CH: Day 63
Thursday.
Saturday. Look close to see some new siding to the right of the large window.
I hauled the new chop saw out of the car and put it together.
I plugged it in.
And…nothing.
No matter what I did (like checking the extensions cord three times) made any difference.
FFS.
Chop saws are pretty basic. Why was I unable to get this one to work?
Thus, I was forced to go against the very nature of man: I had to read the instructions.
This proved of little help as the small section which seemed to relate to HOW TO GET THE FUCKING THING STARTED made no sense to me. Do what?
This all proved quite vexing.
Back and forth I went between instructions and saw. Finally I found a drawing which indicated some sort of small knob adjacent to the larger on knob. Oh. I had to flip the small knob to the left, hold it, and then depress the main knob.
FFS.
Houston, we had a lift off.
The flat trim above the big window, which I laboriously removed of paint, and then extended its width (see Day 61), still needed its drip cap at the very top extended. I scoured for some but to no avail. My only option was cannibalization.
Hauling out the extension ladder, I ruthlessly cut 6-inches of drip cap off the very large north window. Dr. Doug has promised to make me some new drip cap.
With the drip cap now extended and secure, I could…at last…resume installing siding. Each piece though needed to be cut to width, and the old paint removed.
By 5PM I had managed 4 or 5 pieces.
But this is 4 or 5 I will not have to do later.
Oh, I also mowed much of the yard. Tuesday will be brutal (101) so it seemed best to do what I could today when it was a chilly 91. I mowed in short increments. Then I would get some water, sit in the car with the AC on full blast, and check out the latest news. Then some siding. Then some mowing. Then more AC in comfort.
Repeat.
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I lust for a compound miter saw but I just can’t justify the expense as I have no molding to cut any more and I don’t make furniture, nor am I a finish carpenter.
I get the safety button thing and being reduced to reading directions. In my case I bought a new Dewalt drill and it make a horrible sound when I would release the button, like stripping the gears in a car and it would just buck a bit. I couldn’t find any information about it and was sure that it was a lemon. I actually drove downtown to a Dewalt authorized repair place and the old guy sitting outside I talked to told me there was nothing wrong with it. It’s a brake. An apparent safety feature. No where in any of the literature or online could I find any information about this braking safety feature. It’s like they figured everyone already knew about it. Well, I haven’t bought a cordless drill in 20 years so I didn’t know and there was nothing in the instructions either. I haven’t used the new circular saw yet. Can’t wait to discover some new quirk with that.
Mowing in 91 degree weather.
Have I mentioned what a superhero you are? Just make sure your cape doesn’t get caught in the blades.
It’s 5 pieces more. Considering all that Mother Nature has done to deter me, I’d say that is an accomplishment.
Hi, Mary! I have a large compound miter saw on the work table in the Cross House. It’s too large/heavy to move easily. So, I have long mostly used the much smaller/lighter chop saw.
I rented a small one for an afternoon and I fell in love.
Please take it easy in the heat. The work is not worth your health. It’s going to be 119 here today! I’m staying in and thanking the a/c gods for existing.
Sheesh Ross, I have no idea how you work in 91 degrees of heat! It’s only in the 80s here and I struggle to do anything outside.
I totally commiserate with you on ‘safety’ features. I bought a little cordless circular saw (It’s got a 4 inch blade) for small stuff. It uses the same battery as my two drills, very cool. However, the STUPID safety button and handle are configured to make it damn near useless for me.
But that’s not the worst:
Years ago I got a wonderful little chainsaw. A Stihl with a 14 inch bar. I could actually start it in hand, NOT having to put it on the ground and hold it with my foot, which tickled me no end. The first time I used it, I was horrified that I could not even cut down a four inch tree!!!!! I tried all angles, etc, and just couldn’t get it to cut.
I ran into town to the local Stihl shop, plopped the chainsaw on the counter and said “This chainsaw won’t cut sh*t!”
Turned out that particular saw was set up so that it would only cut at a very specific angle, and speed, etc. for safety. It all had to do with the bar and chain. New bar, new chain, and I was cutting down wee trees like a pro!!!!!
Then my husband ran over it with a brush hog.
*sigh*
I am sorry, but I have to report you to the house unAmerican committee. American men do NOT read instruction manuals. Next you will be confessing that you asked for directions while driving, and then who knows??????????????
American men (/women/persons) are the reason, we all have to find our way through *very* lengthy instructions that tell us a long list of common sense things like “don’t use this electric tool in wet surrounding” or “this is no toy for young children” before coming to the point where they explain how the thing works. Every time somebody does some crazy thing with a tool, hurts themself and then sues to manufacturer because this exact crazy thing was not explicitly forbidden in the manual the manuals get even longer.
Nobody told me that I shouldn’t shave the kitty.
Mary? You should not shave a kitty.
Work in heat/rest and hydrate in AC/repeat. An excellent strategy.