Whether your dwelling is a 1946 Airstream trailer behind a meat-packing plant, or a 12,000 square foot mansion on ten acres in the Hamptons, it’s your home-sweet-home, and you want to keep it safe and secure. One of the biggest threats to this safe haven comes from fire; according to the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association), more than 1,000 home structure fires are reported on an average day. This translates to 42 fires every hour, or one reported home fire every 85 seconds. In a recent five-year study period, home fires killed an average of seven people per day. The NFPA also found that almost all homes have at least one smoke alarm, but almost two-thirds of home fire deaths in 2006-2010 resulted from fires in homes in which no smoke alarm was present or at least one was present but none operated. [Read more...]
Four Fashionable Fire-Foiling Fixtures – Smoke Detectors to Alarm the Senses!
Get Trigger Happy – How to Replace the Trigger Valve on your Bostitch Nail Gun
If you’re a framing carpenter, a hard-core DIYer who loves taking on big projects, or possibly a magician (more on that later), most likely you make use of a stick nailer for much of your framing work. Stick, or framing, nailers are a HUGE time (and arm) saver when you have a lot of 2x4s to bring together. I’ve had my Bostitch N79WW for about 12 years, and it’s launched many a nail, while not receiving much in the way of TLC beyond a few drops of oil in the air fitting before each day’s use. [Read more...]
Five Woodworking Projects You DON’T Want to Try at Home!
The woodworking universe is populated by a diverse group of people. It includes traditional project-builders like my father-in-law, who cobbled together many a fine masterpiece in his time, including barrister’s bookcases, cradles, end tables and lamp bases. Toward the other end of the spectrum is the realm of those who are far less traditional, either in the methods they employ, in their finished products, or both, and includes some practitioners of the craft whose techniques you definitely do NOT want to emulate. [Read more...]
Hit It! The Four Hammers Every DIYer and Home Remodeler Should Own
Many millennia ago, the first prehistoric DIY caveman got a flash of inspiration, picked up a rock, and brought it crashing down on something. In the process, he probably also crushed his thumb, which was likely responsible for the first prehistoric string of obscenities (“Son of a stinking pterodactyl-breath Neanderthal, that HURTS!!). Ever since then, striking tools, in the form of hammers, have played a major role in shaping our world. And not just by flattening our thumbs; although the hammer is generally thought of as “just a tool,” its inherent danger and destructive potential, as illustrated in the following video, shouldn’t be ignored… [Read more...]
Latch Onto Your Pot With The Pot Latch Plant Holder
My wife loves house plants. Our home is the dwelling place for dozens of hanging and potted plants at any given time, running the gamut from beautiful, full and healthy specimens to some that are fodder for the compost heap. (Just because she loves plants doesn’t mean they always reciprocate). In the summer months, most of these plants are tasked with beautifying our back porch; they hibernate indoors for the winter, and the survivors are booted back out in the spring. [Read more...]
Wood Pellets On Steroids – Tacoma Firelogs
Wood pellet stoves have been an increasingly popular fireplace alternative in recent years. They are highly efficient, and make use of wood pellets that burn more cleanly, with less ash, and with higher heat output than conventional cordwood. But not all of us have wood pellet stoves. For the rest of us, there’s the Tacoma Firelog. We ran into the folks from Tacoma Firelogs at a recent National Hardware Show and they sent us some of their product for a test drive. I know what you’re thinking. San Diego isn’t exactly known for being an ideal test location for products that warm you up. [Read more...]
Skil iXO Vivo Review – Don’t Drink and Drive
Drinking and driving is not a good idea. This applies to driving a vehicle and driving screws too. Our lawyers made us say that. Now that the disclaimers are out of the way, let’s talk about the Skil iXO and the Skil iXO Vivo that were recently sent to us for review. The Skil iXO is literally a pocket-sized screw driver. Let’s be fair, at 4v delivered by an internal Lithium Ion battery, don’t expect your pants to be blown off in a whirlwind of raw, unbridled, tourque-tastic power. What you can reasonably expect, is a very portable screwdriver for household tasks, light duty work, and, in the case of the iXO Vivo, opening a bottle of wine. [Read more...]
Makita 18v Sander Review – Giving Cordless Sanding a Whirl
Ah, yes. The ubiquitous five inch orbital sander. Lots of folks own them, and almost all the sanders have cords. Sensing that handy people everywhere might want the same freedom from cords they’ve come to expect on most other power tools, Makita recently released their LXOB01 five inch, eight hole, cordless sander. I was recently working on an upstairs window restoration and found myself without a convenient power outlet and working overhead, two ideal conditions to give this new cordless sander a whirl. [Read more...]
ZipWall Review – How Zipwall Can Save Your Marriage
It wasn’t long into home ownership that I realized how invasive remodeling activities can be. We’re talking killer bees, alien invasion, zombie apocalypse kind-of invasive. What starts off as a minor, “trivial” repair can quickly morph into a house-wide gut remodel that consumes your life and your life savings. It’s not just the scope of the job that can be invasive, it’s also the mess. Dust, debris, dirt and even hazardous substances like lead will manage to find their way into every far-reaching nook and cranny of your home. If you let them. [Read more...]
Bosch 5312 Dual Bevel Slide Compound Miter Saw Review – What’s Big and Blue and…
I was planning to start this off with a hilarious joke about something blue and 12” and 60 pounds, but I got a threatening email from someone regarding Smurfs and copyrights and restraining orders and so forth, so there will be no humor today. The only big blue thing we’ll be discussing is the Bosch 5312 12-Inch Dual Bevel Slide Compound Miter Saw. [Read more...]
