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Toolmonger (8 unread)

The One Tool You’ll Need For Saturday

Posted: July 2nd, 2009, 10:28am MDT by Sean O'Hara

For us, one of the most important tools this time of year is the BBQ lighter. It has a great way of kicking off most of the important activities that will be going on this Saturday — fireworks and steaks. Around our home town, you notice two things that mark the 4th of July season: lighters of all shapes and sizes are marked down and available everywhere (even places they aren’t normally for sale), and metal-clad stands spontaneously spring from the ground and start selling legal black-powder products.

With this in mind, we normally head to the local market and pick up a 4-pack of lighters for about $2 and on the way home stop at one of the many stands and start picking up brightly packaged explosives that will “out-boom and sparkle” the neighbors’ stash.

Some things to keep in mind for those who are new to the whole experience: remember that fireworks stands will make increasingly cut-rate deals up to the cutoff time when their licenses expire for the year. Generally, if you go up to the counter and don’t know what you want, telling them “I have ‘X’ amount of cash and I want stuff that shoots” or “I want to make a lot of noise” is a valid response. These folks want to sell them to you and know you’ll be back next year if they don’t steer you wrong.

The National Council on Fireworks Safety site also has a bunch of info on regs and common-sense factors to consider when lighting up fireworks yourself. You might check it out if you plan to light up the sky this weekend.

The National Council on Fireworks Safety [Website]
Street Pricing BBQ Lighter [Google Products]
Preview: Milwaukee Shockwave Bits

Posted: July 2nd, 2009, 10:02am MDT by Sean O'Hara

We got a kick out of talking to the Milwaukee accessory guys a few weeks ago while attending their product symposium. It was almost a counterculture inside the rank-and-file of the power tool reps, and we’ve seen it at almost every manufacturer. “Those tools are nothing without a good bit at the business end.” They say it without fail wherever we go and they said it over and over at the product launch for Milwaukee’s Shockwave bits.

The funny part is, they’re sort of correct. The bit is majorly important and often blows right by many manufactures as a throw-in or “also ran.” The Shockwave system was engineered to deliver more power and resist breaking. That’s a tall order for little bits, but Milwaukee claims they added life and more strength in their new tapered bits.

A smart consumer’s first question is likely the same as ours was: “What’s with the taper?” Milwaukee says that little taper allows the bit to twist and flex just the tiniest amount. That smidge of give lets the shaft accept some of the back force instead of shearing under the enormous load that modern drills put out. Also, the tip of the bits are compression forged, which, according to the Milwaukee guys, makes the head much less prone to failure under high-stress applications.

We’ve been through more than our share of busted bits, so we’re anxious to see if these bad boys stand up to what we’re dishing out. Only time will tell.

Shockwave Bit System [Milwaukee]
Doh! Gas Station Disaster

Posted: July 2nd, 2009, 9:40am MDT by Audra Heaslip

Okay, so we’re not condoning laughing at someone else’s injuries. But in this case, it’s too, um, educational not to watch. This video shows a guy, presumably in England, who decides a good place to light up is right on top of a Shell fuel truck. Ahh, Darwin. Is there anything you can’t prove?

Shell Garage [YouTube]
Flickr Pool: A Finished Floor Project

Posted: July 2nd, 2009, 9:16am MDT by Sean O'Hara

I’m not fond of doing finish work; however, for projects that go on the inside of the house they are almost required, if for no other reason than they’ll stand up to the wear and tear of family life for a long time. Reader Benao_t posted pictures of his finished dining room floor, and we must say it looks great.

The last pic we saw had the room in a state for sanded flux, so it was good to see it all finished out and polished. I don’t want to think about how many layers and the buff time that had to happen before he got the slick shine we see in the picture, but with some of the new finishing products on the market and electric floor buffers, this might have been easier than it looks.

Regardless of the toil factor of the gloss, we think it looks great and hope it provides decades of maintenance-free service. Well done, sir.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]
Weekend Sanding Project [Toolmonger]
Break-Over Torque Wrenches

Posted: July 2nd, 2009, 8:50am MDT by Benjamen Johnson

You’re probably not going to have a set of break-over torque wrenches in your garage, but that doesn’t mean they’re not handy tools in a production environment where you need to repeatedly torque the exact same fastener or set of fasteners. The name comes from the fact that the wrench breaks over at 90° when the preset torque is applied — supposedly the break-over mechanism minimizes the shock to the fastener.

These interchangeable-head, break-over torque wrenches from Mountz come in torque ranges from 25 ozf.in to 50 lbf.in. and can hold the torque setting to ±6%. The aluminum handles help make the wrenches lightweight, are small enough to be used in confined spaces, and come in six different colors so you can color code specific torque settings.

To adjust the torque, remove the cap and turn the adjustment screw with a 3/16” hex key. After you set the torque, you must verify it with a torque analyzer. So you can be sure that the preset torque is repeatable from head to head, Mountz manufactures the interchangeable heads with a common center line.

If you’re interested one of Mountz’s interchangeable-head, break-over torque wrenches, you’re going to pay at least $90 for a handle and another $50 to $70 for each head.

Break-Over Wrenches [Mountz]
Street Pricing [Google]
Break-Over Wrench [Newark]
Preview: Long Nosed Pattern Marker

Posted: July 2nd, 2009, 8:29am MDT by Benjamen Johnson

Yeah, we’ve posted a lot of FastCap products week and we’re still not done. This is because FastCap is actually cranking out a ton of unique tools right now. Whether these tools stand the test of time or are relegated to the back shelf remains to be seen, but you have to hand it to them for having the nerve to put out new specialty products in this economy.

Another one of these new products is their pattern marker — so called because it’s primarily used for tracing patterns. The long nosed marker also lets you trace around other objects without resorting to tilting the pen at a funny angle. Another use would be transferring the locations of small holes where everything but a scratch awl would be too thick.

The long nosed pattern marker actually is two permanent, waterproof markers in one. One end has a 1-1/8″ narrow extension tip for getting into tight spots, and the other has a wide chisel tip for normal marking uses.

FastCap’s long nosed marker will run you $5 when it becomes available.

Long Nosed Marker [FastCap]
Dealmonger: Hyde Dust Dog Pole Sander

Posted: July 2nd, 2009, 8:03am MDT by Nick Carter

Discount Paint has the Hyde 09170 Dust Dog Drywall Vacuum Pole Sander for $19.70.

The pole sander is used to manually sand drywall while collecting the dust in a shop vac. The 09170 doesn’t come with the pole, though — the cheapest price we found for the 01975 kit with the pole was $58.85, which is a lot of money for a telescoping pole alone. So supply your own pole and save money!

Hyde 09170 Dust Dog Drywall Pole Sander [DiscountPaint]
TV Tonight: Crash, Boom, Bang

Posted: July 2nd, 2009, 7:43am MDT by Nick Carter
(TV Tonight, Thursday, July 2nd, 2009) TLC seems to have abandoned their motorheaad programming tonight, although one could make the argument that they abandoned it several years ago. We do get a new Wrecked, World’s Toughest Fixes, a Naked Science on fireworks, and the new How Do They Do It looks at “supercars,” whatever they might be.

All times are central
- Cool Tools: Cut Above (DIY, 5:00 pm)
- This Old House: New Orleans Project (DIY, 5:30 pm)
- Ask This Old House: Wall-to-Wall Carpet, Table Saw Safety (DIY, 6:30 pm)
- Break It Down: Diesel Locomotive (National Geographic, 7:00 pm)
- World’s Toughest Fixes: Mississippi River Barge (National Geographic, 8:00 pm) NEW
- How Do They Do It?: Super Cars (Science, 8:00 pm) NEW
- Successful Farming Machinery Show (RFD-TV, 8:00 pm)
- Wrecked: Code Red (Speed, 9:00 pm) NEW
- Naked Science: Secret World of Fireworks (National Geographic, 9:00 pm) NEW
- Wrecked: Joe, Terminal Manager (Speed, 9:30 pm)
- Top Gear (BBC America, 10:00 pm)