Know Your Limits

A lot of stuff I “know” about home improvement and rehabbing furniture (and, well, a lot of stuff) is through trial and error. Yeah, you can read about stuff online, people can tell you how to do it, but actually getting in there and DOING IT is the best way to learn.

But it is really important to know your limits and to put safety first. Case in point: bolt cutters.

I thought cutting the lock off of the garage/ to be studio would be simple. I called about ten locksmiths to get pricing, but they were all so expensive. I’m pretty cheap, so buying a pair of bolt cutters seemed like a good option. I figured, “hey, if I can cut the bottom off of a birdcage with a sawzaw, this will be a piece of cake.” Nope, wrong, stupid assumption.

I felt all cool carrying the huge tool through Home Depot. Then I got to the garage and couldn’t figure out how to use it. After looking online, I was just plain afraid of cutting a finger off. My friend Lorraine said she thought her boyfriend would be able to do it pretty easily since he grew up on a farm and he’s got the muscle and know how to use random tools.

Well, Brett wasn’t going to be over til later in the day, and Lorraine is pretty strong, so she thought she’d give it a go. I mean, the girl can ride her bike everywhere, go running, do several workout classes, and have energy to go out or work a full shift, so her theory that she’d be able to do it wasn’t that far fetched. Yep, she did do a better job than me, but still couldn’t get it open.

So in walks Brett, picks up the bolt cutters, and snaps the lock like it’s a toothpick. Gotta love a farm boy. Here he is completely schooling us.