Over the last two months I ‘ve added a few new toys to the shop.  Mostly I needed a Jointer, so I picked one up from Harbor Freight during a sale and added the 20% off coupon to bring it to under $160.  It’s not the nicest jointer, but it beats the crap out of what I had: None.

I also added a Ryobi AP1300 Thickness Planer.  I managed to grab it when Home Depot was bringing in the new AP1301, which seems inferior to the AP1300 (no cutter head lock, no re-plane, no thickness indicator).  As always, I looked for a deal and talked a manager at a Home Depot in Houston into selling me the floor model (complete, both knives, no manual/box) for $155 for a $280 planer.

Since I got the jointer and thickness planer I’ve expanded my woodworking fun to include some 4/4, 8/4 and 5/4 Walnut, Africian Mahogany and Cherry.  I’ve got to admit, it’s great fun taking rough stock and making dimensioned lumber out of it, regardless of savings.

I had to add a couple of software extras to this via learning Google Sketchup and buying CutList Plus to help me design and layout my cuts on my sometimes weird dimensioned lumber.  Both are highly recommeded.

Finally, I added my my much desired Rockler Router Table #1 package that I’ve been wanting for over a year.  This will get my Hitachi M12v out of my tablesaw and into a proper table of it’s own.  I’ll be building the Router Table cabinet this weekend (if it stays dry) and will post my Sketchup .skp file when I’m done.

Other recent addtions: Incra Precision Jig from Rockler ($59 vs. standard $120) for dovetails and all manner of precision router work and a All-in-one 50″ clamp.  I mention the clamp because it’s changing the way I work with sheet goods and even long stock.  It’s a clamping straightedge which allows me to run my circular saw, router, whatever all the way across a 4×8 piece of plywood in a precise manner.  This means that I essentially have a low volume panel saw when I add 2 2×4’s and a couple of cross 2×2’s to my saw horses.

Now if it will just stay dry I can make some sawdust!

Have I mentioned I hate drywalling? Well, it’s not the actual drywalling I hate, it’s the taping and floating that I abhor, unfortunately for me, it’s requird to finish off my office. I’ve managed to destroy two seams and had to start over after laborious sanding and even now it has peaks and troughs that rival Everest. My wife came out and did two corners with me and they, of couse, look as close as drywall mud can to glass…in one pass, no less. She says it’s like frosting a cake.

I had seen these Stanley Panel Carry creatures at the local Home Depot and with me having to carry a bunch of drywall solo from the garage to the office, I thought I would give it a try. One of the best purchases I’ve ever made. It make moving 4×8 sheets of whatever very managable for just one person. One tip, when you unload your panels, make sure to put them on at least 2×4 (on edge) so that you can slip the carry under it without having to do any lifting. It makes life so much better, get one if you do anything with 4×8 sheets of anything!

We’re converting a 11′ x 11′ outbuilding we have to my office. I spent much of today finishing off the buried RG6(CATV) and Cat 5E runs. The buried power was already done and now I’m ready to caulk and seal up before laying down the vapor barrier and laminate flooring. Following that, I’ll get to do my favorite thing again: Hanging drywall and taping / floating. Luckily, that if followed by my second least favorite thing in the world, painting.

It is going to be nice though. We already have the A/C running and even not sealed up, it is very comfortable.

It also been a very good stress reliever with demoing out all the existing shelving and crap on the walls with a crowbar and a big rubber mallet.

I talked my wife into letting me buy a Rigid Wet / Dry Vac from Home Depot for $39.97 this past weekend. She went with me to supervise and help pick out some hinges for a baby fence I was making for the bedroom. When we arrived there was “Tex” outside hawking some extra display gear. One of the items he had was the Ryobi SS30 1HP straight shaft trimmer, which just happens to be the one I’ve been looking at. “Tex” offered it to us for %50 off, full warranty, extra oil and a strap.

So I scored a shop-vac AND a gas trimmer while with my wife…we have a winner!

Well, we took the plunge. Melissa and I had cashed in for $700 of gift cards to Home Depot. The points had been sitting around doing nothing, so we took this chance to put them to use. We also threw in the 10% discount that was available to make the deal even sweeter! We did end up owing a bit, but $850 of stuff for $70 aint bad! I made out the best, but Melissa will reap the rewards. I got my Ryobi BTS3100c Table Saw and my Ryobi Disc/Belt Sander, oh yea! We also picked up a 7000BTU LG Heat/Cool window unit for the shed we are converting into my office. I decided onteh BTS3100c after looking at it, reading about it and checking out the great online community.

She gets the rewards of:

1. My office moving out of the house.
1. Table saw will be used to make things around the house.
1. Sander will do the same.
Me cleaning out the garage to make room for my workshop!

Needless to say, I’m in the process of cleaning out the garage and the shed right now!