Man Monday

When Leslie started this blog, I was fully supportive of it.  I thought it would be a great outlet for all the energy she spends researching, and accumulating, all things home fashion.  When she mentioned the idea of having a Man Monday segment, I thought it sounded like a great idea and said I’d do it.  So that was in the summer.  Now it’s September, so it should come as no surprise that I was vetoed when I wanted to write my first installment about how bad an idea it is to write anything on a Sunday more than a text to a friend making sure he saw the catch Megatron made in the 3^rd quarter.  If you don’t know who Megatron is, then I’ll assume you have no sympathy for me.

As you have probably gathered by now, we do lots of projects around the house.  If there’s one thing I’ve learned through all of it, it’s to build a house, furnished, exactly how you want it and never change it.  Ever.  Not really, the truth is every project has proven to me that there’s a tool out there that I don’t have that can do the job better.  The first of these epiphanies was early in our marriage and re-model lifestyle.  I had done a couple of projects with a handheld circular saw and a miter box.  These tools worked great, but it wasn’t long before I learned of something called a 10in Sliding Compound Miter saw.  I’m generally a DeWalt tool man, but they are very proud of their equipment, and so for this one I went with the Kobalt from Lowes.  It has been nothing short of life-altering.  Now I’m sure the DeWalt is better, but the base model is about twice the price of the top Kobalt model.

source

This is by far the most useful and versatile tool in my arsenal.  It turns jobs that can take 10s of minutes into 2 minutes saving you hours over the course of a big project.  You can cut anything from standard 2x4s to wide sheets up to 18 inches or so.  (TIP:  Cut as much of the sheet as you can, then flip it and cut the other side.  It’s a perfect cut, cleaner and easier than a circular.)  The tables we build would be nearly impossible for us without a compound sliding miter.  The cuts we use are mostly simple 45 degree cuts but would take forever with a box.

The White House Table Co.

So the moral of this story is, if you plan to work on things around the house, aside from mowing the lawn and changing light bulbs, it is probably worth investing in one of these babies, it won’t take long to realize its value.  

Clay 

PS- Tune in tomorrow for a post on our Fall Tablescapes and vignettes, and a link party!!