4 Strike Up the Band.....Saw

So it seems like I've been working on a lot of wood projects lately. I mean a lot. First, Chris and I rebuilt an entertainment center that was built-in the family room wall of our house...in 2000. In 2000 all of the TVs were tube TVs. so if we ever wanted to have a flat screen in our room we had to re-do it. This is what it looked like when we bought the house:

So we gutted the thing to reconfigure it for a flat screen TV. While we were pulling it apart we hit a road block. We just couldn't get the huge wood dividers out with the tools we had. We decided we needed a new tool (yippee) to get the job done....a sawzall. (Keep in mind as you view these garage pics that this is a real hardworking garage space. AKA, I've made a big mess in it :-)

And this thing really does saw all. It was inexpensive and it matched the battery system we already had for another saw friend, our portable saw.

The Entertainment Center turned out great, but I'll save that explanation for another day. Here is a sneak peek:

A second wood project I took on is planking walls in the Living Room. No, that does not mean I lay on my stomach trying to balance on different parts of the living room; my out-of-shape self couldn't even do it if I tried.  Here is a sneak peak of the in-progress project so you can see what this kind of "planking" looks like:

Because of 6 windows, a fireplace, and a built-in bookcase, it took many many cuts to get the planking up on the wall. Many cuts. On day two of using my Delta compound miter saw we've had forever and our portable saw and my little friend Mr. jig saw to make all of the cuts, I had had enough.

                       

It was taking forever because the Delta, although a good portable and reliable saw, couldn't cut the entire width of the 6 inch planks. So I shared my sob-story with Chris (and may have over-emphasized a sore shoulder and elbow) who was kind enough to agree to my new purchase:

This new friend, sitting on top of my old and beloved table saw, is a sliding compound miter saw with a laser. I think that is why Chris agreed to buy it is because, let's be honest--who doesn't want something with a "laser beam" (said in the voice of Austin Powers' nemesis  Dr. Evil). I wanted to buy it for the sliding part. This new saw friend can cut up to 12 inches, instead of the less-than-6 of my older compound miter saw. It is an entry-level version, but for the kind of projects I work on, it's perfect. And I love it.

So, this new project I'm working on, I can't tell you what it is yet because you will say, "Why in the heck would she make that? Silly, stupid, Jen." But I can tell you this. There are some cuts you cannot make with a jig saw. I needed to cut through 2 and 1/8th inch long 2 x 2's and make a slight semi-circle curve in them. I bought a long jig saw blade and first I tried to hold the piece real tight with my hands and cut. I darn-near lost a finger. I then tried to attach a long 2 x 2 to the table with a clamp and cut curves out of a long piece, but it vibrated so badly I couldn't do it after the first cut.

And, the jig saw blade was bending as I sawed, creating a deeper cut on the bottom then the top. I was stuck. Soooo, once again, I shared my sob story with Chris, and he being the kind of husband that prefers a wife with all 10 fingers, decided I needed a band saw. Eeeeeek! So, two nights ago we went to the Home Depot (or the Home Deep-doh as Addie calls it) and he bought me my newest saw friend:

This is my new band saw, and it cuts like butter. Butt-uhhhh. What took me an hour of trying to maneuver and figure out with my jig saw took all of 20 seconds with the band saw. And I finished all 12 pieces in 5 minutes:

Some people who are anti-saw-ites may think that having so many saws is overkill. But I can tell you from experience, they all do something different and when you need one, you need one. The right tools are essential. So is having the right husband...one who will indulge his wife's project love with a new saw or two. Now I gotta go clean up all of the sawdust...Addie has asked if she can make dust angels in it. Not good.