I would like to start doing some DIY work at home.

Buying power tools these days is like finding a needle in a haystack. There are lots of brands to choose from, but what brand offer the best value for money and the best service?

What would people prefer to buy:
1. Ridgid Tools
2. Makita
3. De Walt
4. Or something else

Are there any ones that are just great for you to eat healthy, fresh foods at home?
Answering my own question, here’s what I like (despite what people said in the last question, this is not an ad!):

For me, I love this chopper thing. http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-GOC-300-International-Onion-Chopper/dp/B000A389IM/ref=pd_bbs_7/104-5667176-8248749?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1189802270&sr=8-7 The reviews on Amazon say that a lot of people’s broke, but I’ve been using mine regularly for maybe 6 months now. I love it! It’s so easy to chop on tomatoes and onions where otherwise it was just too much work and easier to eat less healthy things. It’s easy to clean and no crying for onions!

Also, I just got this awesome panini-maker. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008ZCKO/ref=s9_asin_title_1/104-5667176-8248749?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=1W3AY94VWAC989XSNSMF&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=278240701&pf_rd_i=507846 I’ve never liked cold sandwiches too much, but this panini maker makes it easy to have delicious, melty-cheese, healthy sandwiches. It’s very easy to clean.

OK… I’m going to school for welding right now (I’m gonna be a boilermaker, they make big $$ and i love welding anyway) but i want to learn all this other stuff cuz it’d be really useful. so here is the list of things i’ve come up with so far:

- CARPENTRY: I was in a cabinet making business for a while and learned that i love carpentry, but without a job in carpentry i really can’t learn much (i quit because i needed money and the business only had good busienss for about half the year and the rest of the time i was left only doing work when they had some for me to do) so i would like to know how i could lear more about it. i dont just man the basic stuff that can be done in most garage shops either.

BLACKSMITHING: I’ve always loved the idea of blacksmithing, and i made a small homemade forge for it and use a piece of train track as an anvil, but i need someone to learn from. For those people who say “who the hell would want to make horse shoes” i agree… but there are tons of other uses for blacksmithing. scroll work and fancy railings, making blades, making your own tools fabricating parts to repair things or make them better (i.e. I am constantly having to weld broken parts on our brush hog because the factory parts are pretty weak for what it has to put up with, but if i could just fabricate a stronger part then problem solved)

PLUMBING: plumbers cost $$ and i dont see the use of hiring them if you can do it yourself. besides that, one of the things i want to do for a few extra bucks on the side is gutting small, cheap houses, crappy and then making em better and selling them and you cant earn money on that if you hrie the work for it.

CONSTRUCTION: This could definately be useful. I could build my own house for one, and build my own shop, probably build a few other thigns to, and besides that i could help friends out with extensions on their houses.

AUTO REPAIR: it’d be really nice to know how to repair cars, and besides tat i would be able to take useless junkers and make new cars out of em (my dad knew a guy who did that and that guy earned a killing off of it as a hobby. he’d take a bunch of junkers that were from the same manufacturer and take the good parts and make a new car out of it and sell it with a list of all the parts in the ewn car. he made something ridiculous like $50,000 a car.)

ENGINE REPAIR: This would definately be useful. if something with an engine were to break down it would cost m a lot less money if i could fix it than if i replaced it.

if you have any idea how i can learn any one of those without going to school for it then please tell. and if you have any ideas for anything else i should learn then tell me that, too.

fyi I’ll be able to have a lot of time on my hands with a job in the boilermakers, because they can take as much time as they want between jobs, so time shouldnt be a big problem as logn as i dont have to take a long class/ stay in one area for more than 6 months at a time.
Oh and this one:

HYDRAULICS: I want to know how to build hydraulic pistons etc. so that i dont have to buy em. might not be possible but i think it probably is. I have a lot of ideas for machines using hydraulics

Looked at the walkthroughs haven’t found anything yet.

Also does anyone know how to solve all the mysteries on the islands?

So someone i know was robbed. I guess someone had been watching him and broke into his truck and stole his tools(he’s a construction worker) but he didn’t report it to the cops cuz he wants to catch these people that robbed him. He thinks they’ll come back for more of his stuff. I’m very worried and thought about letting the cops know but i don’t know if i should.What can i do?