One, any by far the most important, is the reality suggesting that if we cannot own the entire catalogue, the few tools that we DO own should be maximized for utilitarian and creative purposes. An example from yesterday provides a snapshot of this picture. My brother, while cleaning his garage, deconstructed his work bench. As is common, that bench was initially created and crafted to be used as a door. And in this case a portal slab with a solid core. I took it off his hands and immediately went into hyper recycle mode ending with the idea that it would add nicely to my office in a door to bookshelf transition. The measuring, line snapping, cutting and sanding was easy. Once situated atop my credenza it seemed to cry out for some type of artistic adornment bracing the vertical legs with the horizontal shelf at their union. In cabinet speak this is known as a T plate. Scratching my chin while riffing through the pages of possibilities, I settle on thin metal. I can use my tin snips to fabricate the T and finish with self tapping and self countersinking wood screws. If necessary I can file the edges to ensure no bloody fingers will occur on this watch.
But wait. Why not call my artist friend and see if she has some Plexiglas scraps laying around that would add an entirely higher artistic vibratory level to the gig. I call, she affirms, and brings two 8x10 sheets, the hand cutting tool and a dish of enchiladas over, all in the basket fixed between the handlebars of her hybrid cruiser. I outline the simple project to her and she approves. I then inform her that I do not need the cutter because I will use my jig saw with a special plastic cutting blade. I edit my to-do list placing the blade at the top and re-route my errands to ensure the hardware store (Ace) is the first stop. Easy peasy. I am rolling in creative hubris.
Except that they don’t carry the Black and Decker blade required by the proprietary tang configuration design. I sneer and curse and buy a cutter for eight bucks. But it is driving me nuts so I hit the highway and drive the eleven miles to the nearest Home Depot. They only stock this once common but now apparently rare blade to fit Bosch saws. On the package it saws “Fits All”. I know by looking that this is a lie. I take one off the pegboard and schlep over to a orange-vested sales associate, beg his pardon and inform him that following will come the dumbest question he will hear all day, and perhaps all week. He smiles. I show him the blade and the grandiose claim, saying ‘does this mean ALL saws or just all Bosch saws?’ Once he has regained composure he goes into a sad story of the tool monopoly that has been taking place over the last decade and that a lot of blades, parts, brands and attachments are now obsolete and unavailable. ‘So I have to buy a new saw just to cut some Plexiglas when I already own one?’
He shrugs.
I return home vigilant and motivated to pull a creative work around. I shatter, break and utterly destroy both sheets of plastic using the cutter, a fine-tooth wood saw blade and a hack saw. Moving back to the sheet metal, the tin snips leave a corrugated edge that looks like aluminum lasagna sheets.
Frustrated and annoyed a I take a break using the computer tool as a temporary distraction. I will NOT buy a new Jig saw or a metal cutting tool for this silly little job.
The two brass doorknob plates attach with an awl punch and four small brass screws, the driver for which reminds me that the tools I do own, I need to be master of.
And I can’t remember the other reason.
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