Size does matter

This afternoon I gathered up the pieces for several soldering tasks and headed off to the kitchen to assemble my small soldering station. Got out the ceramic board, the charcoal brick, the crappy flux (source of many of my soldering woes - better stuff is on order), assorted tweezers and picks, and set up the pickle pot (a tiny slow cooker). Oh yeah, and I got out my little butane "torch". It worked fine for soldering ends onto chain and soldering bezel wire closed and even sweat soldering a tiny peach onto some textured silver I brought home with me. Then I tried to remove a part I had soldered onto some copper incorrectly and, because I used hard solder originally, it took ages. Only slightly daunted, I tried to ball the ends of some heavy wire... and tried and tried. Total failure. The ends of the wire look a little mushy, that's it. Finally, I pulled over a stool, sat down, and decided to finish texturing a piece of silver I'd started reticulating at PV. I held the torch on that sucker for a good three minutes and only managed to get the thinnest corner red-hot, which isn't hot enough. Feh.

You know what this means, right? I have to buy a bigger torch. Normally, I would celebrate the opportunity to buy more tools, but a torch presents some problems. My studio is on the third floor, but I solder in the kitchen (first floor) because I like the fact that there are fire-proof surfaces to work on and a killer vent over the stove to deal with fumes. That's where I run the kiln for PMC and enameling, too. I don't really like the idea of having a tank of acetylene or propane on the third floor in what is essentially a spare bedroom. (No bed anymore, just acres of jewelry-making supplies.) Rick Marshall said it's actually illegal to have acetylene in the house. So what do I do? The garage is a shell with no electricity, so that's not an option. The basement is damp, moldy, and stinky, so that's definitely not an option. Time for some research. In the meanwhile, it's little tiny bits of easy solder for me. Feh.

Tools, redux

I've had my new pliers for a few days now and am in tool heaven. Using the new round nose pliers is like driving a Porsche, so sleek and maneuverable. The jaws are quite a bit longer than my old ones though, which took a little getting used to. Since one of my mottoes is "why buy one tool when you can buy three?", I also bought a pair of thin chain nosed pliers and a new set of wire snips with a retainer. No more bits of wire zooming around the studio! Yeah, I know the old finger-on-the-wire-to-prevent- shrapnel trick, but I never remember to do it. I think because it always seems like the wire could go shooting into my finger flesh. The thin chain nosed pliers are fantastic for working in tight spots, though they feel so delicate that I'm inclined to be a bit tentative with them.

And for once the denizens of the 8th dimension were cooperative: I found my old round nose pliers the day after I received the new tools! They were in my wire drawer buried under, what else?, a bunch of wire.

Tools and life

My round-nose pliers have disappeared into the 8th dimension. I know that's where they are because about a million years ago I saw The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension and I learned that the 8D denizens are evil, greedy bastards. (Also that brain surgeons in chaps are hot.) Am I crying? No. It's a chance to buy tools and, even better, upgrade! I love tools. Tools are my second favorite kind of accessories, right after shoes.

About ten years ago I started woodworking - it all came from my love of Craftsman furniture. (Speaking of movies, remember Dead Again? That might be my favorite Ken Branagh movie. It's got one serious issue though: he's a lowly-ish detective with a house FULL of Craftsman/Mission furniture. Sorry, not economically plausible.) I found a wonderful book of reprinted instructions for making Mission furniture originally published between 1909 and 1912. The instructions were so simple and clear that I was inspired to try my hand at woodworking. And, with just a power drill, jigsaw, and hand tools, I made this:

It turned out well, though I did goof and put a non-authentic satin finish on it. Still, many years later it's a very serviceable and handsome piece of furniture. Apparently gambling addiction often starts when the first bet is a winning bet. The same is clearly true of tool addiction. After that initial success I started accumulating power tools at an ever increasing rate. Within a couple of years I had three power drills, one of them a hammer drill, a circular saw, a table saw, a compound mitre saw, three sanders, a router, and a biscuit joiner. I was in tool heaven. I built a 10' x 7' wall of built-in shelves in my office, complete with a built-in desk. I built several tables, gear boxes for horsie friends, a wine cabinet, and a couple of free-standing bookcases. In the garden I built two Wave Hill chairs and a table, a tuteur, an 8' long trellis for climbing roses and clematis, and several raised beds. And I repaired furniture, cabinets, woodwork, whatever. I learned many things:

• Power tools aren't optional for women who lack upper body strength - they allow you to work much more safely and accurately. Don't obsess about being a "real" woodworker and doing everything first with hand tools.
• "Fine woodworking" isn't for me - the fiddly, precise, incredibly time-consuming work drives me nuts. Especially the sanding, hours and hours of sanding. Not happening.
• Varnish is not my friend.
• Even a new biscuit joiner can't save a failing marriage.

I haven't done much woodworking for the last 4 years or so, partly because my current basement is wet and moldy, party because I moved on to painting and jewelry making and a whole new set of tools. Which brings me back to the round-nose pliers. The question is how much to upgrade. Do I go for the $56 Swanstrom pliers, the $43 Lindstrom Rx pliers, or the $18.50 apparently generic German pliers? My inner shoplete says, go for the Lindstroms, but I rather like the longer jaws of the less expensive German pliers. With any luck, the 8D denizens won't return my old pliers till after I've ordered new ones.