Milwaukee’s eagerly-awaited dual voltage multi-charger is now available and making its way to workshops and job sites. Part of the appeal of the charger is its ability to charge three 18 volt batteries simultaneously, then sequence to the three 12 volt batteries in less time than the standard sequential chargers that come with the cordless tool kits. […]
My first exposure to battery-powered saws was the sound of one of unknown lineage struggling to get through some 1×6 pine in the lumber barn at Marine Home Center. I always carried a hand saw with me when choosing trim stock, and the sound of a dying saw did little to make me consider the […]
In the early 1970s, my parents bought an old Nantucket house with a kitchen in need of considerable renovation. My father paneled the walls above the counter tops with some very nice, wide 5/4″ pine boards that he hand-planed, hand-beaded and ship-lapped. The window trim was also beaded and I became so enamored of the […]
The first time I made a door jamb I used no power tools. This was not before electricity was available on Nantucket, it was in a house on Orange Street, under the tutelage of my father a good 35 years ago. He had me square off two pencil lines on the ends of two pieces […]
Somewhere around 1977 or ’78 I was working with my father John Van Lieu on an extensive renovation of a pair of old cranberry shacks that had been moved to Baxter Road in Sconset. Part of the job involved converting an adjacent garage into a bedroom. It was a curious structure with sheet metal sides […]
When I first posted about Milwaukee’s M12 Cordless Heated Jacket, it wasn’t cold enough to give it a try. Now it’s December and it’s seen some use. I haven’t worn it working construction, but it’s kept me warm on several photographic shoots and that’s why I wanted it. The jacket is warm even without the […]
Nantucket is the land of fir gutters. Historically correct perhaps, attractive in their own way and approved by the Historic District Commission, they are also heavy, difficult to join effectively, subject to the all the foibles of long pieces of wood and quite expensive. When I was first asked to look into fiberglass gutters, I […]
Combo kits are a good way to go when outfitting with cordless tools. They are more economical than a series of separate purchases and it’s handier to haul around a gear bag or two than a bunch of individual boxes. However, it seems that there is always one item that you might not have chosen […]
Russell Martin Van Lieu (1895-1985) was my grandfather. He was born to a family that worked a farm in Hunterdon County, New Jersey since pre-revolutionary times. I don’t know the precise location of the farm, if it still exists, but it wasn’t far from Van Lieu’s Corner on Back Brook Road. It was not a large […]
