Review: Stanley Functional Utility Bar (FUBAR!) - a destruction love story

After a polite invitation from our HOA to promptly remove (demolish) our front door overhang, I decided that I needed to get something a little better than a 12" wonderbar and a too-heavy, sawed off sledge hammer to take into the fight. I considered the Dead On 18-Inch Annihilator Utility and Wrecking Bar versus the Stanley 55-099 FatMax Xtreme Fubar Functional Utility Bar

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Choosing the FUBAR VS. The Dead-On Annihilator

A bit of research revealed that the users have reported quality issues with the Dead-On Annihilator. The design seems pretty good and it certainly looks wicked, but reports of slipping handles, claws snapping off, welds breaking and general failure of the cast-metal frightened me (and my wallet) off.

Photo: Courtesy of rockstar4960 - used with permission

"A 98 pound guy did this with a brand new tool, by banging it on a piece of wood. Yes, that is a weld. I guess they are 2-piece hammers. I expected it to be a 1-piece design. We'll see what their lifetime warranty is all about."        

  - rockstar4960

Most of the positive reviews I saw reflected on how mean it looks and an intent to use it as a defense weapon in the upcoming zombie apocalypse. Zombies, in a tool review. That's just stupid.

Just because it looks bad-ass and has a skull-head sticker, doesn't mean I'm going to take it within the 18" it would take to hit a zombie. You'll find yours truly wielding a trusty 3/4" conduit bender with a nice 36" long handle when it comes to repelling those brain-munching ghouls. 

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I went with the Stanley Functional Utility Bar. It's four pounds of forged-steel brutality. I liked the feel of it better in the store too; it just looked and felt more solid. I'm going to stop comparing the two, because I didn't take the Annihilator home and I can't review it in action. Just don't get hung up on the names; if you want some bad-ass street cred, the term "FUBAR" has some pretty tough roots itself, look it up.

From the manufacturer:  Professional grade utility bar is a 4-in-1 tool for prying, splitting, board bending, and striking 1-piece forged steel for increased durability Textured grip for excellent comfort and control, even when wet beveled nail slot for pulling and prying nails. Limited lifetime warranty.

This isn't simply a review where set up ways to try the tool, just to share it with you. I purchased and took the FUBAR into actual battle in the demolition of our front porch overhang , a treacherous tunnel of ill-constructed lumber, nails, and hardware to lay waste upon. I brought along my sawed-off sledge, (Mjölnir) but it never got a chance to play. The FUBAR hogged all the carnage.

Destructive fury, pictured from (left to right):

THUNDER! and LIGHTNING!

I thought if I threw it, it was supposed to fly back into my hand.

As a demo hammer, it made short work of slaughtering latticework. I used the big gripping claw to rip and pull at it, the pry bar to pop it off the frame and break it down into strips. It also worked really well in twisting and ripping 2x boards off. It grabs ahold and bites in, hard.

The hammer was beefy and balanced to strike mighty blows to the hardware, loosening it up, even blasting it clean off at times. It was initially annoying that the claw is too thick to pry narrow gaps like a hammer, and that there is not a nail puller on the head. It's an old ingrained habit to quickly reverse a normal hammer to pull nails or pry with a claw.

Instead, the FUBAR has a forked pry bar, at the handle end instead of the head. After a little use, I got used to it being down there and was no longer annoyed. It probably makes the tool a lot stronger to keep the claw end so beefy. I found myself prying holding the top of the claw, in a T-grip fashion. It was comfortable and allowed good leverage. Now, I like it this way.

Nail pulling is easy. The hammer, with it's meaty heft, pops them hard from the reverse side. The combination of the forks and the pulling slot zaps them the rest of the way out quickly. Due to the hammer balance being a little weird, it takes a little more attention to hit the nails without bending them, versus a normal claw hammer, but if you connect squarely, the nails are going backwards in a hurry! I've seen others lament the curved pry bar being a wrist hazard for right-handed bashers, but it gave me no trouble whatsoever.

The good old pry and whack maneuver

 I pounded, twisted, pried, and ripped the heck out of the structure. The FUBAR stayed with me as the primary tool of devastation. I bet the neighbors enjoyed me leaping up to pound the decking off the rafters like I was the Norse God of Thunder. With my hand at the base, just above the bent pry bar and on the rubber grip, I could deliver some serious leverage to my swings without worrying about the thing flying out of my gloved hand and hurtling through the front window. 

I did use the claw to pry a new board in to place a bit before shooting with the nail gun. It did it very well, but it's probably not best for finished surfaces (like facia) because it leaves some tooth marks. It would be great for framing though.

I discovered "makeshift vice mode", you can now call it a 5-in-1 tool Stanley!

This thing is a beast. Honestly, I abused it and only scratched the paint.

I probably shouldn't be doing this,... but it worked.

The verdict -

• This is a well-crafted tool of demolition madness. I heartily recommend it, for what it is supposed to be. It's not a framing hammer.
• I'd never try to install nails with it; it's too clumsy for precision work when my fingers are on the line. It's not a full size crow bar, not enough leverage.
• It's not a sledge hammer, heavy, but not that heavy. It is a tough, multi-function demo tool that does what it's supposed to. The only thing I didn't try was the drywall wrecking blade below the hammer head. Maybe I'll wait until Sweetie is at the hair salon and I'll take out a wall to report back to you fine readers.
• I do suppose it would do some serious damage to the zombies too,... if you want to get that close. I'll pack it as a back up when it gets that serious.

What are you waiting for? Get a Stanley 55-099 FatMax Xtreme Fubar Functional Utility Bar and wreck some stuff!

Note: This is not a sponsored post. I selected and purchased the tool myself.

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UPDATE!!

I'm honored to have this story chosen to be featured an Bob Vila's website as part of the "Bob Vila Nation" of contributors from the blogging community. Please check it out and give me a vote by the hammer image.

Installing new facia boards,... solo style

After tearing off the front overhang on our house, we need a new facia board. While I'm at it, it's time to fix the sun-beat, peeling, rotten soffit that's along the whole front of the garage. Surely, the HOA will soon ding us on that as well.

I started the day at Home Depot, then Lowes. Both were down to fuuuugly 2x6x16 boards this morning. There were twisted, knotty, and split misfits.  'Depot was nearly picked clean. Hopefully, this is a good sign for our economic recovery; people (besides me) are working on their homes again. I managed to dig through the entire stack and find three serviceable boards at Lowes.

Loading the big 16 footers into a pickup with a 5 foot bed was a challenge. Even shoving them through the sliding rear window left too much hanging out the back, so I opted to go upstairs with it:


Not a surfboard, dudes.

Lugging those big boys onto the truck, I started thinking the idea of a solo soffit install might just be beyond me. Working with a heavy, 16 foot board atop a ladder and trying to nail it in place now seemed more difficult than it had earlier.

I thought I'd make some sort of custom contraption with 2x4 T-braces, but I realized I had cut up my stock of 2x4's building the miter saw bench. After some stubble scratching thought, I came up with a workable method. I put the ladder in the middle of the run and balance the board on it. I lifted the board, held it, and used a one-handed woodworking clamp to secure it in place. Bingo!

Clampeyness

The door-end of the board required a compound miter cut due to the angles of the two soffits combining on two planes. I used a piece of scrap to scribe a pencil line, front and back, and then connected the two lines across the bottom of the board.

Scribing the outside angle.

I took the board back down and set up to cut both angles, on B.A.M.S. (big ass miter saw - as coined by Kit over at DIY Diva). This was the first time I'd actually used the saw to cut a compound miter. It paid for itself today, slicing and dicing 2x6's with precision and ease. My homemade, beefy saw bench was priceless when man-handling those massive boards. At one point, it stuck out so far, I had to open the door into the house and stick it inside.

B.A.M.S having lunch.

After clamping the board up again, B.A.N.G. came out to play (big ass nail gun - I claim that one). I shot the board into the rafters and then again through the decking, resetting the clamps as I worked across to keep it tight. I actually hit the framing rafters behind,... most of the time.

Bang - Bang - Bang

Rounding the corner, to move up along the garage, the old facia looked even worse up close.  I don't think the wood was ever primed.

Mr. Hook, it's been lovely, but you'll not hold Christmas lights again.

I had to work my way up slowly, gently prying the shingles up and pulling out the staples that held the metal drip edge. This was precision work, best suited for a small prybar / nail puller.

It also was tedious work. There were a million of those pesky staples to pry out. The sun started getting to me so I broke for lunch, a healthy dose of sunblock, and my sexy hat. Oh yeah, I know the ladies will be drawn to the floppy lid, but too bad, I'm taken. And no, I'm not going to share a source link for this sweet slice of melon shading headgear.

It's a Stubble Sunday, but  you just can't take your eyes off the ol' chapeau can you? Don't be jealous.

After the 1x2 behind the drip edge popped off easily with a Wonderbar Pry Bar , I tried to pry off the old facia. It wouldn't come off without damaging the decking and framing, because it was nailed both through the top and the face. I pried the decking up a bit and cut nails with some diagonal cutters for a while. Finding that a pain, that still left some nail-nubs behind, I changed tactics. In came the reciprocating saw with a bimetal blade which sliced the nails off flush as I ran it down the seam, a much better approach.

Ye old nail slicer.

A couple hearty whacks with the FUBAR sent it tumbling to the ground with a clatter. I'm really glad I'd moved the cars out of the way. I used it to trace the angles to the new board before taking it in for a visit with B.A.M.S for a quick bit of slice and dice. No compound cuts this time, just nice simple angles.

The clamp trick worked perfectly again. I skadooshed it into place with B.A.N.G and called it good for the day.

A heaping helping of cleanup was in order, again. I'd managed to blast debris in a wide radius around the work site, which is where (inconveniently) we park our vehicles. I hired out some skilled labor to police up all the nails and staples. She drove a hard bargain, but it was cheaper than buying a new tire.

There's still lots of work to do on this project. I still have half the garage face to demo and replace. I need some 1 x 2's, drip edge, primer, and paint.

Tearing it all down! Bones and all.

A new weekend dawns, so does the need for more destruction. Since the

HOA told us to tear down our front overhang, we started immediately . It sat in skeletal, semi-demolished form since last weekend, when I had taken the roof off. Rather than wait for the afternoon heat, I got going in the morning, right after breakfast, while it was cool.

The old bones, and a munchkin.

Out of a concern for breaking the framing parts of the overhang that need to stay, I decided to isolate them by cutting them off close, leaving the lumber weight on the outboard frame. The first thought was to use a circular saw, but the framing was so full of nails, staples, and junk, I figured it would ruin the blade. Instead, I loaded a new Diablo "Demo-Demon" Carbide-Tipped Blade in the Reciprocating Saw.

Locked and loaded

I've used bimetal blades that would cut metal before, but not carbide tipped like this red devil. This bad boy blade chewed through the 2 x 4's  like butter. It ripped through everything so smoothly, I could use the saw one handed while holding the board with the other. The blade tore through lumber with just the weight of the saw. They were all cut in about 5 minutes. The urchins stayed inside, watching cartoons, during this part. I needed to watch my own head and not worry about beaning a kid with a nail encrusted board.

Sliced like butta'

I thought about cutting them again, close to the outer frame, but it only took a quick lift and jerk; they tore out of the clips holding them in a shower of flying splinters and nails. A quick couple cuts to the outer frame took it down as well.

chopped

The saw blade was not big enough to cut the support that was still standing. I considered using a chain and the truck or maybe... <gasp> a non-powered, hand saw... to take it down. In a fit of goofiness, I kicked the thing.

I haven't thrown a martial-arts move, of any sort, in over 13 years. But, true to form, when I actually executed a near perfect shuffle sidekick, there was no one around with a camera. When my size 12 Red Wing work boot connected with that beam it sheared off and flew, landing in a cloud of dust. First kick too! BAD-ASS STILL HAS THE MOVES!!!

Of course, the whole street was empty. No witnesses to the unarmed, Chuck Norris style carnage I had visited upon the mighty slab of lumber.

I strutted over to inspect my fallen victim. Ahhh,.... Crap.

The dang thing was simply eviscerated with termite damage. I was even able to reach in a pull a chunk from the hole and crush it to powder, bare-handed. A five year old could have kicked that thing down,... barefoot. Heck, I could have sneezed that thing over. An especially charming realization is that it was the primary support for the entire structure, and I'd been tromping around up there last weekend, like an idiot. I'm lucky I didn't kill myself in a tumbling roof collapse. At least there was no evidence of live termites.

Demo is always so fast. 10 minutes and I was done with the major structure.

Who turned on the lights?

Now onto the detail stuff, I had to be careful not to harm the structure needed to attach the new facia boards. I tried the big demolition jaw on the Stanley Fubar , but it was too much. It gripped  the board well, but when I twisted the tool to pull the board off, I could see and hear that the framing I was trying to save was going to be damaged. Switching to the demo hammer on the Fubar and banging away, while prying left-handed with a Wonderbar Pry Bar  did the trick. Patience paid off. Soon, boards were flying to the ground again.

Stop! Hammer time!

Gracie came out to lay down some carnage as well. She kept her head out of the way this time.

Klein! Hammer time!

Another problem, what to do with a concrete, with a square hole, right where Sweetie wants to plant some flowers? 

...but can you put a round peg in a square hole?

Of course, it was time to bring out SLUF, (Short, fat, ugly "feller").

It’s a full sized sledge, customized with its handle cut off at 17″. It was given to me by a foul-mouthed middle-eastern gentleman with muscled forearms the size of gallon paint cans. He drove electrical grounding rods with it, like they were thumbtacks. Sorry folks, I can't give you a source link for this, you gotta make your own (or find your own foul-mouthed, middle eastern gentleman to make one for you).

S.L.U.F., the not-so-gentle persuader

I pounded the stuffing out of that concrete. Of course, contrary to all the other half-assed construction our predecessors did, they built the heck out of this particular detail. It wasn't just run of the mill Sackrete in the post hole, they'd loaded it with a heavy aggregate mix, full of crushed gravel, and very resistant to a quickly tired knucklehead pounding away on his hands and knees in the sun with a heavy one-handed hammer.

I wore myself out with that stupid, stumpy sledge-hammer.

Sitting there in the hole, resting after all that hammering with concrete shards pinging of my face, I noticed something, that wiped that stupid smirk off my face...

Temitus-Bastardus-Home-Chewerus

The hole was crawling with what I'm fairly sure are termites. We'll have to have the place treated. Dang it; that's probably not cheap.  No termite tubes, the little beasts were using the support beam as an elevator.

The secret passage.

Food for five years, a thousand gallons of gas, air filtration, water filtration, Geiger counter. Bomb shelter! Underground... God damn monsters.

- Burt Gummer, Hard Core Survivalist (Tremors)

The whole area got a good soaking with the hose and a healthy dose of Demon WP  through the pump sprayer. 

The entire exterior of the house got sprayed as well. I had learned about Demon when we were in Texas. It's a murderer. Hopefully, it will keep their migration down, now that I've taken their source of crunch and munchies away, with a spectacular, un-witnessed side-kick.

It's hot and the demo is done. Next, new facia and drip edge has to be installed to finish this project up.

What do you think? The house look too plain now?

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UPDATE!!

I'm honored to have this story chosen to be featured an Bob Vila's website as part of the "Bob Vila Nation" " of contributors from the blogging community. 

Please check it out and give me a vote by the hammer image.

(UPDATE II: looks like Mr. Vila & Co. canceled this program and deleted all the Blogger created stuff)

And so it begins - demolition day

Since we hate our front door overhang / porch / hobbit tunnel, and the HOA conveniently demanded that we remove it, I decided to jump right into the demolition this weekend. As a certified dimwit, I thought the hottest weekend of the year (to date) would be a great time to climb up on the roof. With other commitments, I was only able to find bits of time here and there, to tackle the project.

Two minutes wielding the mighty Stanley FUBAR (Functional Utility Bar) resulted in lattice and splinters blasted across the front yard like a cruise-missile strike. This beast of a tool is like having the very essence of destruction itself, leashed in your hand.

Don't you just want to skip barefoot across our lush front yard?

Since bulk waste pickup isn't for another month and a half, I spent the next couple hours breaking the lattice down, bundling it into three rolls of slats for storage, and cleaning the front yard of stray wood bits, nails, and staples. That was all the time we had on Saturday.

Late Sunday morning, I found a very efficient way to quickly dull razor blades. Carving through the face of four layers of granulated shingles makes quick work of blunting your knife. A blade lasted only about one linear foot before it had to be replaced. I made good use of a Stanley Quick-Change Utility Knife, making it easy to constantly flip and swap blades. I used a Edge Cutting Guide , normally for a router or circular saw, to keep my line.

This was some tedious, hot work. I took my time, really wanting that shingle edge to look straight and clean. At least the yard didn't  get too messy. Each time I gave the all clear, Gracie would scurry up and pile the bits of shingles and tar paper that rained down below. It took a bit longer because I had to be extra careful about nails and keeping the drop zone clear of my happy little helper.

It took about a 45 minutes to finish the cut line. It turned out pretty good, but it's thick as heck with 4 ply of shingles at that point.

I sat down for a cold drink and called my young squire for my weapon. I recall that I'd seen on one of the multitude of DIY shows on cable, that a flat blade shovel is the tool of choice for stripping shingles. Time to put it to the test. My blade, young Padawan...

 

The shovel stripped the roof like a champ. Two minutes and the deck was clear. I ran into some old termite damage out at the far edge, not a good sign.

"...I smote it's ruin upon the mountainside"

Once again, a diabolical lack-of-fun reared its ugly head, cleanup.  Jack donned a pair of gloves and came out to lend a hand. We drug the pile over to the "alley" beside the garage and piled it on a tarp for disposal later. It's nice to have a larger kid who can really pitch in and help. It made much shorter work of the mess.

Yeah, that's a laundry hamper from the garage. Shhhhhhhh.....

We finished tidying up and left it alone for a few hours while we ran some errands. After all, it was only 87 degrees, and not quite miserable yet.

I returned to the task late afternoon, as the day's heat reached it's peak. The FUBAR and mighty sawed-off, sledge hammer rained their fury upon the decking, as if wielded by the Norse God of Thunder himself. Timbers splintered like toothpicks; a cloud of dust rose from the site.

Since we have to find a way to get rid of all the waste later and have to store it. We spent the extra time pulling all the nails. I brought in a pro. Gracie was a marvel of nail-yanking prowess. She threw herself into it with such a gusto that she soon bounced the hammer handle off her forehead. Don't worry, the hammer's fine, it's a Klein Heavy-Duty .

It was nothing that couldn't be fixed with a hug, a bag of ice and a stiff drink.

After the weekend's third cleanup. We called it quits. The carcass is picked clean, down to the sun-bleached bones in the desert.

Break time is over young lady.

Did I mention the temperature? It's April 28th, and we've officially hit triple digits. 

Summer in Phoenix. It has begun.

Enjoy your spring folks.

 

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<UPDATE> I tear the rest of this beast up the next weekend in the exiting conclusion to demo phase in: Tearing it all down! Bones and all



A Challenge from the H.O.A.

We received a letter from our homeowners association, a "Friendly Reminder". They just don't like our front entrance.

We've received HOA letters before; we call them "nasty-grams". They've told us we need to trim the palm trees, nip some weeds, fix a board on the gate, and even hit the place with a fresh coat of paint. Each time, we've sheepishly complied. After all, we're supposed to keep up with this stuff. It's just our Strategic Doctrine of "Inside Out", that sometimes gets us in trouble.

The letter we received this week was a mule kick to the head. Uh ohhhhh...

"We noted the overhang on the entrance way to your house was not submitted for ABM approval and is in disrepair. Please remove the overhang in a workmanlike manner. 

ABM will perform a follow-up inspection of the property...   ..in compliance by 06/22/2013 "

A few notes my dear reader:

• This "overhang" is a beast, a huge, crap-tastic beast of drunken, weekend-warrior awfulness. We want it to go, eventually, but it's not foremost on the schedule, neither time wise or financially.

Notice anything stoooooooopid?

• "State of disrepair"???!!! Nope. It's in a state of jackleg construction. The dang thing was built to look like someone pounded dog excrement with a sledge hammer.

• I didn't know it was not submitted for approval, because, I didn't build it. We've been here 7 years. I think this "overhang" has been here for 15-20.

 
• A goal of 06/22/2013 is pretty much a do-it-now situation. June is not the time to be dilly-dallying around, working on a major, outdoor construction project around here. Why? Because of this:

It's only April 27 and we're going to hit the century mark. June will be worse.

We live in one of the oldest, largest homeowners associations the country. We are in Phoenix, but our area is an urban village, almost completely cut off from the rest of the city. This village, Ahwatukee, is covered by a colossal HOA. Honestly, they do a pretty good job of keeping the place up, but I think this particular requirement is ridiculous.

A quick web search will reveal absolute horror stories from HOA's nationwide and their abuse of power, crushing individual families over unpaid fees, misplaced garbage cans, or an unapproved shed that was 2.75" too tall.

I'm not messing around. It's time to let these two, savage dogs-of-war out of their cage.

Spears shall be shaken, shields shall be splintered! A sword day... a red day... ere the sun rises!

- King Théoden

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<UPDATE> Oh yes,..  splintering does begin. Check out the carnage in the exciting saga: ... and so it begins, demolition day.

 

Replacing our bathroom exhaust fan

Both of our bathroom exhaust fans are shot. The one in our guest bath was a beast at one time; it sounded like an F-16 afterburner on takeoff and moved air like a pissed-off hurricane. I'm surprised it didn't pull the door off its hinges. Certainly, it blew too much of our costly air conditioning up into the attic. Now it's fried.

A trip to the home center for a replacement found me staring slack-jawed at a huge display of ceiling-suck-age options, ranging from $30 to $200.



Uhhhhh,... I came prepared complete with the info of: about 12" x 12" square. I was certainly not prepared with CFM measurments, Sone ratings or, most importantly, funds up to $199.99. Since the slack-jawed, staring approach didn't seem to resolve much after a few minutes, I did some split-second Matrix style education,... I looked it up on the smartphone.  I find that the deal on CFM ratings is that it's the speed / amount of air the fan moves, in cubic feet per minute. I found a formula and plugged in our measurements:

Cubic Feet = Length: 9 ft. x Width: 5 ft. x Height: 8 ft. = 360

360 cu. ft. ÷ 60 minutes per hour = 6

6 x 8 air changes per hour = min 48 CFM fan needed

I bought a Hampton Bay (#986 755), 50 CFM, 0.5 Sone (Ultra Quiet) for $ 48.97. It turns out the old one was rated for 180 CFM and screamed its furious banshee wail at 5.0 Sones. Folks with bigger bathrooms will need bigger fans, and deeper wallets.

Back at home, I tried to pull the cover and found that this one was held in by rusted screws, not the handy springs I'd seen more recently on our other fan. Up close, this cover is a yellowed, paint spattered mess. I cut the paint and caulk from the edge with a utility knife before I pulled it down.

Next, I geared up for the dreaded attic crawl. Our attic is a filthy, itchy mess of ancient, blown-in insulation horror. It's never fun. I loaded a tool bag with all the tools and material I might need. When I returned from changing into long pants, a long sleeve shirt, and a spare t-shirt wrapped around my head and tucked into the back at my neck, I found my tool bag had been substantially supplemented.

Gracie was worried about me going into the attic, without her. She'd helpfully loaded up my tool bag with:

• (1 ) box of Band-Aids (Angry Birds)
• (3) tape measures
• (1) Diet Coke
• (1) Photo of Kirby (our dog who passed in 2010)
• (1) Doggy Valentine's card
• (1) Hand drawn "note" with hearts and "Daddy"
• (4 ) Pretty rocks
• (1) Small bag of 1/2" nuts and bolts
• (7) 3" finishing nails
• (1) Extra dust mask

Of course, I had to lug the extra stuff up there, just in case.

I traversed the attic, which ended in a miserable, belly-crawl across the rafters. It was 86º degrees outside in Phoenix; in the attic, it was damn hot. In the light of my headlamp, the fan appeared, it was unfastened and completely without a duct. From what I know, venting your moist shower air directly into your attic is commonly referred to as extremely stupid. It's not going to freeze in Phoenix, but it could cause mold issues and who knows what else. I didn't see any evidence of problems, but it was a dark, hot mess, and I wasn't going to loiter.

I could see the target in my high-beams.

I lifted the old fan out of the way. Luckily, there was enough slack in the electrical line to push the unit back to where I could at least crouch to work on it. With the hole open, there was a sudden burst of excited chatter from the bathroom below. I couldn't get close enough to the hole to look down. I held my camera phone over the edge to take a blurry recon shot:

Daddy's helper. Thanks for the Coke sweetie!

With the power off, I opened the wiring compartment and took the wires out of the wire nuts. I slid the existing, three wire cable into the compartment of the new fan and clamped it down, using the connector (NM 3/8-Inch Clamp Type Connector) I had installed earlier, in the comfort of the garage. This particular unit used the push-in style quick connectors for the wiring. Normally, I cut them off and make a tight, twisted joint with my Linesman Pliers and wire nuts, but in the dark, hot attic, I was pleased to go with the plug-and-play approach.

Clamp, plug & play!

I had bought a wall vent ducting kit as well. The 4" flex duct attached to the fan exhaust port with an included zip-tie. I added a quick wrap of the metallic foil tape that I had left over from the ceiling project. I shoved the new fan back over the hole and screwed the supports to the nearby studs.

Duct,..duct,... duct,... GOOSE!

QUICK TIP: Ready to run the duct to the outside, and having pulled the bone-headed move of drilling exterior holes into framing members in the past, I took the time to drive a screw through the wall from the inside, so I could find the location easily from the outside, no measuring!

Finding the screw was easy. I shifted to the right to avoid the groove in our "lovely" T-111 siding and traced the 4" hole using the template supplied with the duct kit. Drilling a larger hole near the side of the line with a Spade Bit allowed for saw blade access.



Grumbling about the lack of a cordless jigsaw in my collection of power tools, I was forced to the disagreeable task of stringing out an extension cord, like a chump. This Black & Decker Jigsaw is actually the first power tool I ever purchased as a homeowner. It was bought for slicing a countertop to fit a new refrigerator in our first house, probably in 1999. I don't use it a ton, but it's held up very well for a lightweight, economical-grade power tool. Here's their current version, the Black & Decker 4.5 Amp Variable Speed Jigsaw

The duct kit came with a exterior vent with a flap door. An included sheet metal, rigid duct tube snaps into the back and is fed through the wall into the attic. I put a my small torpedo level on a straight line to square it up. Four wood screws zapped in quickly with the impact driver.

Back in the attic, I attached the flex duct to the rigid duct tube, again with a zip tie and some foil faced, adhesive tape to seal it up. Per instructions, I kept the flex duct in a gentle curve, without making any tight corners. The attic rat mission is an operational success. This highly classified image shows the target has been taken care of:

Classified: Just between us right?

Returning filthy-clothed to the sweet, air conditioned goodness of inside, I popped the beautiful, new fan cover in place, this time with the easy, snap-in retention springs.

Note a very important detail in this step: no bald spot.

Now that it's all done, I guess I should have tested the fan to make sure this one wasn't a dud. Luckily, it worked just fine. I actually had to strain to hear it. I almost miss the clattering din of the old one.

The exterior vent flap works well. It swings open and closed as needed.

Thar she blows!



This was a medium difficulty project. Anytime attic work is required, it's a bit difficult and unpleasant, but you can do it. Keep your feet on solid framing and watch out for nails and open electrical connections.

It's not an exciting project to have done; we had a fan and we have a fan again. Just an unforeseen, necessary repair, not a desired improvement project. At least it's quiet and looks much better than the dated, ugly one. Plus, we now have exterior venting.

Thoughts? Comments? I'd love to hear from you.

 ____________________________________________________

UPDATE!! I'm honored to have this story chosen to be featured an Bob Vila's website as part of the "Bob Vila Nation" of contributors from the blogging community. Please check it out and give me a vote by the hammer image, if you like the story.

Quick Tip: disposable gloves

For "First Aid - Heath Care - Baby Care - Serious DIY"

I've recently started using disposable gloves for messy work. As a family dude, it seems like every time I open a can of paint, I get called back into the house for something. There's always a huge tragedy, like a 5 year old that absolutely must have some cucumbers or a fresh glass of milk, NOW!!!. Other times, it's been a lady trapped in the bathroom when the pocket door falls off the track, a broken glass, or a bunny in the backyard that must be looked at. Perhaps, it's just lunchtime.

I just keep a box in one of my tool cabinets and grab a couple before starting.

Regardless of the reason for my hasty retreat from a project, I normally have wet paint on my hands when I need to pop back in for a minute. It's nice to simply slip off the gloves and pitch them in the trash before leaving the room.

 

I also use them for other messy work, like working on the car. They're good when you don't want dirt, glue, oil, or paint under your fingernails or all over your hands when you have to go meet with someone or make an emergency run out to the grocery for a can of evaporated milk. It saves huge time, otherwise spent doing the surgeon's scrub down at the laundry sink.

 

You can find them cheap, at the drugstore or on Amazon here: Ansell Vinyl - Touch Powder Free, Latex Free Disposable Gloves 50 ea

The best laid plans...

Why is it that when you need consecutive weekends dedicated to a big project (like replacing all the doors in your house) that the rest of your house goes haywire? We've been buried with scheduled obligations lately, so the time allotted for serious weekend-warriormanship was already limited. The door project was going really well; I could see then end in sight. I was knocking one door out each weekend, no problem-o.

Then BAM! The washing-machine self destructs. Gotta drop everything and fix it. Tear down and rebuild.

Frickin' frackin' rubble bumbin' mumble mud...

...then, BAM! Just like the front yard, the irrigation system bursts in the back.  Gotta be fixed.



 

... then, BAM! The Pool Filter gets clogged up, right as the temperature rises. The pool turns into a swampy-green, scale model of the planet Dagobah, without the diminutive Jedi Master.  A total tear-down and rebuild is in order, with a diminutive mud-pie master.

...then, BAM! The awesome Baracuda Zodiac G3 robot pool cleaner-dude finally wears out it's rubber parts. A total tear down and,....you know the rest. At least I found better pricing on Amazon and saved about $150 vs. our local pool shop. Still, it's not the fun kind of tool I want to be buying parts for.

... then, BAM! The guest bath exhaust fan gives it's death rattle. Inside, it's an unholy fossilized mess of rusted metal. Carbon-dating analysis puts it's installation in the long bygone era of 1979. I think the only thing holding it together is the rust.

This weekend's recreational activity.

I even managed to fit time in to break my shop's dust-collector while changing the bag. Enough with "BAM!" already. It's killing progress, and tearing an unwelcome, good-sized hole in our checkbook. 

 

What's next? 

Considering a counter depth refrigerator

Refrigeration Madness

I've just become aware of counter depth refrigerators.  This just might be an excellent design solution for our cave-like, U-shaped kitchen. We've been considering recessing the 'fridge through the wall, to set it flush with the cabinet faces, but that is one big invasive, load-bearing wall mess I'd prefer to stay well clear of if I can help it.

I understand those massive Sub-Zero beasts with cabinet panels are counter depth, but much wider than normal. They're also scientifically classified as "spendy" and thus beyond our humble means.

A casual visit to Lowes turned up four models, a couple side-by-sides and a couple of the awesome French door style, with the freezer drawer below. It seems that they all are about a 23.5-ish sq. ft. size, smaller than our current side-by side. The French door style seems to make more efficient use of space, so maybe it would be a good trade off. Samsung's current line looks pretty good. We'd probably try to buy all the appliances at once, to ensure a matched style, and hopefully get a volume discount.

We're going to flip the 'fridge location to the other side of the room. Either way, a full depth fridge cuts into the entry of the kitchen, physically and visually. It's even worse when I have the door open and am staring slack-jawed into the treasure trove of temptations.



The Cavern of Doom

Anyone have any thoughts or experiences with this class of refrigerator?

 

 



Review: ProjectCalc Calculator

In my Support Tools post, I mentioned I am enamored with my ProjectCalc. It does a bunch of stuff beyond a normal calculator, but for me, the winning feature boils down to one key ability, quickly doing calculations with fractions.

Sure, I took basic 5th grade math (a million years ago), and still remember some that cross-multiply and divide crap, but why do it when I can rely on economical technology to do it for me?

I like to save time, instead of scribbling my error filled, unintelligible calculations on scrap cardboard or 2x4s. Plus, it's more accurate than taking off my shoes to count past ten.

"Math is haaard".

-Kevin Malone, Accountant

Dunder Mifflen Paper Company

I keep it stowed in a drawer of measuring, layout, and marking implements, but like to tuck it in my Nail Apron when I'm suiting up for project combat operations. Its hinged cover protects it in a pocket, tool bag, or drawer full of tools. Maybe there are some smartphone apps that can do this stuff, but do you want yours to slip out of your hand from atop a ladder? I have a version older (#8515) than the one they are currently selling; it's probably about 3 years old and going strong on it's original batteries. The rugged construction of this little bulldog has allowed it to survive many projects.

The fraction feature is easy to learn, but takes a few extra keystrokes to accomplish. For example, to divide 7 feet, 3 and ³/₈ inches into three equal parts, you tap a few unique buttons (shown here as <BUTTON>):

7 <FEET> 3 <INCH> 3 < / > 8 < ÷ > 3 < = >

Therefore: 7ft.  3 ³/₈ in. ÷ 3 = 2ft. 5 ¹/₈ in. Wham Bam! Done!



Just don't forget to add the width of your saw blade, like yours truly did.

In addition  to standard calculator functions, it easily converts between decimal and fractional numbers in standard or metric measurements (linear, square, or cubic).   It also calculates for paint, concrete, tile, wallpaper and carpet.
 

The new version takes advantage of a quantum leap forward in project mathematical calculating technologies. Calculated Industries has finally able to harness the power of White and Blue. Gone is the ancient, yellow styling of yesteryear.  Of course this upgraded modern technical marvel has been renamed as the Home ProjectCalc Do It Yourself Calculator  (#8510). I didn't see any other differences other than additional buttons replacing the dual button function I have to use in order to figure materials.

 

Calculated Industries has a full line of project / construction calculators with even more features, (like memory storage) but for what I normally do, I'm really happy with the DIY / Homeowner grade calculator. At some point, maybe I'll try out one of the more advanced models, but for about $20 - $30, you can't go wrong with this one.

 

I've personally used mine for renovation projects, woodworking, and electrical conduit bending calculations. I'm happy to recommend it. It's a tool worth having in your collection.

10,000 Visit Milestone - One small step for AZ DIY Guy...



Following an initial launch on Facebook, in August 2012, I launched this blog in December 2012. I've just passed 10,000 views. For my little corner of the interwebs*, it's a milestone. For other elite members of the blogosphere*, it's a good week's worth of visits and in some cases, maybe just an average Tuesday.

I'm just starting to get comfortably broken-in feeling.

Ready for 10,000 more!

I enjoy prattling on about the stuff I enjoy. I'm pleased to have heard from those that enjoy my projects and tolerate my particular brand of humor. The comments and connections made have been great.

It's funny, I can never tell what post may take off in popularity. Review: Kreg Jig Jr. was lightning in a bottle, it's still almost always my daily top visited page, almost half my total visits. I really enjoyed writing the Stubble: The Ultimate Power Tool post; it's popular too. Other top posts are: The "Ted's Woodworking" Scam, Building a Miter Saw Bench - Economical but Beefy! and even the negative Review: General Tools EZ Pocket Hole Jig. I can never figure what's folks will like.

The goofy  How gun control will affect remodeling post? Not as much. The The DIY Guy vs. Dealership Challenge 2013! was one of the most fun ever, to do and to write,... not a lick of interest. Undesired Inheritance from our DIY Predecessors , ehhhhh.....

So early in my "career", I'm humbled to be noticed. One of our projects was the subject of an interview and article on Bankrate.com (and picked up by Yahoo and Fox Business). One of my reviews was featured in a Kreg newsletter. Parts source, Repair Clinic liked a post and wanted to put affiliate ads on the site. I'm even affected by scrapers stealing my articles and posting them on their sites as their own. What's next?

I'm looking forward to the one year mark. I wonder,... in December 2013...

• Will I still be here, beating the massive 1st year blog failure rate?
• Will I still be posting fuzzy, one-handed photos taken with a Samsung Galaxy S III Smartphone?
• What will my shop look like? An added Shopsmith band saw perhaps?
• Will the kitchen remodel actually be underway?
• Will I still have all my fingers? (please?)
• Forget completion, will I get any further on the hallway organizer project?
• Will there be a second season of Elementary? (PLEASE!)
• Will I bump into another amateur  DIY / Renovation blogger out there, who's a dude?
• Will I ever get to 100 Facebook fans before their greed policy pushes us all to Google + or whatever copycat social network a new Apple/Microsoft/NBC/ABC/CBS conglomerate comes up with? Allow me to be the first: Please "approve" me on Yeeeesh!

Come on back, I'll keep the light on for you!

Thank you for visiting my friends!

- John
 

* Achievement complete: Use the words: Interwebs and Blogosphere in a post. Consider me a pro.**

**Achievement complete: Commenting on the fact that I used the terms Interebs and Blogosphere in a post. Rockstar!

Review: JELD WEN Interior Doors (hollow core)

I'm well underway with replacing all the interior doors in our home. We started with flat slab, hollow-core doors that were probably original to the 1979 home. These originals are very plain, beat up, and so thickly coated with poor paintsmanship that there's no saving them. We've started replacing them one-by-one.

Some before and after action!

I've been picking up a hollow core, six panel doors from Home Depot by Jeld Wen. I believe Lowes sells the same brand, but I have my reasons to go to HD.

Concern?:

This sticker did not slow down the planer at all! It got chewed to bits.

I'm using the hollow core doors, because:

1. The originals were just fine, still structurally stable after 30+ years. It's a family home, not a great wall, fortified to withstand an onslaught of marauding Mongol hordes.

2. They cost $30.00 each. This is a serious improvement for a great price. I'm spending more on hardware than on the door.

3. Seriously, they're $30! (Compare to this investment, for more than $30)

4. I can man-handle these myself. They're light enough to prepare and hang solo, without having to lure a neighbor over with a craft-brew to get help wrestling a solid-oak, back-breaking beast onto the hinges.

They come off-white primed on six sides and have an embossed wood grain pattern. Painted a nice glossy white, even by hand, (...even with a 5 year olds assistance) they really finish up nice.

Of course, I had to plane mine down to size. I got a look at the construction, beneath the primer. The sides are a finger jointed, natural wood. It looks like pine. It's clean and free of knots and imperfections. The top and bottom are particle board. I'd prefer better, but it seems to work. Our old doors were the same. I just make sure I seal them up with primer and a couple coats of paint.

Clamping a sacrificial edge to prevent snipe and blow-out with the planer.

Because the standard sizes were too big for my framing, I bought them as slabs, no hinge mortises or holes for latches and knobs. They did have pre-bored in stock for a few bucks more, for those with houses not built by guys with short tape measures. I cut into mine for two different latch applications, there was plenty of meat left.

Surgery, to install a pocket door latch

The instructions limit how much you can plane down, 1/8" max per side. That was just fine for my application. I did it with a handheld power planer (Bosch).

Overall the quality was really good (see #'s 2&3 above!!!). So far, I only had one with a front that was coming off. It may have caught and popped up when they loaded it onto the shelf at the store. I glued and clamped it overnight before planing it down to size. Fixed!

I'm happy with this good-looking, easy-to-install Jeld Wen product. I have no problem recommending it to mid-skilled DIY'ers, with the proper tools, providing they don't require interior doors capable of stopping bullets.

If you'd like to follow my bumbling, door replacement adventures from the start:

1. Planning and decisions - Looking at doors, tools, and hardware (while sick as a dog)

2. Prepping a replacement pocket door - The inaugural first door

3. Installing a replacement pocket door - Saved the hardest for first

4. Prepping a replacement hinged door - Improving prep and shopping for hardware.

5. Installing a replacement hinged door - Here's my first hinged door install, including the first attempt at hinge mortising.

6. Review: Ryobi Door Hinge Template - Now I have it figured out!

7. Father & son DIY skills training - including the pitfalls of door shopping with your guard down.

---

I’m keeping this old, small version of the top pic on my site for a while. There is a carpentry business that stole my image and is passing it off as their own on their corporate website. Weird, right? - John

Considering Home Depot vs. Lowes

Since I mentioned it in my disclaimer for the Ryobi Door Hinge Template review, I need to address a serious subject related to the Home Depot vs. Lowes debate. I pretty much bounce between the two home centers when I'm getting project material and have dropped a significant amount of coin at the both of them over the years. My local stores are almost across the street from each other, so it's not entirely inconvenient. Plus, they both have some exclusive product lines. Some trips simply require a stop at both.

For some reason, especially when I'm shopping alone, I find myself at Home Depot more often. I guess it's because I'm particularly interested in some of the fine material being sold out front, that can't be found at my local Lowes...

Bad Dogs, Bad Dogs, what 'cha gonna do?

I don't know if this is a nationwide phenomenon that or if it's just my local stores. Personally, I hit Bad Dogs nearly every time and grab me a tube-steak. From hot dogs, to jumbo hot dogs, Italian sausages, Polish sausages, chips, and sodas, they have a wide selection of quality DIY / renovation project fuel. (Don't forget the fixin's.)

Lowes: May I recommend a Philly Cheesesteak vendor perhaps? Nachos maybe? Get in the game!

The kids are still sleeping this morning. Maybe I should head over for some "supplies". Certainly it's too early for Ace Hardware to have the popcorn wagon going.  

DISCLAIMER: Lowes Home Improvement Warehouse could not be reached to comment on this post. I can only suspect it was because I did not even attempt contact them to discuss the subject of hot dog vendors.

Father to Son DIY skills training

Since Jack's rapidly approaching teenagerdom, it's time the lad starts picking up some mad handyman skills. My dad started letting me help with projects when I was about his age and I still remember those times fondly.

The two of us left the ladies behind and took a Friday night, before-bed trip down to grab door #4 for our interior door replacement project, this one for Jack's own room. He examined a couple from the top of the stack for dents and scratches before choosing a nice specimen from the middle of the stack.

Get that doggie rollin'

He took charge of the six-wheeled beast-cart and headed out with the unmistakable din of rattling sheet metal and chattering caster wheels. He paused to treat me to some humor about what great stuff, Great Stuff is when we passed the display. Where does he get his goofball sense of humor anyway? We were having fun. Too much fun...

Folks, I'm just going to admit it; I let my guard down and paused like a slack-jawed yokel at the clearance rack. I should have known better to stop in such dangerous proximity to the kitchen section. Of course, I was immediately waylaid, out-of-the-blue by Mr.Smiling Clipboard Dude,

 

     "Has anyone told you about what we're doing for customers tonight?"

 

CRAP! Amateur move, Mr. Smarty Pants DIY Guy. NO! No one had told me what they were doing for us customers tonight. I was snared like a gazelle drinking from the crocodile pond. Somehow, he sensed I'm a nice guy (chump) and I'd pleasantly engage in his conversation. I dutifully answered the questions about our kitchen and, ever so nicely, gave point-by-point details on our state of unhappiness with our cabinets and layout. I shared the plan for a total kitchen gut and re-model next year,... yes, including plumbing,... and electrical, ... aaaand new cabinets with taller uppers,...

You're going to have to sit this one out boy. Watch the master at work.

We all know where this leads don't we? The pitch. It doesn't matter that I clearly, obviously have no reason to entertain his product; I just have to let him toss it out. But I know can still kick away from the crocodile. He's worked so hard, and I can't be rude in front of my son (or all those shiny new tools) can I? A slight pause, a friendly smile, and he lobs it:

 

"... consider cabinet re-facing"  Yaaaaaaaay! We're almost done...

 

"Free in home estimate" Woooo-hooo! Now there's only my initial polite decline <kick> and his second, face-saving counter attack ...

 

"...just in case you want to consider it, as an option, anyway", offered with a kindly smile and an attempt to immediately schedule the estimator. I give my trusty standby, a pleasant second decline <kick> followed without pause by a quick, simultaneous thank-you / smile /cart acceleration, and finally the inevitable third decline mumbled over my shoulder as I depart <kick-kick-kick>. Checkmate. We're gone <run>. That's how it's done folks, it's a skill acquired by years of home center visits. I'm just glad my son was there to see it. (You may want to start easy, like a quick run of the dueling Cable TV vs. Satellite TV polo-shirted gauntlet in the back of Wal-Mart. This will sharpen your skills for the pro leagues)

 

We did a quick checkout, strapped down...

..and slipped away, like ninjas into the night.

 

 

Sure, I could have hired a pro to extricate me from the salesman, but I did it myself and saved. You can do it too! Teach your children well.

Review: Ryobi Door Hinge Template

Following a slightly less than awesome experience freehand routing mortises for door hinges, I looked for some kind of template / jig that would make the job easier, with better result.

To those who haven't heard the term, a mortise is a recessed area on a door where the thickness of a hinge leaf is set, in order to lie flush with the surface of the door.

We've been slowly replacing all our ugly interior slab doors  with nice looking six-panel beauties. After the initial pocket door experience and the guest bath door install, I'm getting the hang of it.

Without prior research, (very, very unlike me) I picked up the Ryobi Door Hinge Template at The Home Depot for about $26 bucks last weekend. I don't have much experience with Ryobi products other than to understand that they are regarded as an mid-level, consumer-grade line offered exclusively at Home Depot. Plus, I'm pretty sure Ryobi was a character on some giant-robot Japanese animated series when I was a kid. I thought I'd give it a shot

First off it's plastic. But it's that pretty tough stuff, not brittle. I also liked that all the parts (except drill bit and double end driver bit) fit neatly for on board storage. The kit includes instructions, corner inserts (reversible for 5/8" or 1/4" radius hinges), a guide rail for smaller / laminate routers, a router bit with top pilot-bearing, a 1/8" drill bit, a double-ended driver bit and the hinge mortiser unit itself.



Yep, I'm wearing shorts and sandals. It's 85º today! (Sorry Detroit @ 27º)

It was simple to slip the mortise on the door edge and close the clamp. It's clearly marked to adjust for hinge size. I could see it was right on target because I had already transferred the outline, tracing the hinge itself.


Depth Charge!

I loaded the bit into the old Craftsman router. Depth adjustment is easy. There are marked depth stops for thick or thin hinge plates. You just set the router base on top and crank the bit down until it hits bottom. I had to reset my bit the first time because the collet hit the guide before I had it at full depth. I like this feature, it's the same concept my Porter Cable Dovetail Jig uses to set proper depth.

The instructions are pretty no-nonsense, bullet points. After setting the depth, they simply state:

• Turn on power tool and remove wood from template area 

Well, I guess that about tells the story doesn't it? As Goose would say to Maverick, "Kick the tires and light the fires!"

I took the router for a leisurely drive around the back side of the jig. The bearing rolled along nicely. The bit did it's bit-ing. Looks good. I nearly cut into the front of the jig lifting the router, something to watch in the future. Future Note II - When watching the operation closely, don't forget your dust mask, or at least don't smile too much. The shape of the jig will pretty much wind-tunnel a nice blast of wholesome fiber right at your mouth. <spit>



Flat bottomed: It makes the rockin' world go 'round.

I'm left with a smooth, flat-bottomed mortise. It's lovely. Even with the whole setup, I did it faster than my first free hand cut a couple weeks ago. Feeling that bearing roll along gave me confidence.

A perfect, neat fit. Just a matter of rubbing a bit of gummed up paint off and erasing some pencil marks. I moved the rig over to the next spot and zapped it out in a matter of seconds. Perfect.

The verdict I - For a DIY / Remodeler this thing is a definite win. To adapt easily to different door sizes and hinge types it's intricate and clever. It's darn near stupid-proof.  For less than $30 to get pro quality results at very high speed, I think it's a tremendous value, and I am happy with my purchase.

The verdict II -  For a true professional, I don't know. There's the plastic issue. It's got a bit of flex to it. I had a couple slight abrasions to the guiding surface after the first hinge. Nothing that will affect my work, but I wonder how it will hold up when you need to do a couple hundred doors. I'd also want to look at replacement router bits, just to be sure you can get them when you wear this one out. Still,... the whole thing is $26 bucks. I've seen individual router bits for three times that cost.

I'll follow up later, when I've done another 4-5 doors, and let you know how it's holding up.

Full disclosure: The opinion in this post is wholly my own. I have received no compensation for it. I purchased the kit at my local store, along with an Italian Sausage, chips, and a Coke combo from the "Bad Dogs" cart out front. To be 100% honest, to my readers, I ate the whole meal before I cleared the parking lot.

<update> Pick one up at The Home Depot here:

Ryobi Door Hinge Template A99HT1

Affiliate links inluded

How gun control will affect remodeling

Someone told me the government wants to take my guns. What?!!! I don't understand why more tool aficionados like myself are not concerned for their arsenal. My guns are for my home and family. I need them.


I'm told this sideways grip gives you instant street cred.

I understand there are critics with their standard, smug statements to throw around in the media. To this I reply, "Guns don't shoot nails, people shoot nails!"

"Nailed them both."

- Detective Roger Murtaugh*

This is getting out of hand. I'm also hearing the government wants to limit magazine size on my guns. What the heck do they expect me to do? reload more often?!! Ludicrous!  The magazine on my Porter-Cable FR350A Round Head 2-Inch to 3-1/2-Inch Framing Nailer holds two full clips of 3.76 mm round-head framing nails, over 60 shots. I need to fire those babies as fast as I can pull the trigger until the gun clicks dry., then I slam in another clip and keep shootin' . Are we going to let Washington bureaucratic, special-interest meddling interfere with our God given rights to shoot 3 1/2", 22º nails thorough six inches of kiln-dried, southern yellow pine studs?

Lock and Load

Another insanity: Waiting periods to buy guns. It's just stupid. With my Amazon Prime account, I order a new gun (AND a pneumatic hose to feed it) and it's sitting on my doorstep in two days, free shipping. Or, I can just stroll into a hardware store or home center and walk out with a gleaming new specimen, with the faint smell of machine oil lingering around the blow molded case. Heck, I should be able buy used guns via Craigslist without interference from The Man.


Cash and Carry

They're going to make me register my gun too. I guess I don't mind, but I really think it's ridiculous that I have to mail in a post-card, just so I can receive recall updates and access my warranty. I didn't factor the additional cost of a stamp in my purchase decision. It's just not right.

I hereby put out my manifesto: If an armed group of jack-booted thugs from "big brother" appears on my doorstep demanding to see my guns. BY GOD, I swear, my indignant response will be, "Sure fellas, check 'em out. Want to build some stuff with me?"

I'm pretty sure the Power Tex on the right is classified as a "launcher". They're not coming after launchers are they?

I leave you with this. The slippery slope. It's not just construction nuts that will be affected; it will get those of us that plink away remodeling on the weekends too. If they take our framing guns, next they'll come after our brad, pin, staple, caulking, paint, hot-glue and tape guns. Where does it end? Next thing we know, we'll be forced to work on our projects using hammers,... hammers! like 19th century chumps?!!! Seriously?

Speak up folks, don't be sheep.

This post is meant to express my love tools with humor. This blog is not engaged in the firearms debate. I won't discuss it here, other than to state that I am 100% against people killing people with guns. In no way do I mean disrespect for victims of firearm violence. - John

* Quote - Danny Glover, Lethal Weapon II, 1989

Featured on Yahoo Finance!

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Marcie Geffner,  a reporter for Bankrate.com. She interviewed me about the experience with our family room remodel. We talked about the challenges of time, cost, and unexpected surprises in DIY remodeling. It was a fun experience.

This morning I discovered her article on Yahoo Finance. It's exciting to be part of something like this so early in my blogging "career". I guess since I've been dragging my feet on an "About Me" page, the article can serve for now. There's lot more of my personal story here than I've posted thus far on my own.

It's cool to be to be offered as the confident, experienced DIY'er vs. beginners in an article that also includes expert commentary by the authors of Home Improvement for Dummies, especially when I often feel like a Dummy myself when my adventures go awry. Here's their book on Amazon.com.  I haven't read it, but I'd like to at some point; it looks good.

 Enjoy the article:

Bankrate.com: DIY remodeling yields rewards, vexations
Yahoo Finance: DIY remodeling is rewarding when not frustrating
Fox Business: DIY remodeling is rewarding when not frustrating
Hey Fox, What's up with replacing the pictures of me with a a younger looking dude? I'm not tool wielding eye candy anymore?

Oh yeah, before notice it. I really don't run wiring with a big ol' framing nail gun as captioned in the article.

AZ DIY Girl?

This is a blog about tools, renovation, woodworking, and just plain-old fixing stuff,.... not crafting. But, it's also about being a Dad. When I went out to check the lights in the garage/ workshop I stumbled upon evidence of a little DIY crafter in our midst. In hindsight, our little family pizza and a movie dinner had been quiet,... too quiet.

Gracie knows that projects, even crafting projects, get done in the workshop. I guess this includes the space a few feet in the door, right in the traffic path. Evidently, she does not think workshop etiquette requires any cleanup before returning to the family room to snuggle on the couch and that leaving her trip-hazard strewn minefield is A-OK.

My pint-sized worker had gotten into the wood scrap bin and pulled rocks from her toy pickup truck in the corner. She added some styrofoam, twigs, crayons, about 1.25 miles of frosted tape, and finally, the coup-de-grâce, a sack of acorns collected from the park.

Being the Master of Workshop-mans-ship that I am, I clearly lead by example. My work habits serve as the gold standard for my pupils to follow. Clearly, my practice of bringing delicious consumables into the workshop was the tidbit that Gracie chose to put into practice this day, as is evidenced by the slice of Little Caesar's, cheese "...and only little meatballs (sausage) Daddy!" pizza.

 

Feast your eyes on these one of a kind, hand made, "Decorations for Easter".

 

 

Crafting Ladies of the Blogosphere, you are hereby on notice. There's a 5 year old dynamo of pure creative genius hot on your heels, and she's not afraid to use excessive amounts of frosted tape. Reading, writing, and typing are the only hurdles; it won't be long. Stay sharp ladies.

 

The competition

 _________________________

 

<UPDATE> Once again, I'm honored to be featured by So I Married a Craft Blogger on his Man Up Link Up XII.

 

Of course, mine being the only submission by a dude, being reviewed  by a dude, through a fog of testosterone, I stand a pretty good chance of being noticed when compared to the mysteries of actual-skilled, crafty ladies. It didn't hurt that I adjusted the title when sharing to "So I Fathered a Craft Blogger?" Trevor writes a great, humorous blog about A Man's View of the World of Craft Blogging. Check it out!

 



 





Cabinets to...No

We decided to take a trip over to our closest Cabinets to Go showroom, excited to find an economical solution for our impending kitchen remodel. It's about 45 minutes from our house, so we made it a family outing / lunch out.

We'd already perused the catalog they'd sent in the mail. It looked really good!

When we entered, they had a really nice looking selection of cabinets set up along with wall displays of hardware, vanities and countertop samples. Still good...

.. until I looked up close. Sure, it's wood & plywood, but it did not have a good fit and finish. There were gaps in the trim I could see through. The shelf pins were plastic clips. A big surprise to me was that it was held together with knockdown hardware, plastic from what I could see. The painted door fronts were cracked at the seams (Which I know happens due to wood movement, but it looked rougher than I'd expect.)

Plastered around the showroom were photocopied signs that the cabinets were "ready to assemble". Ok, wait,...what? I don't recall seeing that little detail anywhere in their flashy literature.

Awww nuts. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is,...right? This stuff is IKEA-ish. It's probably slightly better, due to the solid wood,... I'll give it a rousingly solid rank of "decent-ish".  Maybe it's even a good value for the dollars. But I can tell it won't last for the long run; I doubt the install would be pleasant.

We didn't stick around long. The lone salesperson was working with another couple, and never acknowledged our presence. Later,  I looked at their website more closely. Although it had higher-end manufactures plastered across the homepage, we didn't see any of them. We had just seen the Chinese, assemble-it-yourself stuff. The fact that they are assemble-it-yourself is buried deep within the bowels of their website, under terms and conditions. Just read through those babies and decide if this is the type of outfit you want to work with on your beloved dream home. To me they say, very clearly, "RUN!!!" I couldn't find any reference to them being "ready-to-assemble" anywhere in their gorgeous, full-color 27 page catalog. It just feels intentionally tricky to leave such a detail hidden, or to bury it somewhere less than obvious. Scuzzy. I don't mind economy grade or doing assembly, but this marketing style is the old put lipstick on a pig routine.

I did a little follow-up surfing on the company. There appear to be plenty of happy customers, but just as many, or more, unhappy ones, really-really unhappy ones,.. downright pissed-off, plaster their complaints across the internet, everywhere they can find a text box ones.  There are countless horror stories about poor customer service, shipping damage, missed delivery dates and endless replacement times. As I suspected, there are poor ratings from the Better Business Bureau. Enough to scare us off, even if we were still interested in the product.

Although we could save some serious coin, I just don't think it's in the cards for us. It's still a huge effort in time and money to settle for something of this quality. Maybe if we were flipping houses we'd think about it, but even then, I'd just buy in-stock from a big-box to avoid shipping issues and the risk of poor customer support.

I really wanted this to be a win. To good to be true.