New York Renovator

We need a new jigsaw. We have an old Skil that we have been enduring (and I mean enduuuuuring) but I’ve decided that I’m not going to skimp on tools for our kitchen renovation project. Do you realize that when we moved here, the ONLY tools we had were a small hammer, a flathead screwdriver, and a (very lame) battery-operated handheld screwdriver? I did buy a handsaw. Can you believe that I built my front porch and renovated my front entry with a HANDSAW?! Yes, I did! Oh, the agony. And it’s no wonder that everything is curvy. :S

Well, we’ve acquired a few tools over the years. Hands down, my favorite tool is my miter saw. Oh my word, I love that thing! WHAT a blessing. And I do love my 14.4v power screwdriver. I would also love my jigsaw, but the one we have is unlovable. It stinks. It sticks, it overheats, it moans it groans. I’m getting a nice one this time. We went to the Big Box home improvement stores in the area.. looked around… waited *forever* for a tool department representative who never showed up… and left empty-handed. I wonder how many sales are lost because Big Box stores don’t have enough folks in the departments? I couldn’t find the jigsaw I wanted… it was on the display case, but no where on the shelves.

It's a 4.5 amp with a dust blower and a dial to adjust cutting speed. Sweet!

It doesn’t matter, because I came home to see if Buy.com has any jigsaws… and can you believe it?! They do! These guys have everything, I tell ya, and it’s always on sale! They even sell the blades! And I love Black & Decker products. They are built very well, in my opinion. Oh sure, I’d love a $1000 DeWalt hanging from my belt, but I couldn’t afford that- I’m not a professional. I think Black & Decker make the best “mid-line” products. And I love Craftsman, too. Buy.com has them all! Isn’t the jigsaw sweeeet! It’s an orbital saw- which means it makes curves as well as straight cuts. (heart beating with joy). I have to saw lathe in the upstairs bedrooms, to feed electrical wiring in– need me a saw. I’d be grateful for an orbital, as well, because cutting in squares–especially when you’re cutting a hole in a wall– is tough.

So the jigsaw I like is the Black & Decker JS6000B Jigsaw. Isn’t it beautiful!? The price is great: $53 which includes shipping. Me likey.

About a year ago, I blogged about my plight with can openers. They hate me! When I married, I got three can openers as wedding gifts. Before my first anniversary, they were all dead. I have tried buying various models, only to see them defunct within a few months. I reverted to my very old hand can opener, something my grandmother gave me when I was single. Her can opener has lasted me years– decades! But last year, it started to fail. The spinner wasn’t spinning. I bought another hand-cranking can opener (all made in China, now), and it broke within a month. Again, I bought another, and it broke. I was at wit’s end!

My sister read my post and came over one day, carrying her can opener. She said she had two, and I could have one of them. (Ain’t she sweet?) She showed me how to use it and treat it real nice (remember I said can openers hate me). But this was a can opener like no other– it didn’t have any flowery names like “Sunbeam” or “Can Opener Delight.”
This was a honking towering big black monster with a growling blade. It was a BLACK & DECKER can opener!! The father of all can openers!

Nonetheless, I had a pretty bad track record with can openers. But I was reminded that although can openers hate me, my power tools do love me. I immediately bonded with this can opener because it has the same name as my jigsaw and my screwdriver set (very reliable). Black & Decker make monster power saws– a can opener by them has got to be good, right?!

Well I’m happy to say that the Black & Decker has performed exceptionally well. It tolerates my nuances, my quirks, my sloppy can-holding technique… and still the B&D bites through my canned corn like it’s a stick of butter. I’m pretty impressed. I think the end of this story just may be “and they lived happily ever after.”