Tool Crave

Today's episode is with former This Old House colleague, Dan DiClerico. Dan spent 10 years testing gear and products at Consumer Reports and now is the Home Expert and Smart Home Strategist at HomeAdvisor.

Dan shares his thoughts on the current state of smart home technologies, the best approach to bringing smart products into your home, and his personal experience renovating a 130-year old Brooklyn brownstone.

https://twitter.com/dandiclerico

I've found one of the easiest ways to organize your tools is to delineate them as woodworking or mechanical.
Woodworking tools include saws, drills, clamps, basically anything that is used to modify wood.
Mechanical tools include anything used to work on my car or truck or to fix plumbing or electrical issues around the house.
Naturally, the mechanical tools can be found and organized in my garage, and my woodworking tools are to be stored and accessed in my shed. This makes sense as it is nearby where they will be mostly used.
Although this idea sounds like common sense, it has taken me a few months to realize it's the best way to organize my tools.
On the next episode I will get more granular and provide actionable tool storage solutions for my mechanical tools in the workshop as well as my woodworking tools in the shed.
Thanks for listening and please send an email or DM me at ToolCrave with any questions or comments.

I just returned from 24 hours in Las Vegas where I attended World of Concrete 2021. It's the first trade in Las Vegas in a year and it was great to see customers and exhibitors back.
The West Hall was also open for the first time and it's a gorgeous addition to the Las Vegas Convention Center.
In this episode I share my impressions of the show and how it relates to the building industry. I also give a shout out to the brands and media who showed up and worked the show. It was great to see all of you!

Recently a friend asked if he should invest his money in an expensive pro-grade miter saw or go with a cheaper saw for under $300.
The basic answer is to balance your budget with your needs and frequency of use. This can be applied to any power tool purchase.
Other factors include a previous investment of batteries, which means you can save money by purchasing the tool only, as well as your skill level. Someone with experience can make a cheaper saw work for them almost as well as a professional grade saw.
If you like this episode, please leave me a review and send me a message or email with your question.
Thanks,
Timothy

Today my guest is my good friend Shelly Miller Leer. She’s a designer, writer, and teacher, who specializes in the art of upholstery. She’s championed the movement towards restoring, restyling, and repurposing, long before it was the trendy thing to do.

Shelly just launched a new book on upholstery and is currently teaching out of her HomeRoom shop in Indianapolis. In this episode, Shelly shares some of her secrets to upholstery, her journey as a writer and teacher, and the tools you need to get started upholstering your own furniture.

https://thehomeroomshop.com/
https://www.instagram.com/home_room_shop/
https://www.facebook.com/ModHomeEc-139138492763286/

The Little Upholstery Book