I am SO getting into this power tool thing!

[LauraMax]

Yeah I've had a drill for years but now that I have a REAL house that needs a lot of work I've had much more practice over the last few months. I feel so accomplished when I fix or install something right the first time now that I've got the hang of it! I put these beautiful wood blinds in 4 windows this w/e, they were custom ordered & they fit like a glove. Very pricey--about $100 a window--so it'll be a couple mos. before I finish.

And for the last 6 mos. or so I've become addicted to HGTV, especially Design on a Dime & Decorating Cents. I can't believe how they can completely transform an entire room w/such little money. They make it look really easy but I know the devil is in the details & I don't have enough patience to do it right.

I'm hoping if I keep watching HGTV every weekend for the next year I'll absorb enough of it to start doing the stuff they do (building or re-doing furniture, changing walls & cabininets, etc.).

So my Christmas list will look like a man's. I don't want no stinkin gift certificates to beauty spas. I want a circular saw, a sander & a nail gun!

:+

 

[mtnmom99]

I love power tools too! It's a great feeling, knowing that you can create something that fits your situation perfectly.

I actually have all the tools you say you're wanting, although my nail gun is more like a toy than the ones they use on the shows. On my wishlist is a tablesaw!

Oh, you might want to add to your wishlist a compound miter saw (it's invaluable in my world) and perhaps a router (makes edges look so professional with very little effort or skill).

Diane

 

[LauraMax]

Oh Diane, the edges are what really make me nervous. I have a couple pieces of furniture that could really use some mouldings just to add a little unique touch, but the corners make me break out in a cold sweat just thinking about them. Any tips besides the miter saw?

 

[SRP]

I hate tools. I don't even like a hammer. But I have a friend who has every power tool known to humankind. She loves to work wood, build stuff, renovate homes... in fact, the last time I talked to her, she was mudding some sheetrock in her bedroom and planning to completely gut her 1950's bathroom and redo it.

Have fun, Laura, and enjoy that new house!

 

[mtnmom99]

Laura, all I can say is take your time, measure twice and cut once. You may want to do a practice miter joint first to see that your miter saw is accurate and get the hang of it. Also, and I still sometimes mess up on this, be sure your angle is going the right way!

Diane

 

[LauraMax]

Cool! Darn, could you send her to my house for a little tutorial? These TV shows are great but they don't take you step by step through their projects, they just show a couple quick shots of what they're doing & then move on.

I do have some home instructional VHSs but they're for stuff that's already been done (refinishing floors, painting & the like). I want to know, like, how to build a dining room table out of an old door, or how to make a storage bench out of a discarded kitchen cabinet. I have a zillion ideas floating around in my head but I'm not ready to make them reality!

 

[LauraMax]

Yeah the angle is what worries me. I was gonna do the quarter rounds on my new floors in my old house (the knucklehead contractor never finished, but I got the full bill!) but I was too afraid of the angles.