Somebody...Anybody...

Save Me From Myself


I'm now officially in the residential construction business.

How do I know?

Because today I came home with a portable air compressor and three nail guns from Sears.

Then I collapsed on the sofa with heat prostration because the AC in my Suburban is low on Freon and I'm too lazy to take it back to Island Automotive to get it fixed.

It was so hot that I passed up my planned weekly trip to Home Depot for more lumber and stuff, deferring it to early tomorrow morning before stopping by the beach to let Missy the "Turbo Pup" do a little digging.

Actually I ended up with a finish nailer, a brad nailer, and a stapler, because instead of 18D nails I'm using 2-1/2" screws to assemble the stud walls on the renovation project. The compressor will support one framing nailer, but I'm deferring that purchase until I do a whole house from scratch and need to slam a few thousand nails into some 2x4's.

I love doing construction, and perhaps the best part is getting to buy new tools to play with and hurt myself with. I still have all of my fingers and fingernails, but with all of the sledge hammers and saw blades I've acquired in the past few months, removing a digit or two here or there is a distinct possibility.

I really am a safety nerd when it comes to wearing protective glasses, hearing protection, gloves, and watching where and how I put up a ladder. Since much of my work is done solo, I sometimes worry about falling on my head or rupturing my spleen or something and having the police come and draw a chalk outline around my withered carcass after I've been missing for half a day or so.

Doing good work involves doing good design and planning, and getting in a hurry or cutting corners usually ends up costing more time and money than it saves, in my opinion. Having the right tools also goes a long way toward promoting safety, so I see another few hundred dollars worth of safety coming my way in the next few weeks.

Anybody know where I can get a good deal on a 10" table saw?