Happy Friday everybody!! Can’t believe how quick this week went. Despite our setback with our kitchen sliding drawer project this week, I do have some major progress to report, but I think I’ll save it for another post. I don’t want to count my chickens before they’re hatched!
I’m gradually getting back to my regular DIY routine after my surgery last month and we’re going to be roaring into our dining room project shortly. I may have over promised on how soon we would be doing that. But, then again, I didn’t expect to be unable to lift heavy plywood sheets for 2 months when I wrote that post. Anyway, it’s going to be our next project after we wrap up these drawers.
While I was making all the cuts for these drawers in my basement, I noticed all the tools and construction gear laying around down there. When we sold our first home, I put all my junk and power tools into a storage unit. After we closed on our current home, I dumped all that crap into the basement. I’ve had some time to start sorting it out and I’ve forgotten about half the stuff I’ve got. Some of this gear is ridiculous. I thought I’d take a post and talk about some of this ridiculous stuff. I’m not trying to make this a “boast post,” I just think this stuff is kinda overkill for the average DIYer. Enjoy a laugh at my expense.
If you’re interested in borrowing any of these AND we’re blog pals, just shoot me an email. I’ll ship them to you.
Here are my overkill tools that I hardly ever use.
1. A Door Jam Saw. Say what? Yes, there is such a thing. AND I own one. This little grinder like device is used during hardwood floor installations. In particular it’s used to cut through the bottom part of the door jam so you can slide the hardwood under it. Otherwise, you may have to use a hand saw, God forbid. It’s really only necessary if you are going from something thin like linoleum or carpet to a thick hardwood and you need to cut through many door jams. I think it cost around $100 and it worked well back in 2007, which was the last time I used it. Believe me, I’m shaking my own head.
2. A Wet Grinder. I’m actually proud of this purchase. I used it to make concrete countertops at my parent’s house, also back in 2007. I envisioned using it again to make my own countertops at our first home, but we ended up going with granite. What’s really embarrassing is that I own two of them. Good grief. See, I bought a lower priced unit for around $100 that ended up shorting out from the water. Well, since we were in the middle of this project, I ended up buying a higher end unit. The nice one is pretty sweet, although seldom used.
3. A Turbine HVLP Spray System. This one in particular stings a bit. So, this is basically a paint gun system. I first used it to paint my folk’s kitchen cabinets and then again when we built ours for our first home. Considering that I painted two kitchens sets of cabinets, I got my money’s worth. In the meantime, it’s gathering dust. The really annoying think is I could’ve probably just bought a large air compressor for less than half the price and gotten the same result. Live and learn. Will I use it again? TBD.
4. A Mortise Kit for my Drill Press. This consists of some gear that attaches to a regular drill press to allow it to make mortise cuts. Probably paid $100 and used it once. This is for serious woodworking enthusiasts, not for some jabroni that only had plans for one project with it then promptly put it in storage for five years.
5. A Benchtop Oscillating Spindle Sander. Aka a Delta BOSS. Got this little gizmo off craigslist. The seller was moving to Florida and he was selling pretty much everything in his shop for very low. The funny thing is I didn’t show up to buy this, he threw it in for only a little extra. So this machine is designed to sand curved pieces of wood. I’m pretty sure I used it once, although I can’t be sure I even did that. BUT, it was a steal so I don’t feel to badly about it.
All of this crap I bought before I married Lisa. We now have a “system” in place where I get Lisa’s approval for all tool purchases. Consequently, I haven’t bought anything I only plan on using once. Probably for the best! 😉
Any unnecessary purchases in your DIY past? Do you have to wear blinders when you walk by Tool World too?
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