Wood Adds Uniqueness to Any Home
Posted by Dave the How To guy | do it yourself | Posted on February 28th, 2010
Don’t you just love wood? I do! A home featuring wood crafts, whether traditional or contemporary, folk art or hand-carved furniture really captures a unique style of beauty. It doesn’t matter whether you are proudly displaying family heirlooms or collectibles gathered throughout the years. Using wood as a backdrop throughout your home will set the stage for these treasures to come to life and enhance your home’s sense of warmth and style.
Here are some tips for adding wood decor to your home.
Start with your entry way.
A great looking, hand-carved wood entry door will set the tone before anyone even takes a step into your home. A custom built and carved wood door informs those entering your home of your own personal style. To make your wood entry system really stand out it should feature the unique details of the wood’s character. You can get doors like this specially created by artisans who carefully craft each masterpiece to match and highlight a home’s architectural details.
Utilize interior decorative wood pieces.
Decorative pieces are available in the wood species and style of your choice. They can include items from furniture to clocks and artwork to even your windows and doors. 
Many of these pieces are still being created by hand by artisans utilizing their skills. They can be made to replicate the exquisite works of old-world craftsmen, or can be unique new original designs. These craftsmen make each piece individually. Often they choose the lumber themselves and plan each piece of the item specifically to bring out the true beauty of the wood.
Create your own style.
You can carry your wood theme throughout your home including when you select mouldings, cabinetry and any additional woodwork. You need to consider that using the same species of wood all through your home creates a truly harmonious, classic feel. Or by using a blend of two or three different species and coordinating these different types of wood you can create a varied and eclectic look.
There are so many different species to choose from. In North America you can choose from pine, cedar, birch, maple, oak and rosewood. Also great international species like mahogany, acacia, ebony, Brazilian walnut, bamboo and teak add extra special interest. These woods complement each other and promise an exotic design that will add interest and character to each room.
Mix and match old with new.
When decorating, match hand-carved wood items with factory-built accents, which are stylish yet economical. Handcrafted tables, cedar chests and armoires blend seamlessly with manufacturer-made wood picture frames, clocks and candlesticks. Mixing in your antique treasures will add that final touch, giving your home the individuality you desire and a proud display of your prized possessions.
Are You Looking For A Cordless Jigsaw?
Posted by Dave the How To guy | do it yourself | Posted on February 23rd, 2010
Are you are in the market for a new jigsaw? If you are then you’re probably wondering which one you should buy. There are a lot of jigsaws on the market today, each providing a great level of performance for a relatively low price tag. Then there is the question should I stick with a corded tool or go cordless. The answer to that question is “depends”.
Let’s look at some of the considerations. Though cordless tools are getting better all the time, I still think a corded tool outperforms a cordless tool for pure power any day of the week but there are a lot of other considerations, such as convenience, portability etc. So how you plan on using the tool and what you will be using it for are the important decision makers as far as I’m concerned.
So if you’ve made the decision to go cordless for convenience and portability – now which one should you buy?
Another important thing to consider when buying a jigsaw is what kind of features it has. Of course, the more money you pay the more features you are going to get. But at the same time, if you can find a less expensive model with a lot of features then for sure you will have a really good deal.
If you are looking for an entry level cordless jigsaw that is performing really well you should consider the Ryobi P520. This tool will not be as powerful or precise as the top models, but it is still a good quality tool. This model offers easy to use features, including an easy blade change system. It is ideal if you do not use a jigsaw on a regular basis or don’t need a lot of features. Less expensive tools usually use sleeve bearings instead of ball bearings and lesser quality parts so will not stand up to hard use or abuse very well. They are also usually not as precise in the way they cut. The preciseness of a cut though is most often the result of the user. For the price this is a very good tool. Often it can be yours for around $50.
One of the top rated cordless jigsaws on the market today is the 18 volt Bosch 52318. The number one drawing feature of this model is its smooth cutting power. I have used a Bosch jigsaw for many years (though corded) and love the way it operates. The way Bosch has designed the cutting action of the blade it cuts through the material a lot easier then a lot of other makes. The Bosch 52318 cordless jigsaw offers the smoothest operation out of all of the jigsaws on the market today. Another great advantage is that the jigsaw itself carries a three year warranty and the battery carries a two year warranty. This is excellent and means you won’t have to worry about repair costs for the first two years of ownership. Bosch makes some of the most reliable and durable tools in the world so even after the warranty runs out you should not have to worry about problems for many years. Even with all of these features you will only have to pay around $200.
The great thing about cordless saws is when sawing with it you never have to worry about getting tangled up with the cord. So a cordless jigsaw is a great addition to any tool collection. If you are looking at adding a cordless jigsaw to your work shop consider one of the two we’ve looked at. Even though there are many models of cordless jigsaws on the market for you to choose from I think either of these are a great choice.
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