New cool tool

I just got a new tool - a craftsman professional series close quarters drill. It is definately going to become one of my favorties. I bought it for tight spaces, and I was surprised by the ergonomic improvement over regular drills. I really like being able to get my hand closer to where I am driving screws.

I bought a corded version on purpose: having a large battery hanging off the bottom can somewhat defeat the "close quarters" feature. This will be great for mounting cabinets and drilling holes for wiring.

The downside is the price being at $140. It was a birthday present...

Here is a product review link from Fine woodworking

Tools - One of my favorite subjects

I am not counting tools in the $10K total for the remodel. I figure anything additional I buy, I will use well beyond this project.

I have been "collecting" tools for about 20 years. I have a few expensive tools, but for the most part I buy economical ones. At the risk of offending the tools snobs out there, I rely on Harbor Freight Tools for a lot of of the small things I need. Their air tools have never let me down - and I have been using a simple little finsh nailer regularly for a number years. That being said, if I were back in the trades, I would buy the heavy duty tools - Dewalt, Senco, Ewing, ...

So here is my major tool list:

Saws

• Tables Saw - 10" Craftsman professional series. The heart and soul of my shop.
• Chop Saw - 10" Harbor Freight sliding compound miter. Has worked great for 5 years
• Skill Saw- basic model - 2nd one so far
• Reciprocating Saw - Ryobi
• Saber Saw - Ryobi
• Cordless Circular Saw - Ryobi
• Japanese Pull Saws - Use these all the time for finish work - TopMan from Harbor Freight
• Tile Saw - Harbor Freight 1HP professional series table model

Planers

• 7 inch jointer - Harbor Frieght
• 3 inch portable planer - Ryobi

Sanders

• 5 in random orbit - Ryobi
• Palm sanders - Harbor Frieght, Rigid
• Belt Sander - Craftsman

Routers

• 3/4 HP router - Craftsman
• 2 HP industrial router / shaper - Craftsman
• 1/2 little trim router - Harbor Freight - one of my favorite tools, since I can run it with one hand.

Drills

• Corded - Dewalt 3/8" Professional Series.
• Cordless - 18V Ryobi; 12V Craftsman
• Table top drill press - Craftsman

Air Tools

• Compressor - Husky - next to the table saw the most important tool
• Finsh Nailers - Harbor Frieght
• Staplers - 1/4 crown 18 gage - Harbor Freight. I ground down the tip of one from a flat to a 45 angle so I could get in really close on corners - indispensible
• Coil Roofing Nailer - Harbor Frieght
• Framing Nailer - 21 deg - Harbor Frieght
• Latex paint sprayer - Husky - yes an air tool that sprays latex, looks like glass once applied
• Low profile cut-off wheel - Harbor Freight

Misc

• Shop Vac - Ridgid
• Bench Grinder - Ryobi - this is another high-value tool, since it keeps stuff sharp.
• Lots (OK, too many) hand tools: hammers, crow bars, chisels - various.
• Clamps - Quick Grip are the best by far, don't skimp here.
• 1/2 heavy duty industrial drill for mixing morter, grout, concrete - Dewalt
• Biscuit Joiner - I really dont use this very much
• Basic electrical, plumbing, sheetrock, masonry tools
• Laser level - works great for laying out floors, etc.
• Automotive sissor jack - great for making things fit when they dont want to.

Custom Tools - ones I fabricated

• 3' x 5' work bench.
• Cutting sleds for the table saw - use this all the time, especially for large lots or repeative cuts
• Wooden squares that can be clamped as guides for saws, routers, etc.
• Special straight-edge for laying out and pre-shimming doors - saves a lot of time
• A busted screwdriver ground down to a sharp tip, used as an awl, punch, drill pilot, etc. This takes the place of a real sharp pencil in many cases
• Short saw horses that we use for painting, setting up low tables using planks. Well worth the time to make these.
  

Backsplash Design

We went to the Portland area Street of Dreams to tour the showcase homes and hopefully get some ideas. Most of the designs are much too "over the top" for us, but we found some great details we are going to use in our remodeling plans.

We found our backsplash inspiration: brick-pattern background with a basketweave design framed beind the stove. Our stove will not be as wide as this, but we should be able to properly scale it down.

We have not decided on the material yet - it will likely be travetine stone or Italian porcelian tile. To keep the cost down we will buy 12x12 tiles and cut them with a wet-saw. I have a 1 HP tile saw from Harbor Freight (link), which works great.

The pot-filler faucet will also be part of the design. This is part of our strategy, to add in high-end features (similar to the drawer slides we are using) to make the kitchen really stand out.

Tile saw