Aaaaaargh! Anyone want to buy a half-built desk?

[prolesunited]

I bought a larger desk to accommodate both my Mac and PC and a variety of other peripherals. I've been at it for TWO hours already and I'm barely halfway done. My hand has a cramp from twisting in screws and now I have to go to work and leave this project laying all over.

Do you think the elves will have it built by the time I get back? :cry: :mad: :cry:

[JVS]

1. I'll take it

[prolesunited]

2. Where do you live?

Maybe you could just come over and help me finish building it? :D

[JVS]

11. Pittsburgh

[prolesunited]

12. How long will it take you to drive near Chicago?

Can you be there when I get home from work at 11:30? :silly:

[JVS]

24. Sorry, no can do

[wtmusic]

3. Buy yourself a cordless screwdriver

and kick those lazy elves outta the house! :-)

[KG]

14. yes, gotta have a cordless for this kinda work

fer shure

[Shakespeare]

4. Two very important words for you!

ELECTRIC DRILL!! Preferably cordless. It'll make your assembly task much, much, much easier. If you don't have one, do you know someone from whom you could borrow one?

I say this as an IKEA-furniture-owning veteran. Using the electric drill was on the order of a revelatory experience.

[absyntheNsugar]

5. Is if from Ikea?

just a hunch :)

[BlueEyedSon]

6. borrow a cordless screwdriver

[GOPFighter]

7. I'll trade you...

...for half built telescope! It was a Christmas present and the instuctions were horrendous!

[prolesunited]

8. Actually, these directions are pretty good

I just have trouble with directions and spatial concepts. That part of my brain just doesn't seem to function very well. Most things come really easy for me, but this type of thing is a real struggle for me.

I don't need anything fancy, so how much would a cordless screwdriver cost?

[RebelOne]

9. I feel your frustration.

I put together a computer desk. What a job!!! It took me all night, but it was worth it though, because that desk survived a trip from Florida to Georgia in 1989 and is still in great shape. And I am not about to give it up because I put it together all by myself. Just keep at it. Or maybe the little elves will have do it for you (grin).

[bleedingheart]

10. Ha!...you haven't encountered trouble until you have assembled

an outdoor grill....
God it took so long.... the $20 fee to assemble it seemed reasonable after we went through that nightmare...

[prolesunited]

13. Very slow here tonight

so it's almost time to go home and face THE DESK. Perhaps I can pick up an electric screwdriver on the way home. Any other advice? Commiserating? What do you do with the leftover screws?

[Bunny]

15. Honey, you need duct tape! Clear this problem up right away!

j/k

[prolesunited]

How much weight

will duct tape sustain? Is that how you put yours together?

[KG]

16. buy a good cordless drill.

every home should have one. trust me on this one.

[prolesunited]

17. Can you come build it for me?

Please. :D

[KG]

20. sure, no problem

15 bucks an hour, including travel time. :)

[jimbo fett]

18. Those are probably "extra" parts. I think you're done.

[jpgray]

19. If it's from Target, I know your pain

I bought this little particle board POS from Target and my GOD! You need a team of at least two builders to even hold the pieces in place while you screw them together! Fortunately my awesome wit was able to devise some method of stabilizing the heavy-ass parts (books), but damn that took longer than it should have!

:D

[prolesunited]

21. Hey, I'll post a picture when I'm done

That was one of the problems I was having, but now I have a board across the top holding the two sides together, so I hope that will make it easier. And I'm definitely buying a cordless screwdriver/drill on the way home. I think there's like 100 screws left.

[Bozita]

22. Buy the cordless drill, not the screwdriver

The drill has more torque.

[prolesunited]

23. But I doubt I would ever use a drill

About how much difference is there in price?

[Bozita]

26. Cordless screwdrivers are about $15-$25, drills about $30 and up

The lack of torque in the screwdrivers makes them more toys than tools.

[VOX]

25. Tab A into Slot B -- repeat until sunup...

I really feel your pain on this one -- my wife and I just redid our home office. We put together two desks, two hutches, two file cabinets and a table. There's still a 2-drawer file cabinet yet to go. It tooks nearly a week to do this, and our fingers were bleeding when we were (sorta) done.

Hang in there, prolesunited! :toast:

[grasswire]

27. twenty bucks..

...at sears, with a small level and a measuring tape thrown in with a whole lot of tips and bits.

[Booberdawg]

28. Oh dear. Forget the cordless screwdriver. Any self respecting

independent woman needs a cordless drill. Trust me on this one. It will change your life.

NOBODY, I mean, NOBODY, puts anything together with a regular screwdriver anymore.

Oh, dear, you poor thing. *sigh*

We really need to talk, girlfriend.

A cordless drill is not that much more expensive than a cordless screwdriver, although I do have both. I've had both for years. If you are just looking for one, the drill is DEFINATELY the one to go with. You could have had that desk put together lickety split!

Linda :hi:

[prolesunited]

29. OK, back from the store

I got the drill but compromised and got one with a cord. I just didn't have the patience to wait for the battery pack to charge up since I want to use it tonight. :P

The guy at the store thought I was a complete moron. Oh, you have to buy the screwdriver bits separately. Good thing I asked, though, or I would be really pissed off.

Ooooh, I got POWER TOOLS, baby. I'm a real woman now! LOL

Thanks all for the advice and encouragement. I'll post pics tomorrow. For now, I gots me some screwin' to do. :evilgrin:

[Shakespeare]

30. I predict....

That you will be so jazzed over your drill that you will suddenly start looking for things to assemble, repair or otherwise find an excuse to drill little screws into (speaking from personal experience--when I got mine a few years ago, I found myself racing around the apartment chanting to myself "who needs a man??--not me!").

Enjoy!

[put out]

34. Power tools are fun!

I think all this time the MAN was trying to keep me down!

Works out frustration! Woo Hoo! None of that manual labor for me, no sirree. When you graduate to a small chain saw, you'll be in heaven.

[Booberdawg]

31. I forgot to mention the bits.

Yes, I guess they did come separately. It's been so long I forgot.

You are a NEW WOMAN now!!

Happy screwing! :evilgrin:

[prolesunited]

33. I was so frustrated last night!

I ended up with the wrong size bits — 1" instead of 3/8" — so no screwing for me. :-(

Well, it's off to the hardware store. Who would have thought smaller was better? :shrug:

I AM going to conquer this project!

[KG]

35. take back the drill too

go cordless - trust me on this.

the cord will just be in the way.

[Race4Peace]

32. how big?