Power Tools

Tuesday, 17 May 2016

I recently came into some new power tools which have made me very happy!  First, I swapped my ill-fitting but otherwise very nice rucksack for a fancy cordless drill..

Then, I swapped $350 cash for a drop saw at Bunnings.

Both these tools are very exciting because people like me - with a dangerous cocktail of enthusiasm, impatience and slapdash -  typically need to drill about 3 holes for every screw that is needed.  Although I have an electric drill, it's tedious to be continuously changing from drill bit to screwy-inny bit.  In fact I get so impatient to switch I've actually burnt my fingers grabbing onto the smoking drill bit to remove it.   

The other major problem for people like me (ok, maybe just me) is cutting right angles - well not any more!! My drop saw will allow me to cut all sorts of angles (still to the entirely wrong length of course) - but now it's going to be so quick to cut the next bit, then the next bit, until I get it right - yay!!  

So with my two new tools, I set to work on my first big project using a combination of variously aged wooden palettes, and some wood from outside dad's garage.  And it turns out that it's all very well to be able to cut right angles, but if your wood is crazily angled to begin with (from weathering), then it's next to impossible to be precise about anything else. Luckily I work pretty well with imprecision. In fact I'm an expert -so after an afternoons work I had knocked up this (only slightly wobbly) work bench...

I'm sure I took some photos before I covered it with other projects but I can't find them. But this is proof of how useful it has been already. It's a nice height and it's got space underneath for some drawers and a shelf.  I now also have a vice attached as well (another find from Dad's garage).

After some advice I attached a back brace strip to the bench so it is now really good and solid. It's positioned on the deck in a great covered and well lit space - so I can really annoy the neighbours with my banging, cutting and drilling at any hour, in any sort of weather.

With my workbench and tools I've since made a box that only opens when you spin it (this was deliberate - not another accident) - you can see that in the foreground below.. and I knocked up my  'Loud' artwork below:..

It's actually made from the letters that used to spell MOULD that we had in the bathroom (because we are so on-trend). But now we have such a fancy bathroom, it doesn't really suit it anymore.  So now it just sits there to remind me that not everyone wants to hear me drop-sawing at all hours of the night.. 

I've got another woodwork project started that I'll describe in another post, and then another project waiting for attention up after that.  I love projects, and I love power tools.  I just wish I had a nail gun.....