One of the benefits of working for an investment company's data center is they observe NYSE holidays... so I get to stay home and work in the shop on MLK's birthday.

Time to set up some of those bargain Ryobi bench tools.  Here we're getting the drill press set up.  I actually broke one part on this while setting it up, but Ryobi's customer service was great.  Five minutes or less on a toll free number, no hassle, no fuss, no cost... "we'll send you out a new part".  (update:  received it Jan 23rd, as promised).




Bench press and bandsaw, ready for action.


 

I ran out to get a haircut and on the way back stopped at Radio Shack to pick up a butane soldering iron for $20.  I've used these before and think they are the cat's meow.  Radio Shack does NOT sell the butane, though, so a quick run into Ace Hardware netted these $4.50 cans of butane fuel.  You'll see where we use these items in a few more days...



I've decided I am not going to use chromate-based 2-part epoxy primers--just too toxic for use around the house with the kids and all.  Read a LOT of reviews by other builders and decided to use Sherwin-Williams GBP 988 self-etching primer after cleaning the metal with MEK.  I had to go to two different stores to get this; the Sherwin-Williams "paint store" near my house has neither of them.  I had to go to the auto-paint Sherwin-Williams for the GBP 988, and then across town to the Sherwin-Williams Industrial Products store for the MEK.  The MEK was much cheaper at Sherwin Williams than what Home Despot wanted to charge.  I bought more than you see here, this is just a sample for the requisite picture.  I plan to prime "strategically", not "liberally".




Bench/disc sander.  May not use this a lot on the airplane, but I also enjoy woodworking, so it was a nice addition to the tools.  Can never have enough tools, right guys?  :-)




And, I finally set up the bench grinder I bought for $20 last October when I started working on the garage floor.  I put the scotchbrite wheel in the left side.  I have to move the grinder when handling a large item due to the cabinet next door.




One big happy family...




And then my phone rang; it was Sandra at Avery Tools telling me my squeezer had just arrived.  What great timing!  I dropped what I was doing and ran over there with my youngest daughter to pick it up.  I was surprised that it wasn't as big as other pictures I've seen have given me the impression of.  Here's a photo next to a normal sized coffee cup for comparison.  I bought that coffee cup during a visit to Sedona's airport... no, I DROVE in, I didn't FLY into the airport, but I hope to rectify that some day.  What a GORGEOUS part of the country!  If you've never been to the red rocks of Sedona, you just have to go!!