The Right Tools-A personal rambling meditation.

   Okay,  I confess that this is not a project blog.  Not even really a wood working blog.  But..it is about tools.

 For the last week or so the weather has finally become spring like and Eva and I are gardening, fussing around in the car and clearing away the winter chaos in the garage. In the workshop I have repaired some winter damaged yard ornaments, painted my wheel rims and repaired some boots just to name a few jobs.

  All repairs are easier when you have the right tools.  Not just a tool that is adequate but...the right tool.  I was able to repair the broken things because I have a selection of glues and clamps.  I have two part epoxy glue and water proof glue and rubber cement etc.etc. etc.  Once the glue is smeared around I have C-clamps, and F-clamps and spring clamps and bar clamps etc etc etc.  If you have the correct glue and the clamp that will hold the thing still until dry you are almost assured success.  

  I was reminded of "tools" last Friday when my friend arrived to help me change my car tires from winter to summer.  He brought a floor jack, a cordless impact driver and a torque wrench.  We had the tires changed in 15 minutes.  What did I provide? Encouragement as well as coffee and cinnamon buns.  I remember the struggle, changing tires with the scissor jack from the trunk of the car, and the supplied tire iron and not knowing if the torque was right or not. Also, it took more than 15 minutes. 

  I put my snow blower into storage the past week.  The snow blower is 32 years old, but a respected and slightly more expensive brand. At this rate I may never have to buy a snow blower again, if it were stolen I'd replace it with its modern model from the same company. It started on the fourth pull in December and the 2nd or 3rd every other time all winter.

  I also got my maxi-scooter out of storage last week. One out, one in.  The scooter sat from last November until last week on a battery tender and started as though it had only been days since I was ridden last. It is an expensive Japanese Maxi-scooter with 62,000 km on it, it has been dead reliable for 14 years. There were other cheaper scooters but.....good tools are best.

  Personally I hate tools that let me down through no fault of my own.  I service my equipment, keep it clean and rust free and so expect it to work.  I am not interested in quirky tools and equipment, it may cost a bit more,  but I have found that quality tools and equipment are a good investment. 

  Not having to worry whether your tools and equipment will let you down  allow you to concentrate on the job while working safely and with enjoyment.

 amen.

cheers ianw  

Three Shop Days

 So I went into the shop on Monday morning and put the legs on the plant stand. Not that news worthy. I also took time out to organise my working bits of sand paper.  For a year or so all the half sheets and little bits of sand paper have been thrown into a plastic tub by my bench. Finally I got a proper box with a lid, open storage in a wood working shop is always filled with stray dust, so the closed box is better.  I also added a hacksaw blade to the top as an aid to ripping sheets of sand paper to size.

  Tuesday, I spent time playing with my new cordless drill.  I decided on a:

Drill kit

 F.Y.I.

  I bought the kit with my own money, without support or consideration from either Dewalt or Thetoolstore. So, my opinions are my own.

  Why did I buy the DeWalt 20 volt? For fifteen years I have used Hitachi 14.4 Volt perfectly happily. The drills are still good, replacement batteries are both rare and expensive, so, not cost effective.

  For a few years I have used a Triton 12 volt drill and impact driver combination. Twelve volt is not quite powerful enough and I just don't like using an impact driver. So it was time for a new cordless drill. 

  I do not work my tools hard any longer so I do not need the most robust tools on the market.  My back will give out long before this drill will get hot when I work now.  I like that the tool sits on a large flat battery.  I like having the drill easily at hand, standing on the bench top while I work, takes up less space than the 12 volt is small but has to lay down.  I like the extra power available with the 20 volt, 18 volt probably would have been enough but I wanted to buy the newest generation of tool as I plan to use it for many years.(this deal had three batteries included).

 DeWalt is everywhere so I can run out and buy a replacement battery or charger nearly anywhere if the need arises. And lastly the 20 Volt system has a tonne of compatible tools available, I plan to acquire a compressor soon.

  There are many good tool companies, making fine tools but this new cordless drill appears to suit my needs.

  Wednesday-

 Using the new drill, I put our summer planter/gardening table in the garage.

Also I have a 35 year old Honda snow blower, that runs just fine, but was showing its age. Today the new drill wire brushed three and a half decades of rust off my snow blower so it could be repainted.  If I ever need to buy a snow blower, or if anyone ever asked which one to buy, Honda. They are fairly costly but....a person may only ever need one. The drill did a really good job spinning the wire brush and the key-less chuck held the brush very firmly.  Come to think about it a 20 volt cordless shop vac might be a good tool to add too.

 Needed to put the snow blower away and clean up the garage because yesterday I got my Maxi-scooter out of storage. Spring has officially sprung in my mind.

My model, not me riding.

cheers ianw