This was first posted September 9, 2010.
My new toy…no, it’s not a Wii… (people tell me I should want one, but I don’t think so)
no, it’s not a new iPod… (I’m very happy with my “ancient” gum stick iPod)
no, it’s not an iPad… (though THAT is on my Big Wish List – the one that I’ll get if I win the Lottery)
no, it’s not a Dobsonian telescope (also on my Lottery Wish List)
no, it’s not a new dog kennel, agility equipment, ducks or goats
no, it’s not clothing or shoes… (ewwwww, anyway – except for sweatshirts and hiking boots!)
What is it, you ask?
I’m sure it’s on every woman’s wish list…I’m the proud owner of a new (used) tile saw! Tile saw. A saw you cut bathroom tile with? Yeah. One of those. I’m thrilled.
Not only can I supposedly now tile my bathroom, I can also cut my fossils into manageable pieces… their sandstone matrix is softer than tile… and I can also cut deer antlers into buttons or handles. Cool. This afternoon I was set up and ready to go. There was a stiff breeze though, and I had to weight my table down with 4 gallons of paint!
I played with my fossils first and I had a great time!
Remember my idea for my fossils? Time to trim them down! A few seconds later…
The fossil is now the center of attention, you don’t have to search for it!I had much success with this and was very gung-ho about the whole process.
Unfortunately, I then moved on to tiling my bathroom.
Oh, my. Failure. No.
FAILURE.
I think my thin set was too thin. The tiles kept sliding even though I had them taped in place and the suction was GOOD! I had placed seven and had to take them down. Then I had to scrape the wall. Scrape the tiles. Wash the tiles. Decide what to do with my thin set because by then it was starting to dry. I had mixed too much with too much water. It was TOTAL FAILURE. I couldn’t bear to waste the mix, so I hauled it out to my Studio and applied it to the rough shelf on the top of the nestboxes… It may prevent me from getting a few splinters in the future. Or it may need to be scraped off and discarded, but I feel I at least tried to use it productively!
Then I spent what felt like a loooong time cleaning up the trowels and buckets and my new saw.<BIG HUMONGOUS GIGANTIC SIGH>
I shall have to try again. Unless…Unless…. There’s a volunteer out there somewhere! I’ll cut the tile with my new toy… you stick ’em to the wall!
Find me here!
We DO learn! With power tools, being careful is so important. I think accessing the fossil is really cool!
Oh my. Yep failure in DIY has been my experience too. Don’t like failing, but you do learn from it.