BuffaloFeeds » Toolmonger » December 2, 2010

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• 

  A $50 Basic Freeze Alarm

  Posted: December 2nd, 2010, 9:46pm MST by Chuck Cage

  

  The selling shtick for this product touts its ability to keep you informed about the status of your vacation home. But even if you (like us) aren’t loaded enough to have two homes, it’s still damn useful. Plug this sucker into a phone line, stick a 9V in the back, and it’ll call a phone number of your choice when the temperature drops below 45 degrees.

  This would make a great addition to any home in the North — or any place where it stays below freezing for a decent chunk of the year. A broken heater (even while you’re alway for work) can make for a bad day. And $50 isn’t much to spend for peace of mind. Plus it’s kinda gadgety, which makes it a fun gift.

  Via Amazon [What’s This?]

• 

  TM’ Favs ’10: Stanley Tylon Short Tape

  Posted: December 2nd, 2010, 8:52pm MST by Sean O'Hara

  

  The first and most humble of the Toolmonger Favorite offerings this year is also one of the greatest values, Stanley’s Tylon Series short tapes. We have several lengths rolling around the Toolmonger shop, but the 12’ tape is by far my favorite and has been since I first started with it.

  It’s rare that a tape measure takes all the bitches I had with the current tape (which I liked) and systematically eliminates them to render a — and I don’t say this word lightly — perfect tape measure experience.  The nylon coating on the tape itself doesn’t mar finished wood and is easy to read. The housing is lightweight and uber-durable, and the spring doesn’t try to sever digits off when it retracts. That’s about as good as you could expect from mortal engineering.

  Of course, should wizard-defeating properties or a bottomless good luck dispenser be added to its list of features by a benevolent deity of unknown power, it would drive the low cost of the four dollar, 12’ tape right out of our price range. So I’m quite satisfied with the current release model.

  If you are looking for a great line of tapes to invest in for your or a loved ones shop, you can do no better in our opinion than Stanley’s Tylon series — no joke.

  33-413 12′ Tylon Tape [Stanley]
  Street Pricing [Google Products]

• 

  Are Your Pictures On The Level?

  Posted: December 2nd, 2010, 9:55am MST by Benjamen Johnson

  

  Why would you ever need to level your camera? Isn’t correcting out-of-kilter shots what photo editing software is made for? I can think of at least two good reasons: One, you’re shooting in film and straightening a crooked shot is a much more involved process; or two, you’re taking video and don’t even want to think about rotating the frame in software.

  Slide Opteka’s triple-axis spirit level into your camera’s hot shoe and you can level your camera from left to right and back to front. You use the third axis when you’re shooting with the camera on its side in portrait orientation. Opteka molds the housing from clear acrylic and fills the bubble vials with a contrasting green fluid for easy visibility.

  Be careful when you’re buying this level’ they sell two different models depending on whether your camera has a normal or reverse hot shoe. The stated list price is an insanely high $39, but you can find it for anywhere between $4 and $15 before shipping, depending on where you look.

  Hot Shoe Level [Opteka]
  Street Pricing [Google Products]
  Via Amazon [What’s This?]

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