Today I did 2 things that I usually do on Christmas Day. I got a gift and I walked the beach.
Before Christmas I mentioned to Penny that this year we got gifts for everyone in the family but us. This is because neither of us really needs anything (for which I am extremely grateful) and when we see something we want at a good price we buy it. We don’t wait for holidays or birthdays. Things worked themselves out, however. We got a refurbished 24” monitor identical to the one we have in the den for Penny. Actually we designated it as a Christmas present after-the-fact. I bought that saw I mentioned in yesterday’s blog today and it was designated as my Christmas present.
My saw adventure unfolded as follows. While making C&C’s bathroom cabinet I decided it was time to step up to a new bench top saw. The saw I have was my Dad’s and it was a bottom of the line Sears model. Its blade guard is missing and the rip fence is not parallel with the blade. The blade itself doesn’t stay perpendicular with the table. I kludged up means of accommodating those issues with clamps and wire and being very cautious in keeping at least 8 inches between the blade and my fingers. It just wasn’t a tool capable of turning out the type of work I needed to make decent furniture. I ended up making as square a cut as I could with my jigsaw. Fortunately the cabinet design was very forgiving and could accommodate pieces that were not cut square.
The problem with getting a new saw was cost. Saws with the right features began around $500. There was also the decision of what type of saw to get, another bench top, a contractor table saw, a regular table saw, a hybrid or a cabinet saw. I thought that I would get a jobsite bench top but fate turned me in another direction. I typically get cold feet when buying something major like this (except on Woot) so I did some research and periodically checked Craig’s list to see if anything worthwhile was out there. Most of the saws that showed up were cheap ones—not what I needed. Then on Sunday the Rigid contractor’s saw showed up.
I did some Google research on the saw and it looked good. I contacted the seller and made arrangements to look at the saw. The seller lives in Milton. In between making the appointment and going over there I did more research and everything I read was positive. No one disliked it and for its price the saw had features that were as good or better than higher priced saws. I actually was getting excited because the seller hadn’t used the saw much and was selling it at half the original price.
On the drive over I found myself worrying that there would be something wrong with the saw. Then I decided to take the advice I’m always tongue-in-cheek giving to just think positively and everything will be OK. So I did and it was. The guy selling it worked as head of the pharmacy dept at Sacred Heart hospital. He was bumped from that position by his boss and decided it was time to move back to Oregon. He’s had this saw 4 years but hasn’t touched it for the last 2. Before that he hadn’t used it a lot and that was obvious when I saw it. The saw is not pristine but it still had the protective clear plastic stuck on to ruler markings. It had all the pieces and most importantly the operator’s manual. We plugged it in and checked that it worked then we loaded it in the trailer. The saw has a wonderfully effective and easy to use dolly system built in and we rolled it down his driveway to the trailer. Getting up the ramp was a little more difficult. The saw has a cast iron table on it and it weighs 270 lbs!
Before Christmas I mentioned to Penny that this year we got gifts for everyone in the family but us. This is because neither of us really needs anything (for which I am extremely grateful) and when we see something we want at a good price we buy it. We don’t wait for holidays or birthdays. Things worked themselves out, however. We got a refurbished 24” monitor identical to the one we have in the den for Penny. Actually we designated it as a Christmas present after-the-fact. I bought that saw I mentioned in yesterday’s blog today and it was designated as my Christmas present.
My saw adventure unfolded as follows. While making C&C’s bathroom cabinet I decided it was time to step up to a new bench top saw. The saw I have was my Dad’s and it was a bottom of the line Sears model. Its blade guard is missing and the rip fence is not parallel with the blade. The blade itself doesn’t stay perpendicular with the table. I kludged up means of accommodating those issues with clamps and wire and being very cautious in keeping at least 8 inches between the blade and my fingers. It just wasn’t a tool capable of turning out the type of work I needed to make decent furniture. I ended up making as square a cut as I could with my jigsaw. Fortunately the cabinet design was very forgiving and could accommodate pieces that were not cut square.
The problem with getting a new saw was cost. Saws with the right features began around $500. There was also the decision of what type of saw to get, another bench top, a contractor table saw, a regular table saw, a hybrid or a cabinet saw. I thought that I would get a jobsite bench top but fate turned me in another direction. I typically get cold feet when buying something major like this (except on Woot) so I did some research and periodically checked Craig’s list to see if anything worthwhile was out there. Most of the saws that showed up were cheap ones—not what I needed. Then on Sunday the Rigid contractor’s saw showed up.
I did some Google research on the saw and it looked good. I contacted the seller and made arrangements to look at the saw. The seller lives in Milton. In between making the appointment and going over there I did more research and everything I read was positive. No one disliked it and for its price the saw had features that were as good or better than higher priced saws. I actually was getting excited because the seller hadn’t used the saw much and was selling it at half the original price.
On the drive over I found myself worrying that there would be something wrong with the saw. Then I decided to take the advice I’m always tongue-in-cheek giving to just think positively and everything will be OK. So I did and it was. The guy selling it worked as head of the pharmacy dept at Sacred Heart hospital. He was bumped from that position by his boss and decided it was time to move back to Oregon. He’s had this saw 4 years but hasn’t touched it for the last 2. Before that he hadn’t used it a lot and that was obvious when I saw it. The saw is not pristine but it still had the protective clear plastic stuck on to ruler markings. It had all the pieces and most importantly the operator’s manual. We plugged it in and checked that it worked then we loaded it in the trailer. The saw has a wonderfully effective and easy to use dolly system built in and we rolled it down his driveway to the trailer. Getting up the ramp was a little more difficult. The saw has a cast iron table on it and it weighs 270 lbs!
The saw now sits in the garage while I prepare the shop for it.
My sunset beach walk, likely the last of the year, was a pleasant one. There were very few people on the beach. I couldn’t help but compare it with the beach walk we took on Jacksonville Beach last week where there were people everywhere. The sunset was stunningly beautiful, too. Here are a some pictures.
Kitty Update—All 4 cats showed up tonight. It’s the first time we’ve seen Meredith since we’ve returned from Jax.
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