So I went to a bunch of different woodworking stores this weekend and stocked up on tools & wood for coffeetable-making purposes.

The first stop on my tour was at Woodworker’s Warehouse. They seemed to have plenty in the way of tools, but their salespeople weren’t so eager to help me find the right thing. Granted I’m not the kind of person they’re used to seeing (seems to be a contractors haven), but they could’ve been a little nicer.

Stop number two was at the dreaded Home Depot, where I sort of found some of the things I was looking for, but no one to help me (they actually sell some nice wood by the foot, if you can find an employee to cut it for you). I ended up being in the store for over an hour, and was fuming by the end of the ordeal.

Finally, on Sunday I ended up at Rockler. Though I got some other tools at stops #1&2 for less than they were offered at Rockler, I haven’t found nicer wood anywhere else. Through some measuring flukes and generous salespeople, I ended up getting a rather sizeable piece of oak (27″L x 16″W x 1 3/4″D) for only twenty bucks, and will happily go back there.

Expect pictures of the coffeetable in the not-too-distant future.

As a part of my quest for wood & tools, I borrowed my brother’s car this weekend (thanks Matt), and remembered exactly why I’d sold my car back in February. I so dislike traffic & bad drivers; driving just makes me a mean, unhappy person. Hooray for being carless!