The next house project (not counting landscaping, which we may be hiring someone to do) is molding, both replacing base and installing crown. It was a nice excuse to go out and buy a nice Craftsman 10″ compound dual-bevel laser miter saw, because Sears was having a sale. I thought about getting a 12 inch, because it wasn’t that much more, but it took up more room, and the blades were a lot more (though with carbide, it might have been a one-time purchase, given my low usage level). And I couldn’t really justify it–the ten-inch will do just fine for almost anything I need to do in terms of beveling or mitering. If I need to bevel bigger things, a table saw will do the job. I guess I’m not Tim the Tool Man, even though I am from southeast Michigan.
I continue to be amazed at how low cost good tools have become–particularly tools (and power tools) that didn’t even exist when I was a kid. I suspect that this isn’t factored into inflation much, but it really does add to the national wealth when people can improve their productivity at little cost. In California in the nineties, I did some base molding with nothing but a circular saw, but it was a pain in the ass, and I’m sure that this will do a much better job. Anyway, if blogging seems light, that will be one of the reasons.
inflation has a basic of goods including durables.
appliances,tools,cars are all in there including quality factors
for improvement.
you culd look this up
True, but it also shows a shortcoming in basic inflation calculations – they can’t really be right. For example, how do you include the internet in an inflation calculation? The internet’s existence definately increases everyone’s utility, but it is not in the “basket of goods” – it simply didn’t exist in prior years, so any comparison will be flawed.
Either you will overstate inflation because you will include the cost of the internet in your calculations, or you will understate it because you don’t. Can’t make everyone happy…
If you’re gonna cut molding, I’d get a blade with 180-220 teeth. That’s also good for cutting acrylic, pvc, and all sorts of other stuff.