A long held dream is finally coming true; less than a week from now I will be closing on my new, to me, house with a two car garage that will be my woodworking shop. I've lived in a rented house for far too long, and my tools have been sadly under utilized.
I started packing them down today. And I came to realize that I have some kind of relationship with most all of them. The tablesaw that I spent hours tuning up and polishing, but made far too few cuts on. The jointer that has a broken return spring on the cutterhead cover, I need to fix that one. Two rust spots on my cast iron shaper wing caught my attention; I'll need to work on that too. The router goes back in its box. The jig saw that I have used exactly once...
And I look at all the small stuff. The jigs that I've made and never throw away, the coffee cup holder, the little place on my bench where I keep my pencils, and I see what makes this MY shop. The little accessories.
I'm thinking about this when I head out for breakfast/Lunch with SWMBO. She works Saturday mornings and I'm meeting her at a restaurant. On the way home, I make a rash desicion to stop by the Accessory Store. They usually have a sale on week-ends. Walking along the aisles I cannot see anything that I really need among all the things I really want. I talk to one of the sales guys, but he is of no help in my situation. I decide to just go home and continue packing.
And then I see just what I need. A used one. A perfect one to complement the two I already got. (Hey, who of us has say only one router? Only one hammer?) I've already got one small and one really big, and I needed a pair of the small ones. The big one is tan and really, really big, while the little one is black and fairly small. Each is excellent, but very different and while they complement each other, one cannot do the job of the other. This new one would be a perfect match for the little one. Even the color was right.
I looked it over carefully, and then happily signed the papers. No warranties, this being a used one, but I didn't need any. I already know this type, and I know it is good. I told them to hold it at the store until I have moved, no point in taking it to the shop that really isn't there anymore. And it will be well taken care of where it is until they deliver it to our new address.
We havent' decided on a name yet, but we'll find one. He is a 4 year old mini-pincher mix of some sort, and I adopted him from the pound today. Because what good is a shop without a shop dawg or two? Or, in my case now, three? Sadie is a black and tan mini-pincher mix born on 9/11-2001 also adopted from the pound, and Duchess is a five year old (we think, don't really know) English Mastiff adopted from a non-profit animal rescue place.
Life is good :)
Otto
(And the Accessory Store? Pet-Smart. The let the rescue places show dogs there on week-ends.)