Tim the Tool-Man has Nothing on Me

This is my workbench at school.  This is where I have been spending all of my quality time with those plaster molds and it is where I will be hanging out for the next 15 weeks.  Those three little blue drawers contain all of my tools.  The fact that I have a workbench and drawers full of tools makes me laugh aloud.  The industrial size trash can, yep, that's all mine too.  If you would have told me a year ago that I would be proficient with a vice grip and regularly rummaging around a drawer looking for the specific angle finder I needed, I would have thought you were nuts.  I actually think it is normal to use a staple gun every single day now.  I am not sure if I have ever used power tools in my life, but now I use them almost daily.  Band saws??  No problem.  Drill press??  I can change a drill bit like it is my job.  Oh wait...I think it kind of is...

We use hack saws, we use cast separators, there are things called plumb bobs.  I am learning to eyeball what 1/16 of an inch is and I actually can differentiate between different types and sizes of screwdrivers.  I am getting used to the whirring, loud noises these machines make - although I am still not a fan of the noise of anything cutting metal.  I own a respirator (pictures to come during lamination Monday), I carry a tape measure in my pocket, and I have learned to choke up on a hammer.

The whole thing amuses me, but I am learning to enjoy it.  This is a picture of me drilling holes into plastic for the first time.  Notice the look of uncertainty on my face...I had no idea that making a drill go straight into a hole took some actual finesse (and arm strength)!  So, I am getting there.  I own some of my own tools, I am sure there will be more purchased in my future.  I am learning to clean them so they don't rust over time (rookie mistake made the first week of classes).  I often lose my safety goggles because they are always on my head - this is a good sign, it means that I am wearing them more often than not!  Overall, I have become quite the handyman (woman)...I think maybe I shall start offering my services to people...hanging their pictures in their apartments and whatnot.  I am excellent with a level!