Craftsmen of old had a keen eye and many of the saw cuts for delicate wood pieces like crown moldings were cut by hand. In later years, when the construction of homes became mass-produced, carpenters built miter boxes. These open-ended boxes contained pre-cut slots in various angles where the carpenter need only slide the piece of wood into the box and the saw along one of the slots.

When electric miter saws arrived the do-it-yourselfer was give the same advantages as the professional. This was especially true when the sliding, compound miter saw with a laser guide was introduced. Now every cut is the perfect cut. The Makita 10 Dual Slide Compound Miter Saw fulfills this operation with a sliding action that can handle some of the thickest moldings that a designer has to offer.

What makes the sliding mechanism a great tool is that it almost takes the place of the old, bulky radial arm saws. These saws had to be permanently mounted on a bench and couldn’t be moved around the construction sit with any great ease. The sliding mechanism on a compound miter saw made it easy for almost anyone to make cuts over 12 inches.

The Makita 10 Dual Slide Compound Miter Saw has the added advantage of quality. It’s patented 4-Steel Rail Sliding System keeps the sliding arm stiff to produce perfect cuts. In addition, unlike many other brands, this Makita has six linear, ball bearings for a smooth operation. Ball bearings also decrease wear-and-tear that puts many saws out of alignment after continued use.

So, for a saw that will give superior performance for a lifetime choose the brand the pros use.

Welcome to the 2009 father’s day gift giving guide!  We’ve assembled a list of great products to buy dad that he’ll actually use - unlike that tie you gave him two years ago (you know the one I’m talking about).

If you’re looking to be “the favorite” this Father’s Day, don’t mess around with sentimental greeting cards, making a nice, light lunch or even offering to do some chores around the house.  Rather, drop some coin on this Makita 18-Volt Compact Lithium-Ion Cordless 3-Piece Combo Kit, wrap it up and give it to dad.

Why?

Because your father deserves the best. And this Makita 3-piece kit is flat-out awesome.

The kit contains everything you need to assume favorite child status:

• 1/2-Inch Drill-Driver
• Impact Driver
• Flashlight
• 2 18v compact batteries
• Rapid charger
• Contractor bag

The Makita 18-Volt Compact Lithium-Ion Cordless 3-Piece Combo Kit is designed with power in mind.  Your father will blow through most home improvement projects with horsepower to spare.  There’s a ton of power in the little Impact Driver, and that alone is enough to warrant purchasing this kit.  Throw in Drill/Driver, Flashlight, 2 batteries, charger and contractor bag and you’ve got one great bargain that’s sure to make your ‘ol man happy.

What sets this Makita set apart from the other combo kits you’ll see at your local chain megahardwarestores is the best-in-class cordless solution: the battery just kicks all sorts of butt.  For starters, you can use the tools after as little as 15 minutes on the charger, the batteries have 2.5x more cycles than a Ni-Cad battery and they charge much faster than other sets.

So if you’re gunning to be the favorite child this father’s day, you can leapfrog your siblings by purchasing this kit!

Welcome to the 2009 father’s day gift giving guide!  We’ve assembled a list of great products to buy dad that he’ll actually use - unlike that tie you gave him two years ago (you know the one I’m talking about).

We start with the Porter-Cable 2 1/2″ by 14″ Compact Belt Sander kit.  You may be asking yourself why you’d need to get your husband/father/grandfather/babydaddy a compact belt sander. That’s understandable.

Sure, the Porter-Cable Compact Belt Sander kit has a lightweight frame, but don’t let that fool ya - this belt sander has a lot under the hood.  In fact, I’m confident enough to say that it has more power than you’ll actually need, but it’s awfully nice knowing it’s there - just in case.

If you’re concerned about ergonomics, it has a very easy to handle rubber grip on the surface, allowing for precise control.  Dad will appreciate the cushioned grip, as it cuts down on a lot of the vibration that is always present with sanders.

Let’s go over some quick points:

• The Porter-Cable name is trusted. They make some really high-quality tools.
• The Porter-Cable Compact Belt Sander kit won the Handy Magazine Innovation Award in 2006 for all of it’s awesome features.
• The 120-volt, 5 amp motor is crazy powerful for a compact belt sander.
• The flush side and compact belt size (2 1/2″ x 14″) makes 90 degree angles a piece of cake.

Trust me - this is one item that Dad would love to open on June 21!

“Honey, can you help me paint the <insert room here>” is quite possibly hardest question to answer. Sure, I want to say “uh, no!“, but know that if I do say that, I’ll be sleeping on the couch until I’m needed to paint something and answer correctly.

I can paint edges freehand pretty well, but to be honest, I’m more of a roller guy.  If I have an angled brush, damp rag, painter’s tape, and a drop cloth, I am very good.  But even when I have all those things, it is still a laborious process.  I have to be in a certain position to get the brush angle right.  Most of the time I’m either on a ladder with my nose at the ceiling or kneeling on the floor.

When we tackled our dining room I put aside my painterly pride and got the Shur-Line Edger.  There were just too many doors, windows, and well, edges to do on my own.  It takes a couple tries to get the hang of the edger, I recommend practicing on a piece of cardboard first.  Once you know how much paint you need on the pad, it is so easy to use the edger.  There are two rollers on one side that go up against the trim, ceiling, or floor.  These can get some paint on them if you oversaturate the pad, so you may want to use tape, but you don’t have to be precise with it.  The pads are washable and reusable, which makes clean up no different than using a brush.

The best part? It’s under $3.00.  Go on, try it.  You’ll be glad you did!

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.

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.

In our last post in the “how to remove railroad ties without really trying” series, we examined the right prybar/action bar for the project.  Now we’ll take a look at finding the right sledge hammer.

The primary purpose of the sledge hammer is to let the hammer head do all of the hard work so you don’t have to — something that I’m sure everyone can agree is a good thing!  To that end, there are a lot of various weights, sizes and shapes of sledge hammers.  Based on the needs of the job, I feel comfortable recommending a sledge hammer with a head weight anywhere between 4 pounds and 10 pounds.  Anything more than 10 pounds would be overkill for this project and would cost considerably more than you probably want to spend.

I used my father’s old 8 pound sledge hammer (as you can see in the picture, it’s quite old and rusty) because I was still searching around for the right tool.  Don’t get me wrong - it’s a great sledge hammer, but the handle was splintered towards the hammer’s head and would snag on my work gloves.

My solution is to spend about $30 and buy the Rubbermaid Roughneck 8-Lb. Sledge Hammer.  It’s important to note that while not all sledge hammers are created equal, most are constructed well enough to handle most around-the-house and outdoors jobs.  We’re not using ours for professional demolition projects or commercial applications, so just make sure the bases are covered:

• Hardened steel head
• Cushion grip
• 4 - 10 Lb

You should be good to go.  With all the tools out of the way, let’s detail how we’re going to remove those railroad ties!