The class is free of charge, including all materials, and it will be offered at four times throughout the day, with start times of 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. as well as 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. Because the jewelry tree class is simple, it’s ideal for those with little or no prior woodworking experience. Wooden dowels and a rectangular base will enable participants to make a jewelry tree with one, two or three hangers. Basic drilling and gluing will be used for assembly, followed by sanding and finishing. Each participant will leave with a completed jewelry tree.

“With Mother’s Day fast approaching, we thought this would be a fun way for beginners to get into woodworking while making a gift for Mom,” said Scott Ekman, Rockler’s vice president of marketing. “This class is a great opportunity to learn basic skills, get some hands-on experience and meet other people interested in woodworking. By the time the class is over, each attendee will have made a custom jewelry tree, which is a fun and unique Mother’s Day gift idea.”

All 37 Rockler stores across the country will offer the Jewelry Tree “Make and Take” classes. Class size will be limited to six participants per session, so lots of one-on-one help will be available. Attendees under the age of 18 will need to be accompanied by an adult. The class will last approximately 45 to 60 minutes.

To register for the Jewelry Tree “Make and Take” class at a store near you, or to download a project pattern to make the project at home, click here.

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A dust canister provides a durable dust containment solution, while the integrated filter allows for efficient dust filtration. For added versatility, the sander also comes with a universal hose adapter that connects it to the most commonly available vacuum hose sizes.

A single M18 REDLITHIUM battery provides the power, so this sander joins some 150 other Milwaukee tools that share the same battery platform. It weighs 4.3 lbs. with a battery installed and stands 6 in. tall.

“By leveraging our M18 technology, we’ve developed a solution that not only delivers true corded power without the hassle of cords, but does so without sacrificing the features users have come to appreciate from their corded sanders — such as the ability to adjust the sanding speed for maximum control and a smooth finish,” says Tyson Apfelbeck, senior product manager.

Milwaukee offers the new M18 Random Orbit Sander as a kit (item 2648-21, $199), which comes with the universal hose adapter, one M18 REDLITHIUM XC Extended Capacity 3.0Ah battery, an M18/M12 Multi Voltage Charger, two 80-grit sanding discs and a contractor bag. Or, you can buy the sander without the battery, charger or contractor bag as a bare tool (model 2648-20) for $99.

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Each insert is stepped to hold both 1/4- and 1/2-shanks, providing flexibility when you need to rearrange or add a new bit to your collection. And their installation is easy: just drill a 5/8-dia. hole and push in the insert into it; a ribbed exterior keeps the insert from pulling out of its hole when removing the router bit.

Rockler’s Router Bit Storage Inserts (item 57223) are sold in 10-pack quantities for $7.99.

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Tim Inman: The short answer is “convenience.” We select tools that are best suited to the jobs at hand. Sometimes we don’t have a choice so we learn to “make do” with what we’ve got. If you have a choice of tools, you’ll discover that you like one for this job and another for that job; the subtle nuances might become important. As you say, sometimes it just doesn’t actually make much difference. Generally, a curved knife for me will do deeper cuts or bark removal easier than a straight blade. Both will work. By the way, I’m assuming the curve is along the horizontal plane of the blade, like a sweep. There are draw knife type tools that have the curve bent into the blade so it forms a cylindrical shape. These are best used for something like scooping out the saddle of a chair seat. One of my favorite woodturning mentors, the late Bill Jones, endeared himself to me many years ago with his answer to a turning question during a seminar. The questioner asked Bill (the undisputed dean of the surviving Victorian ornamental turners) which was the right tool to use for a certain job. Without hesitation, Bill turned from his work and said, “The one that cuts.” Perfect answer, as far as I’m concerned.

Chris Marshall: Draw knives remove a lot of material in a hurry, making it easy to strip bark off of branches and waney boards or to convert hard edges into rounded profiles when shaping handles, spokes, spindles, cabriole legs and so forth. If the shape of the blade is flat and only the profile of the cutting edge is different (a curved edge versus a flat edge), your two draw knives are probably equally well suited and interchangeable for most tasks.

You might be surprised to learn how many variations of draw knives have existed over the years. Graham Blackburn’s “The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Woodworking Handtools” identifies nine variations, including carpenter’s, carriage body, carriagemaker’s, chamfer knife, coachmaker’s, cooper’s, jigger, mast and wagon maker’s draw knives. With so many wood-centric trades, the modifications to this tool abounded!

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Tim Inman: It’s all in the wrist. You’re on the right track, though — getting the “hang” of it is the key. Going slow is probably your enemy, too. Learn to move with a smooth fluid motion. It’s a lot like the “dance of the wood smoothness fairy.” Get into the flow of it. Another thing that helps beginners — either new to the trade or new to the tool — is to use a finer grit than you think you want or need. Less gnarly sandpaper means less gnarly faults. Relax, go loose, play music, don’t worry. Practice on thin veneered scrap plywood. Learn how to take off the veneer evenly all over the surface at one time. Then you’ll know the tool and be ready to take on the “real” project.

Chris Marshall: I have a couple of belt sanders, but I don’t use them much. When I do, it’s only for heavy stock removal at the first stages of a project. Instead, I use a jointer, planer, a few hand planes and a random-orbit sander as my main surfacing tools. A coarse-grit disc on a random-orbit (RO) sander does pretty quick work. I’m sure you’d find an RO easier to control than a belt sander, because it won’t try to pull you along as a belt sander does. I feel like I’m fighting against a belt sander’s motion in order to control it, and wrestling the tool doesn’t help improve the results. Between the two types of sanders, a RO is almost always my preference.

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For many readers, basic hand tools made the list. – Editor

“I’d be hard-pressed to work well without a tape measure.” – Rick Corbitt

“The item I would miss the most is a ruler. I could not use the other tools without one.” – Bernie Lasiewicz

“I would want something to measure with; it could be a combo square, but however it turns out, you need something to measure with and some good plans.” – J. Rouleau

“Putting myself under the sailor’s cap, I would say three hand tools: a drawknife, a handmade spokeshave and a half-inch chisel.” – Gary Peterson

“A box of good quality clamps would be my go-to want for that desert island.” – Kim Randall

“Several more tools would be needed to get very much done, but given thepower equipment that was specified, the one other tool I would need would probably be a screwdriver. Without that, it would be practically impossible to put any parts together.” – Moh Clark

“That would be a knife, my first woodworking tool and the most versatile.” – Lee Ohmart

Really basic. – Editor

“Betcha when you find that combo square, you would be looking for a pencil. That would be the tool I’d miss first. Then again, without a ruler, would you need that pencil to do math?” – Chuck Sanborn

Some based their choices on their knowledge or theories of the tools used by ancient peoples. – Editor

“My Japanese pull saw! I can cobble hammers, screwdrivers, even chisels and gouges, out of sticks and stones, and any good flat rock can work as a sharpener in a pinch, but a good saw is very, very hard to make. If you know the 3-4-5 principle, you can find a right angle. But our most ancient ancestors made saws by setting microliths into the edge of a thin board, which must have taken a Stone Age or two just to put together. Alternatively, a skilled flintknapper could cut a whole lot of little notches into the side of a stone blade. That would take skills that I don’t have.” – Louise Heite

“Tool I couldn¹t live without are my chisels. Even with those other human-powered tools, there will always be a need to fine-tune a finish or fit. In a pinch, chisels are the go-to item. I don¹t know for a fact, but I bet chisels were probably one of the first wood shaping tools invented. I can imagine a caveman scraping a piece of wood with a sharp blade to fashion a utensil as some us may do today to
achieve that perfect piece or weapon. ”- Ron Grover

Others found the “desert island” part of this “what-if” to be the most important aspect. – Editor

“So, one tool? My marking knife! But, if it were a Caribbean desert island, I’d want my bottle of rust remover! Having been a furnituremaker in the US Virgin Islands, I know how insidious rust can be, even in paradise!” – Clint Struthers

“A machete would probably be the best choice.  Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to get to any coconut milk to cry in.  Also, how else could you cut down palm trees for lumber?” – Keith McKinnon

And some went for the power tools – with the power supplied by various desert island sources. – Editor

“Why, an air nail gun, of course (powered by Mr. Thurston Powell’s mouth).” Wes Perreira

“I think a block plane or, if Gilligan could power another electrical device, a router would be nice.” – Al Phelps

“Router table with bits galore. No way can I do without a router. My prettiest stuff comes from what a router has a say in!” – Dennis Young

“Hands down, definitely a router. I would think the Professor could make an approximation of a combo square.” – Darryl Bartlett

“Number 1 choice would be a router, followed closely by my second choice, an orbital sander.” – Robert Hoffman

“I would have to say my lathe (and accompanying gouges, etc.). I have all the other stuff (table saw, et al.), but I rarely use them anymore, since I became addicted to turning. I still need to make a dining room set, and I’m trying to figure out how to turn it.” – Barry Saltsberg

And some got really specific on their tool choice. – Editor

“You chose a really tough one this time, and left a bushel of questions uncovered. Since the available wood source is unknown, maybe I will wish I had chosen a portable wood mill. But, accepting all the unknowns, then I would want a FlexCut Right-Handed Carvin’ Jack, folding multi-tool. I haven’t tried one yet, as I prefer to use a rigid spine tool to a folder any day, but I want my carving assortment — in my one tool.” – William Fish

“My go-to tool would have to be a Festool. More specifically, my Festool drill.  I have a couple of DeWALT drills and a Black and Decker one-half-in. drill, but they mostly sit gathering dust; sawdust, of course.  About the only job/project I do that doesn’t require the use of the Festool drill is when I’m working in my garden.  It has a built-in clip so I can hang it on my belt, leaving my hand free to carry all the other supplies, or at least most of them, that I will use with the drill.  I have no impact drill; I have tried one, but find that the Festool drill will do the job easier and without any fear of over-driving the screws with an impact driver. And I have used it in the garden: when I was putting the trellis together for the cucumbers and when I was assembling the frames for the raised beds.  It may cost more, but it does so much more than other drill motors, including not needing two drills to handle bits from one-sixteenth inch to one-half inch. This chuck will handle all of them. It is the most versatile tool I own.” – R.L. Hoyle

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