #15 weight and comes in 200 sheet pads. Price per pad is similar, so you definitely pay for quality. Worth every penny, in my mind.
Digital calipers are a bread and butter tool for engineers dealing with precision. Most box stores have some version of digital caliper, and I’ve tried a lot of them, but iGaging makes some of the best calipers for the money that I have seen. They are accurate, slide smoothly, and have a solid digital readout without many of the unnecessary frills that most calipers come with. I always have a set at my desk, and another set or two in the shop or wherever I’m working.
If you want to really splurge, Mitutoyo makes some of the best, most widely used calipers in the industry. The price tag reflects the quality, which is why I recommend the iGaging calipers, but you can check out the 6” Mitutoyo digital calipers here.
Special Interest Items for Engineers
Not every engineer is a Star Wars fan, but it’s generally a safe bet. If there’s an engineer in your life that would appreciate the humor in this Star Wars/Abbey Road artwork mashup, then I have just the T-shirt for them!
Whether they love it or not, engineers know a lot of math, and most engineers appreciate a good math joke. Why not get them a coffee mug so that they can share some nerdy humor with their co-workers?
Whether it’s a budding interest or a long-time hobby, most mechanical and electrical engineers end up dabbling with electronics projects in their spare time at some point. This Arduino starter kit is the perfect gift for the engineer or tinkerer that never stops tinkering.
My first real exposure to designing and building useful electronics projects was with a kit very similar to this one. The interest that was sparked with that kit carried over to my career and got me started with PLC programming and industrial automation, which is now what I do for a living.
Looking for a fun, practical project to do with this kit? Check out my DIY Christmas Tree Water Level Sensor video on Youtube!
What it comes with:
Arduino Mega microcontroller board
CD with tutorials and projects
A breadboard for building and testing electronic circuits
A power supply, 9V battery plug, and wall plug to power your projects
An ultrasonic sensor for distance sensing
LEDs, resistors, capacitors, transistors, buzzers, buttons and switches
Plus way more!
The ultimate gift idea for the engineer or maker that has everything. Over the last 5 or so years, 3D printers have had a huge increase in popularity and have really come a long way in terms of quality and performance. As a result, you can now get a really decent 3D printer at an affordable price. If you’re looking for the best gift idea for an engineer, maker or tinkerer, it really doesn’t get much better than a 3D printer.
If you search for the best 3D printer in 2022, Creality almost always makes an appearance. The Ender 3, or some version of it, is consistently ranked as one of the best printers for the price. It’s affordable, well-built, and due to its widespread popularity and open-source platform, there are tons of upgrades readily available.
Looking for the best 3D printer filament to get with the Ender 3? Or maybe you are shopping for an engineer that already has a 3D printer. If so, the Hatchbox PLA 3D printer filament is an excellent choice.
I’ve used several other brands over the years, but Hatchbox has become my go-to choice due to its consistent quality and affordability. I really like the look of parts printed with the black material, but there is a huge variety of colors to choose from.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully these gift ideas helped make your holiday shopping a little easier this year. Thanks for visiting!