And So It Begins... #1: Today I actually cut some wood...

I’ve been a “collector” of power tools for some time now…usually every year with my bonus I would go out and get a tool…first came my Delta Contractors Saw. With a saw like that, I told my wife, I can build you great things…

The next year it was my Delta 14” Band Saw. The band saw was just the ticket to start making fine furniture to fill our house…no longer would I be a slave to the local furiture store…

Next was my Festool Circular Saw with a vacum and Mult-Function Table. Finally I had found the solution to my lack of progress towards a house full of furniture.

Then came my Festool Router, now I already had a router mind you, but not a Festool router, hence my angst at beginning any serious wood project.

Last weekend, after seeing a number of project built by my brother in law, I said, if I can get access to his tools, then I will really be in a position to build something…so I went out and bought some hard maple and some purple heart…yeah…you know what I’m talking about…what better way to show my wife that the thousands of dollars worth of tools in the basement were just there to make sure to attract rust…

but alas, me with my wood al ready to go, my brother in law had voluteered to work for a couple of weekends in a row…what was I to do??

Then, out of the blue, an email from my local Rockler telling me that if I came into the store this weekend, I could take 15% off all power tools!!!! Oh Nervana!!!!

So, I grabed a stack of money from my local savings account, took the rear seat out of the Caravan and headed out…two hours later I arive home with a Delta 6” Jointer and a Dewalt 13” dual speed planer…just the thing that I needed to actually work with the lumber that was sitting in my basement.

After several hours of carefully following directions, the jointer was…jumping…I jointed my first boards outside of a shop class.

Just minutes later, the planer made parallel faces…and I was off.

I am proud to say that about 15 minutes ago, I finished cutting my jointed and planed lumber into proper widths for, not one but, two TWW cutting boards…what a sense of accomplishment…even my wife is looking at me with a new sense of desire!!

Tomorrow I am off to purchase some glue, and maybe a few more clamps…by the time the Super Bowl starts, GO PATS, my little projects should ready to do a little sanding…I’m officially a wood worker!!!

I know, I know…I could have been become a wood worker long ago…I just never felt ready until I felt the purr of my jointer through the first board.

I will post pictures of my project when they are done.

I think I’m going to like it here!!!!

Chris

-- Chris N, Westford, MA - "If you won't eat something from your fridge that turned green...why would you eat something that started out that way?"