Sometimes it’s hard to get excited about a tool when it’s, say, a hammer. Don’t get me wrong, hammers are great – but you don’t exactly walk around showing it off. (Or maybe you do. There are a lot of, uh, interesting people out there.) But when a tool points lasers and has an LED screen and computes numbers, it’s a totally different story and level of excitement. And that’s why I’m happy to provide you with this review of the Johnson Measure Laser 40-6004, because it is so much cooler than a hammer. (Again, no offense to you hammer weirdos enthusiasts out there.) [click to continue…]
measurement
How good are you at eye-balling the middle of a plank of wood? How well can you create a right angle without the use of a draft ruler? The lopsidedness of your projects and home might already reveal all that, but we found an online game from Rockler that lets you test these woodworking skills in a fun, non-project-ruining way. [click to continue…]
I’ve never claimed to be much of a woodworker – I tend to stick to the most simple of tasks. Even then, there’s no guarantee of success. Making a straight cut with a hand saw can even be an achievement. My failure rate is usually attributed to two things: One, being distracted by the TV during mid-saw stroke (who among us has not been drawn into the deep conversations held by the characters on The Hills?), and two, I sometimes inadvertently tilt the angle mid-project.
While it can’t really help me with my first issue, Spear & Jackson’s Laser Guided Saw can ensure you’re on track at any point in the project. [click to continue…]
When we moved into our first place, my in-laws were generous enough to gift us with some much needed baseboards. While my father-in-law is a fairly handy type, my husband and his brother are … well, let’s just say when they were growing up, they spent more time playing Super Mario Brothers than helping out in the ol’ garage (should anyone ever need someone to jump on an evil mushroom, these are your men).
With the “help” of his sons, my father-in-law got to work. Unfortunately for him (and our neighbours who had to put up with the intermittent shriek of the miter saw all day), the job took a bit longer than anticipated. The corners and edges in our home weren’t quite 90 degree angles of perfection. In fact, they were a little more this way … a little less that way – you know, whichever. And the direction given by my husband and brother-in-law on the angle to cut was also less than ideal. [click to continue…]
