Squeak, squeak, buzz

When a box arrived at work, and I started grinning and clapping my hands together, I think my colleagues anticipated that the delivery was Christmas-related; a carefully picked gift, sparkly shoes for a Yuletide party, a festive jumper.

But no, the item bringing such a sparkle to my eye and joy to my heart was a mouse.

Not a toy for the cat, or food for a non-existent pet snake, or a computer peripheral, no, this was
the mighty Black and Decker Mouse.

I've sanded furniture with elbow grease, and know from experience that either the likelihood of sacrificing final finish for giving my arms a rest is high, or the time that the "work-in-progress" is sat around waiting for me to summon the willpower to tackle it again will increase. Given that I've been making over more furniture recently, this seem a good investment, and I was quite excited to try it out.

Not only is is easy to use - the shaped sandpaper is attached by Velcro* - but it has a hoover attachment for if you want to whisk away the dust. I must admit I was sceptical but on its first use this weekend I was impressed. Taking off some varnish and smoothing areas on a wooden coffee table was certainly a lot tidier compared to sanding a similar area on a bookcase a few months back - so much so that I did it all in the living room.

This is my first "power tool" (Yeah!!), bought by me, for me and it does what every good tool should - make the job easier. Now, what to use it on next..... Hmmmmm......

* NB: I saw a tip on an Amazon review that suggested keeping worn out shaped pads so that normal sandpaper could be cut to shape and glued as an alternative to purchasing the pricier pre-shaped replacements. This seems a useful and sensible idea, so worth repeating here.