Heart and Mind

So...Should I Cut Some Wood?

It's always fun to spend money on ourselves, isn't it? Particularly when we get new "toys"—electronics and other big ticket items—it alway feels good.

But sometimes it doesn't feel quite as good as we think it should. Sometimes there's a sense of let-down when we get home with our new purchase. The classic example I always use to describe this is buying a new TV.

No matter how snazzy your new TV is, at least for me, there's always this weird anti-climactic thing that always happens because the fancy new TV still shows the same programs as the old TV did. I love the little flat-screen TV in my office, but after I installed it on the wall, it was like, "Um... OK...I kind of want to watch it...to 'play with it,' if you will, but there's really nothing on!" And even if there was, how different would it really be than how it was on the old TV? (Yeah, I know... high definition stuff, wider screens, blah, blah, blah...but, again, it's the same crappy shows—the same opportunities, if you will—as you've always had.)

Well, today I did something that brings this sense of "let down" to a new level. I bought a new table saw.

See, Im something of a weekend-warrior handyman. I'm not a pro, but I've got lots of power tools and I've spent hundreds and hundreds of hours renovating my house and doing home-improvement projects. But I've never had my own table-saw. I always borrow my father's. In his words, "Some tools you only need one of in the family."

In some ways, he's right. What are the odds that he's using a table saw on the same day that I am? I can always borrow his, and I usually do.

But more and more lately, there's been this problem. The table saw is not here when I need it. You see, there are times where you're doing these massive, month-long or longer renovation projects where you gut everything and have a big plan and kind of know what tools you're going to need. That's when I usually have the table saw at hand. But the problem is with all the projects that are smaller in nature where I don't expect to need a table saw, but then end up needing one.

Last weekend, I tackled a small project that's needed to be done for a while. We decided to get a new rug in the bedroom, so it was as good a time as any to take care of some lingering projects in that room. Namely, I had to re-frame out a closet and hang two closet doors, and do some molding work around both this new closet and one of the other doors. In truth, if you had asked me, I'd rate this project as a "1" or "2" on a scale of "1 to 10 Home Improvement," where 10 is a huge project (my kitchen was completely gutted and took 6 months of weekends and night—that was a 10.)

Well, one thing I should know by now is that even though this was easy in a relative sense, there's no such thing an "easy" project. Things always come up that you don't expect and things always take longer than you anticipate.

Well, on the outset I expected to use a couple of my tools for this little project, but all this other stuff came up. And for such a small project, besides using a full arsenal of hand tools (screw drivers, hammers, drills, etc.), I also ended up using a miter saw, a circular saw, a saber saw, and a couple of other things. And, I needed a table saw, which, of course, I didn't have. It was at my father's house. I had to make do without.

Well, this week, I was trying to get something out of the shed, which is always an adventure, and I confirmed that I have too much crap in there. Including... this old table saw.

"Yeah, but I thought you said you didn't have a table saw."

True, I said that, and I kind of lied, because I did have this old one that is in my shed that someone gave me. But I sort of didn't lie, either, because this one is really weak and the guide is a little warped and...well... it's just not particularly good. It often screws things up worse then it helps matters. So much so that I don't use it for any work that needs to be cut rather precisely.

So, I did have a table saw, but it's one I don't really use for important cuts. When I needed a table saw last weekend, I used my circular saw and tried to keep my hand steady.

Still, I've never thrown out this old table saw, because I always think about these scenarios where I might desperately be in need of a table saw that's at my father's house, and how this old guy may save my butt. I have to keep it.

Well...when I got pissed off about all the crap in my shed and combined that emotion with the fact that I'm coming off a project where I needed a table saw that I didn't have, I made an executive decision. I was going to go out tomorrow (which was today) and buy a new, decent table saw for myself. Sorry, Dad, but I need my own.

Once I resigned myself to the fact that it was well worth it to spend the money, then it got exciting. I thought about how fun it would be to find a table saw and put it in my truck and bring it home. I can set it up in the basement next to my miter saw. This will be a great addition to my collection!

So I went out today and bought it. But talk about anti-climatic. So...now I'm sitting here with this table saw in the box on my living room floor. Do I even set it up? What am I going to do with it? Set it up in the basement and cut some wood for fun? I guess I'm mildly interested in "trying it out," but after that...

"Yup. It works. Cuts nice. Um... now what?"

See, this is really a lot delayed gratification at work. Basically, right now, I feel like I just spent hundred-plus bucks for nothing. And I have the headache of having to assemble this piece of "nothing."

There will come a day when I get that gratification. There will be a time when I need it, and it will be worth twice what I paid simply because I have it and am able to get the job done. I'll think, "How f**king cool is this? I can do the job right and I don't have to struggle using the wrong tool or worry about borrowing someone's equipment." That happens with all my power tools, actually. For real. Every time I miter something with my chop saw, for example, I think, "This rocks that I can do." After all, I well remember before I had one of those and I don't take for granted how cool it is to have the right tool to get the job done.

But I may not need this new saw for another six months. It all depends on circumstance. Delayed gratification, indeed.

posted by Steve @ 11:14 PM