Rockwell Micro-Brew Advent Calendar Provides 25 Days of Joy

This year, Rockwell has put a new spin on an age-old Christmas tradition by designing an Advent calendar that appeals to handypersons, as well as micro-brew enthusiasts. Besides adding a festive element to the holidays, the project highlights several great new tool-gifts from Rockwell.

Charlotte, NC (PRWEB) November 29, 2012

Advent means arrival, which naturally is loaded with anticipation of the yuletide celebration. Advent calendars have been used since the beginning of the 19th Century to count down the 24 days of December leading up to Christmas Day. Through the years, the calendars have ranged from chalk marks on a door, to blocks on the mantel, to cardboard versions designed by greeting card companies. Many are designed for children and contain candy or small gifts behind a door for each of the 24 days.

Rockwell reasoned: Why not create a modern Advent calendar that holds micro-brews, which are gaining popularity throughout the country? The resulting woodworking project is detailed in the accompanying video and plan.

The micro-brew Advent calendar is sized to fit into a refrigerator, and must be stocked by a merry elf (usually a wife, girlfriend or buddy). Each day, the lucky owner opens a small door in the shape of a Christmas ornament, and is surprised by a different brew. Afterward, the bottle cap is held on the door of the empty compartment by a magnet on the back of the door.

On Christmas day, the case swings open (see plan) and six bottles to be shared with friends are held in a bracket on the back wall. The back wall is decorated with aluminum diamond plate. Inside lighting is provided by a battery-powered LED light, actuated when then the case is opened.

Materials used include solid walnut (front doors), walnut laminate plywood (remainder of case), maple (24 ornamental compartment doors) and Spanish cedar (Rockwell nameplate). The nameplate was made by making a rubbing of the logo on a tool storage case.

Tools used to complete the project include:

Jawhorse™ (RK9000, $159.96), served as a clamp and work station in laying out the cabinet top, laminating the front doors, cutting bottle holes, installing slide rails, holding components for sanding and clamping a plywood sheet to provide a temporary workbench.

Sonicrafter® X2 (RK5140K, $149.97) was used to cut the piano hinges. This new Rockwell oscillating tool features the Universal Fit™ system and Hyperlock™. Universal Fit means it accepts any competitor's blades or other accessories without using adapters. Also, a new assortment of Rockwell universal accessories are designed to fit all competitor's oscillating tools. Hyperlock tool-free design provides one ton of clamping force to prevent slippage of blades and other accessories.

3RILL™ (RK2515K2.1, $119.85) functions as three tools in one – cordless lithium-ion impact driver, drill and screwdriver with 22 clutch settings. It was used to drill pilot holes and large bottle-sized holes, as well as fastening parts. Aluminum diamond plate was fastened with the Right Angle Drill Attachment (RK9273K, $29.99), which is supplied with the 3RILL to drive fasteners in hard-to-reach and limited clearance areas.

Versacut™ (RK3440K, $119.85) made cutting the Advent calendar's back and sides easy. This powerful mini-circular saw cuts a variety of materials besides wood. It is equipped with a laser guide for perfectly aligning straight cuts, and has a pivoting metal guard for safe and easy plunge cuts.

BladeRunner™ (RK7321, $177.76) was used to cut out the small maple doors in the shape of Christmas ornaments. This versatile benchtop tool performs both rip cuts and scroll cuts in a variety of materials, simply by switching blades. Changing between five different T-shank blades takes only 3 seconds. Two-hand operation provides more control and better results.

All of the above Rockwell tools are available at http://www.rockwelltools.com.    

Media Contact: MKM Communications at 847-255-1903 or mkmcomm(at)gmail(dot)com.

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