Musings and good stuff

The more I google, the more interesting sites for women woodworkers I find.

Here's one that doesn't talk down to you.

http://www.womeninwoodworking.com

The forum is especially helpful. Apparently, a lot of professional builders and woodworkers post on the site to help us new folks. They give good advice about what you need in specific power tools, choosing the right table saw, etc. Too bad I didn't find it BEFORE we got some of our tools, though I've been pleased with them overall to date.

I was disappointed that my Porter-Cable router didn't come with an edge guide, and that the standard edge guide sold by most places was a piece of junk. I ended up ordering a sturdy, heavy one from Amazon. It works fine for the right job, but the job I really needed it for was too big to be useful.

Similar problem with my table saw. On several pieces I've had to cut, the wood was either too big to use the fence or too small, so that the fence wouldn't fit against it. I guess you can't have everything.

I want to subscribe to a woodworking magazine but not sure which one is best for me yet. Woodworkers Journal, Family Handyman ("man???"), Amateur Woodworker, etc. I need to look at them all in the bookstore first to narrow it down. If anyone ever reads this and has suggestions, let me know!

I love my "This Old House" subscription, of course. Wouldn't give up that one!

Furniture shenanigans

The furniture industry surely does have a huge markup. We went shopping for a sofa today, at what was advertised as a "half price sale." Of course, the fine print clarified that--half of the MSRP, and only on certain brands of sofas sold in the store. Hard to tell which was which. Also, the price tags on them were already about 40% off the MSRP, so you thought you'd be able to afford one piece at half of the tagged price, only to find out that you were looking at nearly the final price anyway. Suffice it to say we wasted about an hour trying to decide which sofa we wanted before we realized we couldn't afford any of them. I'm not about to pay over $2,000 for a sofa. Not with 2 kids and 2 dogs.

The experience makes you realize how nice it is to repair and renew old items. I'd love to learn upholstery, but when would I have time for a class? And most classes for technical skills like that are far from where I live. As my dad used to say, "When I retire, I'm going to do . . . " fill in the blank. Problem was, he died 2 months before his retirement date.

I guess I just have to learn to make time for what's important now. Squeeze out some hours somehow. I'm already getting as little sleep as possible, and suffering the consequences. If I could just quit my job, now THAT's the way to go! Who needs a paycheck???? LOL

NAFCO flooring is crappy

Last year we had to replace the kitchen floor after some water leak damage, and we opted to install NAFCO wood-look laminate. A friend had put it in her house and loved it. Since she had dogs, we figured it would work for us just as well. In a household with 2 dogs and 2 kids, you need something that will wear well, wipe up quickly, and be scratch-resistant. We liked the look of wood, too.

Within a day after installation, though, we saw huge scratches on the new floor, esp. at the backdoor and at the kitchen table. We knew it wasn't the dogs--we had kept them out of the house after the floor was first put in, and we'd taken them to the vet to have their nails clipped short anyway. We had put felt pads on all the chairs (as directed by the installer/distributor), rubber cups on the table legs, etc. We couldn't figure it out.

We called the distributor/installer, who sent someone out to take pictures of the scratches. They promised to investigate and said this wasn't normal. In the meantime, we practically floated through the kitchen to avoid making marks. Finally, they determined that there was nothing innately wrong with the batch we got and that we must have done something we shouldn't to scratch it. They said our chairs were probably the culprit. They did, however, come back to replace the worst scratched "planks" (this is vinyl, folks), which were leftover from the original installation.

After further investigation, we found that NAFCO's web site says to use metal gliders on the chairs. So we went out and handed over more money for those. We installed them--immediately, we started getting DENTS in the floor! Since our chairs are not straight legged (as most are not), the angle at which the metal glides hit the floor caused denting. Only swiveling metal glides would work on these kinds of chairs, and no one makes those. Not Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace's, our independent hardware store in town, or anyone on the web!!! So we went back to the carpet glides.

The scratches kept coming, so we decided we should get new chairs. After all, they were pretty old chairs and rather cheap ones at that. We spent a bundle on getting 4 very nice, wooden, new chairs. We immediately put carpet pads on them. And now the scratches are even more pronounced! So today, I bought those "sliders" that are supposed to make furniture easy to move. Maybe they will help.

The only other solution is to get an area rug to cover up the worst scratches. Isn't that ridiculous?! You spend months researching a product that you are told will be durable, scratch-resistant, and pretty. And you just throw good money after bad when it turns out to be a crappy product.

So, take my advice and never, ever get a NAFCO floor. Don't buy laminate at all. Go with sheet or tile vinyl, real tile, or even hardwood. Hey, with enough poly on it, hardwood might have been just fine for our kitchen. And it would've looked a helluva lot better after one week.

Get one free

Here's a link that might get you a free home improvement product. Jim Dulley picks a winner from the respondents each week. Some of the products aren't worth it, but others are. It's worth checking out:

http://www.dulley.com/gift.htm

Where's the power?

Well, on further investigation, I discovered that Tomboy Tools' current product line is a little light on the power. I gather from reading the TT forum that most of the tools at this point in time are either non-powered or not heavy-duty. While the reception to the concept has been good, the limited line is giving me second thoughts.

Someone with the company indicated in the forum that TT is in discussions with a manufacturer to produce more power tools. That's a good sign, but I need something more concrete. So I'll keep watching and see if TT pursues this strategy. They need to fill the needs of all women--not just the lightweights who want to learn how to hang a picture. There are many of us who are already using circular saws, routers, and drills. We just need tools that are designed to fit our grip and size. And definitely not in pink!

Small world

I emailed a local contact person about Tomboy Tools, and she turned out to be the daughter-in-law of a former colleague. She said she's only hosted one party so far, but she encouraged me to try it out. I've got to get more info from the corporate folks on this.

Why haven't I heard about Tomboy Tools before? Their web site shows several stories in the national media, but our local folks have failed to pick up on it--despite the fact that the TT web site lists two consultants in my metro area.

I'm really bummed about this weekend. It's still too cold to paint, and I have a meeting all day Saturday which will keep me from doing any inside work on my shelves.

My new table saw!

My kind of "Tupperware" party!

Wow--check this out! Too bad you have to search long and hard to find resources like these. I wanna be a tomboy tool party girl!

http://www.thehollandsentinel.net/stories/090804/lif_090804053.shtml

Bob the builder

Why is Bob the Builder's team so male-oriented? The only "female" machine is named Dizzy! And she giggles a lot and spins around. Even though she performs a real task, making cement, she is anxious to get back to her headphone tunes and football. Seems like a real airhead.

And Wendy? She seems to be Bob's right hand "man," but she runs the OFFICE. Supportive, calm, organized, helps Bob find his cell phone, and always wears her earrings!

But Bob--he's the "hard-hat wearing, hard-working builder" whose DAD taught him everything he knows. (So much for moms.)

Home Depot or Lowe's ought to come up with their own cartoon characters, including a Tooltime Tammy, who can inspire girls.

Why Women Build

More tool manufacturers and hardware companies need to take note of women's interest in building and repairing--not just decorating. I think we're still a large, untapped market as a rule. While there are some inroads and some products targeted toward women, in general the industry is geared toward men.

Even little things like tool belt aprons--I mean, you put a few things in there and the apron just weights your hips down! It's stressful for your back. I'm going to design my own tool apron, one that's made to fit a woman's body.

Here's a great article from Habitat for Humanity, which is one organization that recognizes the value of women in building!

http://www.habitat.org/hw/aug-sept99/feature/Women.html

Never enough time

This blog is only a few minutes old, and already I'm having to rush outta here. There's never enough time to do what I need to do. Working mothers--are there any other kind BUT working?

My priority for the last year has been to finish building a built-in bookcase and desk for my daughter. It was her birthday present last year, and it's still only a fraction done. I'm ready to prime and paint, and this beastly cold has prevented me from doing it in the garage. She's being very patient, esp. considering her mom's method of constructing--do it once, wrong. Do it again, better. But never perfect. Oh well, I'm determined to learn how to be a woodworker.

Got a table saw for Christmas! A router for my birthday! I'm dangerous, now.