When some men have a hard day at work, they buy beer. My husband buys power tools, particularly saws. Being married to a man who routinely handles stress by hacking things to pieces should worry me, but I have other worries, like how to get my feet ready for sandal weather.
Dan has an assortment of killer saws. He has a miter saw, a circular saw, a table saw and a jigsaw. Why he needs four power saws – each with changeable blades – is beyond me. All do the same job – cut wood in two while making a noise like a stuck transmission. But he doesn’t ask me why I need four pairs of black sandals.
Anyone who collects saws like this is either a professional woodworker or a serial killer. Which makes me wonder where Dan fits in. He doesn’t talk about his darker saw compulsions. I suspect they’re criminal and involve visions of work, but don’t tell him I said so. What I do know is that when work drives him nuts, Dan goes into beaver mode. He holes himself up in the garage with his saws.
At the moment he’s making a wood coffered ceiling for what will be his home office, a room in our (soon-to-be-finished?) basement. Here he will continue to work with frustrating people, but in more pleasant surroundings. The project involves covering the ceiling in wood, then using deep moldings to form recessed boxes. The effect is like a big, upside-down egg carton, but don’t tell him I said that. He got this ceiling idea, and the instructions to build it, online, which didn’t exactly inspire my confidence. My worries grew as the saws started coming home.
“You like doing this?” I yelled at him recently between saw blasts.
“I like the solitude,” he said, “and not having to work with other people.” I took that as my exit cue, given he held the saw.
When Michelangelo is done, every time he looks up he’ll credit this ceiling with saving a piece of his sanity. And I’ll know that if he had channeled his frustrations into something less productive, he’d probably be in jail by now. But, again, don’t tell him I said that.
And here’s the other upside. Trim is the single most distinctive feature of any room. Whether you add crown molding, ceiling beams, wainscoting or cornice, or beef up your baseboards and window moldings, the enhancements add character that will distinguish your home from your neighbor’s, or typical production interiors. Hiring a professional trim carpenter to do this is advisable. However, if someone in your house needs to burn off stress, tackling trim can be good therapy. And it beats drinking – as long as you don’t drink and saw.
And don’t tell him I said this, either, but I hope Dan’s work continues stressful. If this keeps up, I can I see wainscoting in the mudroom, ceiling beams in the family room and crown molding in the master. Trim as therapy? Works for me.
Marni Jameson is a nationally syndicated columnist who lives in the Denver area. You may contact her through marnijameson.com.
A few fine points on using saws
Here’s what Dan says a novice needs to know before taking a saw in his (or her) own hands:
Basics. You need a variety of power saws to do trim work. A table saw is a stationary table with a blade through which you move wood. Miter saws cut angles, so wood corners can line up seamlessly. Circular saws are hand-held and maneuverable. A jigsaw is also hand-held and is for cutting more detail and curves.
Varied blades. Each saw can take different blades. In general, the more teeth a blade has, the finer the cut. Dan uses a 100-tooth blade for trim work and a 40-tooth blade when he’s just “ripping wood.” Like razors, blades get dull and need replacing.
Practice on scrap. Never make your first cut on prime wood. Practice on stuff you plan to throw away. Buy at least 10 percent more than you need.
Save money. Pick standard moldings that are commonly in stock. Novel, special-order trim pieces can get pricey.
Find forgiveness. Pros fill in gaps between wood and cover nail heads with wood putty and stain.
Know there’s no substitute for experience. Books about trim, says Dan (who has two), only give the basics. They assume the wall you’re working on is straight and the corner is exactly 90 degrees. They don’t have a chapter on what to do if the wall isn’t straight, the corners aren’t true and the doorjamb isn’t a standard 4 inches thick, but 6 inches thick. That’s where experience comes in handy.
