cause for you adding a few more paragraphs to enlighten us: you've brought up some good points and usually I won't argue with using a torque wr. but that's not all of it and I believe your experience, feel has a major roll in your techique's. Just one quote from a professional engine builder justaluker. Course this in in a critical area not backyard or shadetree wrenching. "Go by the stretch and not the torque. The torque reading can be affected by many things, such as the "smoothness"/surface finish of the threads on the bolt and the nut/threads in the rod, the type and amount of lubricant used on the threads, the surface finish/hardness on the washer (if a washer is used), etc. "The bolt stretch is affected by the material properties and bolt dimensions". Just cause you torque someting don't mean it won't fail. too many factors involved. I sure you never had any failures caused you used NEW fastner hardware each time and cal. you torque wrenches, But you also stated that you catch some pending problems? How did you catch them? wasn't by your years of torquing, feel, (I find if hard to believe you torqued every bolt/nut in 20 years) and assembling then something felt wrong and feel did have a big role in it when not using a dial indicator and stretching. I have found cause some of my jobs required me to do both. That the stretch usually falls within the torque band unless a fatigue problem has occured (I won't add cleaning and inspection (wich includes NDI) cause that is norm in my profession). ANY fastner reused could have a fatique problem cause you cannot verifiy the orqinal torque or torques or strengh of the matierals without NDIing (how many of us do that at home) Lets face it most HO will not use a torque wr., or new fastnering hardware, or will clean the mating surfaces and theads, or even us lubrication. Tight is in the hands of the one turning the wrench reqardless the method and IMO feel plays a big roll. No feel No Clue!?! I agree anybody that has no expierence or feel to assemble should use a torque wr. But IMO the majority of use tighting commmon fastners can do it based on the calbriated elbow or maybe I the only one that can do it. The dead horse has risen!

I never did get any food grade lubricant, but at least now I know that it exists. I don't have the problem blender anymore, but I do have the Black & Decker blender that I bought 14 years ago. I store it in the garage and use it only for making hot sauce when I have chocolate Habanero chilies. I have a Vitamix blender in the kitchen and use that the rest of the time, although I more frequently use a stick blender.

Hi igloo, As a woman who started out not knowing pliers from a wrench, and has since done almost everything in our whole-house remodel, I'll give you my perspective. I think I remember you saying in the past that you're a small person? Even if not, these tools are made for men. They're heavy -- I've given myself wrist/thumb problems from using my drill a lot because of the torque when it stops. So check out any hand held tools for a while to make sure they're very manageable for you. Next, it doesn't seem to me that you need a table saw. That opens a whole can of worms: tools like TSs, jointers, planers, etc, need a very good dust collection system, and that gets complicated and controversial. It's the fine dust, the dust you can't even see, that is harmful to your lungs. You don't actually have to worry as much about the typical sawdust you generate, the stuff you're very aware of, because you kick it out of your lungs when you breathe. The fine stuff lodges in them. Given that, if you start wanting to build cabinets and/or furniture, you will need a TS, and I definitely recommend buying a cabinet saw (as opposed to a contractor's saw) that costs at least $2300 or so. The Sawstop is a very good saw, from what I've read. But you're paying $1000 extra for the stop feature. Losing fingers happens often enough to seasoned woodworkers, but danger from kickback is a lot more common, and it can't stop that. For $1K less you can get others of a similar quality (I have and like the Powermatic 2000.) The cheaper ones (contractor's saws) are inaccurate in any number of ways for cabinetmaking. I bought an $88 wet saw from HD a few years ago. I installed tile on three smallish rooms and it worked like a charm. Much better to buy than rent 'cuz they're not expensive, and you can take your time with them. I'm impressed by what I've seen of Festools, but I've worked with their vacuum and a Fein Turbo III vacuum, and I prefer the latter. (I encouraged my boss to buy the Festool vac and now I wish I hadn't, it's unwieldy.) The Fein, a little more expensive, with a HEPA filter, moves around easily and is less clunky. And its suction (see stats on website) is at least as good as on the Festool. You'd have to check out whether its hose will hook up to Festool tools. If you're doing only trim work, you don't need to worry about most of these things. I'd start with just the tools that are needed. If you find you need more, you can buy as you go. Buying tools never stops. Even tho I've got an 8" jointer, cabinet saw, etc, in my basement, that work very well for my household needs (building cabinets) they look like toys compared to the ones my boss uses. So spend your money selectively and try to resist buying all kinds of things you won't use much! Sombreuil said a very true thing: Great work can be done with a limited number and quality of tools, but it takes longer and requires more experience. Don't expect things like miter saws to work right out-of-the-box. They need to be tweaked and tuned. And for a beginner this will be even more potentially frustrating, but it is a wonderful way to learn. I'm far from a pro but I've found out that it takes a lot of skill to do good work! Crown moldings are among the most frustrating things I've ever done, because no angle in your house is 90 degrees. Best of luck and I hope you enjoy the work!

My wife got me a 6-piece DeWalt 18 volt set for my birthday. So far it has been great. I've used the 1/2" drill a ton. It is a little heavy so after a long project it can get tiring (i put a drywall screw attachment that countersinks the screw to the proper depth, and after hanging 3 sheets on a ceiling my arm was like jello, so I switched to a corded drywall screwdriver). The recip. saw has been pretty good. I've cut off a bunch of old copper drain pipe with it, and used it to demo a small wall. The battery did die fairly quickly when doing the demo. I was sceptical about the circular saw, but for light-duity work its prety good. I've cut through quite a few 5/8 sheets of plywood with no trouble. If you had to cut a lot of plywood you'd want a corded saw of course. It worked pretty well for my bathroom remodel The impact driver works well. Smaller and lighter than the drill so I often throw a phillips bit in it and use it for a screw driver (but depending on what you are screwing you need careful since it doesn't have an adjustable torque setting). plenty of torque - this can drive anything I need it to. The grinder is the last tool I tried out. I used the metal disc to cut off a few copper strips, and it worked well. I've also used a diamond tile blade to do a few cuts in tile. The battery didn't last that long. I think I'd rather have a corded tool and not bother with cordless. i noticed the first time I used it the safety didn't work, so I think I might call and see how DeWalt's service is. flashlight - it works, not much else to say about that.