Girls can have just as much fun with power tools as boys you know.
I remember opening my birthday present when I was 6 years old with excitement and anticipation. Out came the huge box and to my bitter disappointment it was a build it yourself fort, complete with turrets, soldiers and cannons. “Why couldn’t you get me girls toys?” I exclaimed.
But anyway I built it and I played with it and I’ve no idea if this was the start of my obsession with gadgets, technology and tools.
Early on in my teens I began to savour the delights of power tools. At last I could make a hole in any wall, cut any piece of wood and most brilliantly, I could use these things to construct just about anything. I made, boxes, cupboards, book cases and even walls.
A lot of people think power tools are too heavy for women to manage, but with new innovations in plastics they are actually getting lighter which makes them easier to wield and easier to use.
I couldn’t have dreamt of drilling a 5 inch hole through a 24 inch wall in the days when drills were made of metal and weighed a ton, but last year I spent an entire day doing exactly that. A huge barn conversion with 6 en-suites and a family bathroom where each room needed three holes.
That’s a total of nearly 50 feet of drilling. The drill was flagging but I loved it.
Now I run a national company of women plumbers where I’m surrounded by women who love power tools and aren’t afraid to use them.
Check me with my 5 inch core drill baby.
