If your utility company is even half as evil as mine, you’re noticing some rate hikes as we run out of winter and in to spring.  With the economy in shambles, you bet your sweet bippy that natural gas and electric companies are going to try to squeeze blood out of the proverbial turnip (read: your wallets).

Well, we did something about it last fall and can report that we’ve seen smaller utility bills and, most importantly, less consumed units over the same period last year.

How, you may ask?  With the Honeywell TH8110U1003 7-day Touchscreen Thermostat.  With 7 days to program around our schedules, we had our HVAC only running when were at home.  (Actually, we had the heat kick on about an hour before we came home so the house would be warm(er) when we finally got home).

The Honeywell 7-day Touchscreen Thermostat is really easy to use, and came highly recommended from friends of ours.  The touchscreen, coupled with an easy menu-driven interface, makes it extremely easy to program.

So not only were we able to save money, we like to think we were also acting green by not running our HVAC all day long.

When building our Mardi Gras float, we needed something capable of making clean, even cuts.  A friend had suggested that I bring a circular saw, but freeform cutting - even with a gate - wouldnt’ get the job done as fast as a good ‘ole compound miter saw.

Enter the Craftsman 9-21214 10″ LaserTrac Compound Miter Saw.

Not only was I able to make precision cuts, but I was able to make them quickly and easily.  The LaserTrac system is really awesome, showing even the most novice of handimen where exactly the big, bad blade is going to make the cut.

I was working with a team from rank amateurs to somewhat experienced handipeople, and everyone commented on how easy the Craftsman 10″ LaserTrac Compound Miter Saw was to use.  The best part? Nobody lost an appendage!

Features at a glance:

• The Craftsman 10″ LaserTrac Compound Miter Saw features a powerful 2.5 HP, 15 amp motor, so it’s scalable from quick DIY projects all the way up to heavier-duty work.  Oh, and did I mention that it’s a beefy 4,800 RPM?
• The 10″ diameter carbide tripped blade is really, really sharp and makes extremely clean cuts.
• The dust collecting bag (attached) does a great job keeping the cutting area clean.
• The work table rotates and locks at the desired miter angle (and it has presets for common miter angles of 0 deg, 15 deg, 22.5 deg, 31.6 deg and 45 deg - both right and left)

Man, these things are versatile.  Which is why I’m putting this handy-dandy little device in the DIY Tools *and* Essential Equipment category of this here blog - because frankly, a staple gun is something that everyone should own.

You saw how horrible that Mardi Gras float looked after the wind go to it, right? Yeah, it was a disaster! But since we had two staple guns, we were able to restore order and make the float look presentable in no time at all.  With pride in tact, we saved big-time face — and it was all because we had ‘ole reliable, the Arrow Fastener T55C Staple Gun Tacker.

With a chrome finish over a solid-steel constructed body, the Arrow Fastner Staple Gun Tacker is quite durable (and stylish, if that’s what you’re in to with your tools). Unlike other staple guns, the Arrow Fastner Staple Gun Tacker is a breeze to squeeze, proving you with instant stapleability and a very satisfying noise of metal-through-surface-you’re-stapling.

The best feature of the Arrow Fastner Staple Gun Tacker is its lack of jamming. We were operating in cold, sleety conditions and didn’t have any problems whatsoever.

The Arrow Fastner Staple Gun Tacker comes highly recommended!

We arrived around 7:30 am on Saturday morning to see the decorations on the float were completely trashed with the wind.  We had to act fast - we were expected at the float staging area at 9:30 am.

When we left the float, it was in good condition for everyone on the decorating committee:

When we arrived, yikes:

Luckily, I had my staple gun with me and we were able to salvage some of the float’s decorations.  With float in tow, we made our way down to the staging area and participated in one of the largest Mardi Gras celebrations in the United States.

When we arrived at the job site (outdoors, 20 degree St. Louis weather, 15 - 20 mph wind gusts, minimal electricity), we found our trailer.  I was initially informed that the trailer dimensions were 16′ x 8′, but was pleased to see that we were actually working with a 20′ x 8′ platform.  I had to slightly alter my building plans, but that wasn’t a big deal.

In order to meet parade (and OHSA) guidelines, we wanted to make our railing 48″ tall.  I had a friend use my tape measure to mark our 8-ft. 2×4’s at the 48-in. mark so I could start cutting once I figured out how to run electricity to my Craftsman compound miter saw (more on that in a future post).

Once we had the boards cut to spec, we wanted to place braces two feet apart in order to secure the railing.  We opted to use metal braces because we could set up our railing support system very quickly and easily without having to cut additional boards with the compound miter saw.  After all, in 20 degree weather with a brutal, sheering wind, time really was of the essence!

With our braces in place, we inserted our 48″ supports and fastened them to the float decking.  Once we had all 20 supports installed, we were able to start work on fastening the railing.  We took our 3″ drywall screws and drove them through the railing, making sure to countersink them as deep as possible to avoid injury (while still making it easy to pull them up when it came time to strike the float).  The end result looked like this:

That concluded day 1 of the float construction.  Day two to follow…

Buying lumber is an awful lot of fun. Forget all the stuff you’ve heard about just going to Home Depot, Menards or Lowes (or other mega-chains) because “it’s convenient.”  If you want high quality, you gotta go to a lumber yard.  You’re not only supporting a small business in your area, but you’re also establishing a relationship with a local merchant.  And in the current state of the economy, both are very important.

You can find the lumber yard near you by doing a quick Google search.  As you can see, using St. Louis, MO as an example, there are a TON of places to buy in the metro area.  I’m using one close to the job site for easy transport, and, if I like the yard and the quality of the lumber, I’ll go back for framing materials for a basement project I’m undertaking later this spring (keep checking Fix It Up for that series of posts).

The other advantage of buying locally is often times, you’ll get free pieces of scrap lumber.  When we picked up our boards, we were given about 80 ft. of scrap 2×4s that were still quite usable — try getting that at a mega-mart home improvement warehouse!

With lumber in tow, we went to the job site and set-up our tools.  The first order of business was cutting lumber to spec with my Craftsman Compound Miter Saw (see video).

Pictures of the float (in progress) to appear in our next post.

I started the construction of our Mardi Gras float today.  I shot some video of quite possibly the best sound in the entire world - saw through lumber:

We managed to get quite a lot of the float constructed tonight, which was good because we were doing all of the work outside in 20 degree St. Louis weather.  I’ll have another post up tomorrow when we actually finish the float detailing what steps we took to complete the project.

Until then, enjoy the sweetest sound next to a bat cracking a ball in the spring.

It’s that time of year again… when people gather for good times, beads and Mardi Gras parades.  This year I’ve been put in charge of constructing a float for the Young Leaders of St. Louis (apparently I’ve managed to fool them into thinking I’m much handier than they are - and a leader to boot).  I’m not really sure what to expect tomorrow when I show up on the job site to physically construct this thing, but I guess I’ll find out soon enough, eh?

The specs for this job are simple - construct railing so people don’t fall off when the float is moving.  From what I understand, the float will be pulled by a semi truck and must have a Johnny-on-the-Spot (or other such portable toilet) and room for a sound system.  Other than that, I’m free to create.

When doing some preliminary sketches of the float, I’ve decided to use a sturdy bracing system for the base of the railing.  I’ll need 45 degree angles, so I’m going to let the compound miter saw do most of the work.  While I’m talking about tools, here is what I’m planning on bringing tomorrow:

• Compound Miter Saw
• Circular Saw
• Drill/Driver kit (x2)
• Wood Glue
• Hammers
• Nails
• Drywall Screws

That should be enough to get me started.  I’ll have my video camera and digital camera with me so I can demonstrate cuts and construction techniques.  Hopefully I won’t be there for a long time, so I can get the videos uploaded to YouTube in a reasonable time frame.  I’d like to start doing more video tutorials/guides, so we’ll use Mardi Gras as a testing ground to see how well it works.

We’ve talked a lot about shoveling.  And you know, that’s important.  But what if you just wanted to push that snow around?  Well, now you can, thanks to the Suncast SP2725 27-inch snow shovel pusher.

Pushing snow isn’t new - plows do it all the time. In fact, it’s typically *because* of plows that I find myself needing to push snow around to spring my car free from the elements.  Well, the Suncast 27-inch snow shovel pusher does just the trick.

Unfortunately, my garage is too cluttered for either my wife or I to park our cars, so we’re stuck on the street.  I try to stay ahead of most storms and winterproof our vehicles, but you can’t do enough preventative measures to stop a big ‘ole  snowplow from dumping the contents of the street all over the side of your car (below).

It’s times like these that I’m glad I own more than one shovel.  And really glad that I can push that snow back into the street to get my car out!

I know that old man winter’s not done.  This warm(er) weather? Yeah, a false sense of security, I know.

So with the shovels put away at most big retailers and the spring wares coming out, now is the BEST time to buy winter gear because NOBODY ELSE is looking.  The selection and stock at the major brick-and-mortar stores will no doubt be plentiful, so why not pick up supplies for the last hurrah of winter?

As mentioned before, I’ve been through a wide variety of shovels and other snow-removal gadgets and gizmos.  For my money, it doesn’t get any better than the ergonomic handled shovels.

Take, for instance, this gem: the Suncast SC5350 20-Inch Snow Shovel/Pusher Combo with Ergonomic Shaped Comfort Grip Handle, No Stick Graphite Blade, And Wear Strip.  I KNOW that’s a mouthful.  But when you consider the wear and tear on your back when you’ve got to push a lot of the white stuff, it suddenly seems worth it to let your mouth do the majority of the workin’.

The Suncast SC5350’s ergonomic grip does wonders for snow removal, and the galvanized steel edge and 20″ x 13″ blade make quick work of even the sleetiest of snowfalls.

This shovel comes HIGHLY recommended.  Your back with thank you!