Dave455
Well-known member
It may not have escaped the notice, of even the most garage centric reader, that today is Christmas Eve.
So, when asked by a friend if I'd help finish her decorations by putting up some pictures, the answer, in the spirit of goodwill to all men (and especially fit girls) was of course yes!
Now, you can buy (or at least I can buy - substitute 'American made' if you live there) British made picture hooks for little money! Unfortunately, my friend hadn't! I wasn't going to start moaning about Chinese shite on Christmas Eve so I got started!
I'm no novice at putting in nails, and I know a succession of gentle taps is required. Nevertheless, despite softish plaster, I seemed to be microns from disaster throughout the operation!
First one done o.k. but number two wasn't happening! The brick was just a tad harder, and every pin, no matter how straightly held, and no matter how carefully hammered, bent before it would penetrate the brick! I kept thinking I was doing something wrong before I remembered those words on the packing 'Made in China'. Of course it wasn't going to work!
Thankfully I had my Festool CXS drill with me, so although it's by no means a masonry drill, this superbly capable little drill/driver and a Presto drill bit soon had a succession of holes nearly drilled! I plugged them with Thorsmans plugs (by far the best) and fixed the hooks with superbly low profile Orbix screws! Job done!
So, the moral of the story - Part One : If you need a job doing by a certain time, don't rely on Chinese shite to do it! Part Two, if you ignore part one, have some decent tools and materials on hand to resolve the mess!
Merry Christmas!
So, when asked by a friend if I'd help finish her decorations by putting up some pictures, the answer, in the spirit of goodwill to all men (and especially fit girls) was of course yes!
Now, you can buy (or at least I can buy - substitute 'American made' if you live there) British made picture hooks for little money! Unfortunately, my friend hadn't! I wasn't going to start moaning about Chinese shite on Christmas Eve so I got started!
I'm no novice at putting in nails, and I know a succession of gentle taps is required. Nevertheless, despite softish plaster, I seemed to be microns from disaster throughout the operation!
First one done o.k. but number two wasn't happening! The brick was just a tad harder, and every pin, no matter how straightly held, and no matter how carefully hammered, bent before it would penetrate the brick! I kept thinking I was doing something wrong before I remembered those words on the packing 'Made in China'. Of course it wasn't going to work!
Thankfully I had my Festool CXS drill with me, so although it's by no means a masonry drill, this superbly capable little drill/driver and a Presto drill bit soon had a succession of holes nearly drilled! I plugged them with Thorsmans plugs (by far the best) and fixed the hooks with superbly low profile Orbix screws! Job done!
So, the moral of the story - Part One : If you need a job doing by a certain time, don't rely on Chinese shite to do it! Part Two, if you ignore part one, have some decent tools and materials on hand to resolve the mess!
Merry Christmas!
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