Shop accessories

A long held dream is finally coming true; less than a week from now I will
be closing on my new, to me, house with a two car garage that will be my
woodworking shop. I've lived in a rented house for far too long, and my
tools have been sadly under utilized.

I started packing them down today. And I came to realize that I have some
kind of relationship with most all of them. The tablesaw that I spent hours
tuning up and polishing, but made far too few cuts on. The jointer that has
a broken return spring on the cutterhead cover, I need to fix that one. Two
rust spots on my cast iron shaper wing caught my attention; I'll need to
work on that too. The router goes back in its box. The jig saw that I have
used exactly once...

And I look at all the small stuff. The jigs that I've made and never throw
away, the coffee cup holder, the little place on my bench where I keep my
pencils, and I see what makes this MY shop. The little accessories.

I'm thinking about this when I head out for breakfast/Lunch with SWMBO. She
works Saturday mornings and I'm meeting her at a restaurant. On the way
home, I make a rash desicion to stop by the Accessory Store. They usually
have a sale on week-ends. Walking along the aisles I cannot see anything
that I really need among all the things I really want. I talk to one of the
sales guys, but he is of no help in my situation. I decide to just go home
and continue packing.

And then I see just what I need. A used one. A perfect one to complement
the two I already got. (Hey, who of us has say only one router? Only one
hammer?) I've already got one small and one really big, and I needed a pair
of the small ones. The big one is tan and really, really big, while the
little one is black and fairly small. Each is excellent, but very different
and while they complement each other, one cannot do the job of the other.
This new one would be a perfect match for the little one. Even the color
was right.

I looked it over carefully, and then happily signed the papers. No
warranties, this being a used one, but I didn't need any. I already know
this type, and I know it is good. I told them to hold it at the store until
I have moved, no point in taking it to the shop that really isn't there
anymore. And it will be well taken care of where it is until they deliver
it to our new address.

We havent' decided on a name yet, but we'll find one. He is a 4 year old
mini-pincher mix of some sort, and I adopted him from the pound today.
Because what good is a shop without a shop dawg or two? Or, in my case now,
three? Sadie is a black and tan mini-pincher mix born on 9/11-2001 also
adopted from the pound, and Duchess is a five year old (we think, don't
really know) English Mastiff adopted from a non-profit animal rescue place.

Life is good :)

Otto

(And the Accessory Store? Pet-Smart. The let the rescue places show dogs
there on week-ends.)