Projects will include a fixed-blade hunting knife; an ice cream scoop, pizza cutter or bottle opener; a wooden beverage caddy; and a decorative wooden luminary.

October’s “Make and Take” program is a followup to an inaugural series of “Make and Take” classes that took place last April, as part of National Woodworking Month. “Our goal was to get new people into woodworking,” says Scott Ekman, Rockler’s vice president of marketing. “Those classes were so successful that we’ve decided to do it again this fall with a holiday gift theme.”

The ice cream scoop and knife projects were part of the spring curriculum, and Ekman says they were the most popular offerings, so they’re being reprised for October. “We’ve also seen a lot of luminaries and bottle caddies show up on Pinterest lately, so we thought they’d be of interest, too.”

Next month’s courses will be limited to three to six participants per class, in order to allow for lots of one-on-one help. A different class will be offered every week, and each class will focus on a single project type. Cost to attend the ice cream scoop/pizza cutter/bottle opener class is $25, plus the price of the specific metal hardware kit you choose. Tuition for the three other classes is $35, which includes all project materials.

Aside from taking a home a gift that’s ready for wrapping paper, “Make and Take” will also give you the chance to develop some core woodworking skills.

For instance, the focus of the ice cream scoop/pizza cutter/bottle opener class is on basic spindle-turning techniques to make the wooden handle. Woodturning is a growing interest area among woodworkers of all skills levels. Besides a lathe and a few basic turning tools, turning often doesn’t require other machinery or previous woodworking experience.

“Turning a handle for these kitchen gadgets is a pretty easy first project,” Ekman says. “It allows participants to be as creative as they want to be with the shape, and the threaded insert that comes with these three hardware kits makes them interchangeable.”

In the six-pack beverage caddy class, you’ll practice measuring and marking, curve-cutting and building dowel joints. The luminary class will help you gain confidence at the router table and scroll saw, making decorative cutouts and then assembling the project with lock-miter corner joints. Or, develop your sanding and shaping skills while you’re forming wooden scales for the knife project.

If you don’t live near a Rockler store, or just want to order the hardware kits and build the projects in your home shop instead, that’s an option too. Free plans and overview videos for October’s “Make and Take” offerings are also available online at rockler.com/makeandtake.

Classes are sure to fill quickly. Find out the course schedule for your local store, and sign up to reserve your spot, by clicking here.

“Giving or receiving a handmade gift can make the holidays extra special and memorable,” Ekman says. “With the holidays just around the corner, Rockler wants to give everyone the chance to do this — even if they don’t have the tools or skills.”

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Tim Inman: I would use a drying oil like tung or boiled linseed oil. Why? They can be easily refreshed if/when they show failure. Any film-forming finish like poly, or even epoxy, will eventually fail, and that failure will result in flaky finish “chips” which can and will snag your work. The oil will fail, too, but it won’t leave snags to catch on your nice new knitting. It can then easily be resanded and recoated to make the blocker smooth again.

Chris Marshall: I like Tim’s suggestion of an easily renewable finish that’s simple to apply. You’d probably also have good results with one of the many “wipe-on” finishes like Watco Danish oil, which are basically either thinned varnish or oil/varnish blends, depending on the brand. They won’t build up a thick film that can crack and flake off, and you’d have a bit of varnish protection, too. But, I’d keep the finish very thin – just a couple of coats to seal the wood fibers.

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In this application, the Mini-scraper’s carbide insert can help you scrape off dried glue or level uneven wood joints, either by pushing the tool forward or pulling it toward you at a high handle angle. The rust-proof carbide edges are slightly cambered to keep their corners from gouging delicate wood surfaces, but an optional square-edged insert is also available. When an edge of the insert finally dulls, loosen the hex screw and pivot the insert to a fresh edge.

Through Sept. 30, Woodpeckers is offering the new Mighty Mini-scraper and one cambered insert for the introductory price of $19.99. After September, the price will increase to $21.99. The optional flat-edged insert sells for $11.99.

Learn more about the new Woodpeckers Mighty Mini-scraper, and watch a video of the tool in action, by clicking here.

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The Ryobi 18-Volt ONE+ Quietstrike Pulse Driver (Model P290) sells for $99 as a bare tool without a charger or battery, but it works with any 18-Volt ONE+ battery (sold separately) as part of the ONE+ System of over 70 tools. RYOBI backs your purchase with a 3-year warranty. See the new Pulse Driver by clicking here or at a Home Depot store near you.

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Bruce D. Wedlock
North Reading, MA

See the Gallery Below:

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“While I didn’t care much about the little nightstand because of the painted face, I enjoyed learning something new about how to construct it. Chris Marshall’s video gave me some great pointers on how to construct with plywood projects like the nightstand.  Keep up the good work.” – Ed Amsbury, Gainesville, FL

“Please tell you wife she has excellent taste. I fully agree with her: it is ugly. Unfortunately, some folks only have taste in their mouths, nothing personal. I won’t even consider making something like that.  Better luck next time.” – Bob Hoyle

“As a biological product of the ‘40s I don’t like the nightstand at all. But as a craftsman, and having a strong attraction to anyone that knows their way around the wood chips I look at the piece differently. The design does nothing for me, but the craftsman that built the piece is AAAA+ plus in my book.” – Wayne Mailhiot

“Like you, I, too, am a biological product on the ‘50s. ‘56 to be exact. I am not repulsed by Mid-Century Modern but rather prefer Shaker. I think my lack of admiration of Mid-Century comes from the financial level that my siblings and I were raised, possibly somewhat envious of others that could afford furniture of the times. Somehow I find the Shaker style has a coming home appeal, not because we had Shaker style in our house but possibly because were raised simply and were made to appreciate what we had.

“I have sat and looked at the nightstand and do truly appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into making it and agree that it is truly a handsome piece of furniture.

“That is the reason I enjoy your magazine. You come up with projects for everybody and every taste.” – Laurence Pylinski

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