(Wednesday, June 21, 2006) We’re finding ourselves addicted to How It’s Made.  We were drawn in by the firetrucks and batteries, but now we keep catching ourselves watching just about anything they want to show us.  Even when they’re showing lame items, the manufacturing equipment and processes are mesmerizing.Tonight:

• While You Were Out: Chicago: Backyard Bacchanalia (TLC, 6 p.m. CDT)
• How It’s Made: Episode 14 (Eyeglasses, Granite, Potato Chips, Microprocessors) (Science Channel, 8 p.m. CDT)
• How It’s Made: Episode 49 (Plastic Cups and Cutlery, FX Makeup, Gold, Harps) (Science Channel, 8:30 p.m. CDT)
• Trading Spaces: Plano: Shady Valley Road (Discovery Home, 7 p.m CDT)
• Mythbusters: Helium Football (Discovery, 9 p.m. CDT)
• Mythbusters: Killer Tissue Box (Discovery, 10 p.m. CDT)
• Mythbusters: Exploding Port-a-Potty (Discovery, 11 p.m. CDT)
• Overhaulin’: Mean Anemul (Discovery, midnight, CDT)
• How It’s Made: Episode 14 (Eyeglasses, Granite, Potato Chips, Microprocessors) (Science Channel, 11 p.m. CDT)
• How It’s Made: Episode 49 (Plastic Cups and Cutlery, FX Makeup, Gold, Harps) (Science Channel, 11:30 p.m. CDT)
• Pinks: Mustang vs. Wooly Mammoth (Speed, 9 p.m. CDT)
• Pinks: Jonathan Adkins vs. Jeff Gilbert (Speed, 9:30 p.m. CDT)
• Unique Whips: Duelling Lambos (Speed, 10 p.m. CDT) 
• Unique Whips: Duelling Lambos (Speed, midnight CDT)
• Pimp My Ride (MTV, midnight CDT)

Enjoy.

We’d like to let you in on a secret we learned from the plumber a while back: it’s not necessary to break your back when using hole saws.  Milwaukee makes a slick set of “selfeed” bits that, well, feed themselves.  (Now if only we could do that.)

These bits essentially have a screw mounted in the center.  To use them, you simply act as if you’re driving a screw.  The screw grabs the wood and pulls the larger bit right on through.  Also, whereas hole saws fill up with the wood you’re cutting — they’re shaped like a cup, so once the “plug” you’re cutting out fills the bit, you’re in trouble — the Milwaukee Selfeeds actually chop up the center wood and eject it out the back.

The result: It’s easy to line up, easy to get started, easy to keep straight as it cuts, and it’ll cut through very thick material without problems.  Nice.

Street pricing starts around $25.

Selfeed Wood Drill Bits [Milwaukee]
Street Pricing [Froogle]

We’d forgotten to mention this to you until today, but last week we were wiring in an air compressor and found ourselves wanting to make a couple of bends in conduit.  It’s a lot easier than it would seem.

A quick trip to Home Depot netted us the bender pictured here, made by Ideal.  To use it, you simply insert a handle through the center, insert your conduit through the end, and bend.  The curved shape of the bender prevents kinking.  To make it easy to apply pressure with your foot, it includes a serrated “step” edge that provides good traction.  Between your foot on the edge and your hands on the handle, it’s pretty easy to control.

When we went to post this tonight, we also came across a PDF guide from Ideal Industries that goes into great detail explaining how to perform more complex bending tasks such as back-to-back and offset bends.  Luckily we only needed two 90 degree bends a good distance apart, but if you’re looking to do something more complex, be sure to check out the guide.

Street pricing starts around $25.

Aluminum Bender Head w/Handle [Ideal Industries]
Street Pricing [Froogle]
Bender Guide [PDF -- Ideal Industries]

Fire is cool; it’s just that simple. A full featured “table torch” with large fuel capacity, immediate ignition and a fully adjustable pinpoint flame is much more than cool – it’s practical.  We find uses for ours in the shop, around the house, and even in the kitchen.

We’re not talking about a Bic lighter here, but a full-on torch.  The PT500 from Solder It has a powerful high-output 2500 degree wind-resistant flame than can be adjusted from around 1″ in length to 5″. 

We like the PT500 in particular because its large Butane capacity gives it a 2 hour burn time, it lights with a single button click, and you can adjust the fuel and air mixture to tweak the flame for each task.  Oh yeah, did we mention it looks really cool?

On a recent visit to the parents’ place we used the PT500 to Ferr-L-Tite (glue) arrow tips into aluminum shaft arrows, though we did have to pry it out of Mom’s hands first.  (She’d borrowed it to make creme brulee.  Mmmm.)

You can find the PT500 for around $40 with careful shopping.  Note: It’s a lot bigger than it looks.  While your run-of-the-mill kitchen torch stands about 5″ tall, this one’s closer to 10″. 

Have fun, and don’t burn yourself (or others).

Pt500 Heavy-Duty Butane Torch [Solder It]
Street Pricing [Froogle]

(Tuesday, June 20, 2006) Assuming you’re not out in the shop working on your own car or bike project tonight (we have an old BMW airhead that needs attention), you can couch-potato your way through a lot of other people’s projects tonight. 

Automotive fans will want to start their evening at 7 on TLC for Overhaulin’ followed by Wrecks to Riches.  Then flip over to Speed for Build or Bust.

Tonight:

• While You Were Out: Minnetonka: Surfside Minnesota (TLC, 6 p.m. CDT)
• Overhaulin’: Neighborhood Watching (TLC, 7 p.m. CDT)
• Pinks: Mustang vs. Civic (7:30 p.m. CDT)
• Trading Spaces: Plano: Bent Horn Court (Discovery Home, 7 p.m. CDT)
• Wrecks to Riches: Christine Camaro (TLC, 8 p.m. CDT)
• Overlaulin’: Mean Anemul (TLC, 9 p.m. CDT)
• Build or Bust: The Farmhand (Speed, 10 p.m. CDT)
• Wrecks to Riches: Christine Camaro (TLC, 11 p.m. CDT)
• Biker Build-Off: Joe Martin v. Zero Engineering (Discovery, midnight CDT)
• Build or Bust: The Farmhand (Speed, midnight CDT)

Tonight’s Trading Spaces build site is just a few miles from our offices, so we’ll have to set the TiVo, though we’ll admit that we haven’t been watching Trading Spaces as much since Page left.  (Sean says she reminds him of a younger version of his Mom.  “She’s always perky and 100% positive all the time — always smiling,” he says.)

One thing not on the above schedule: if you really can’t sleep, you can catch another re-run on Build or Bust at 3 a.m. CDT.  Ouch!

How many reference books are so well-known that they spawn their own Wikipedia entries?  Wikipedia has this to say about the Machinery’s Handbook:

Machinery’s Handbook for machine shop and drafting-room; a reference book on machine design and shop practice for the mechanical engineer, draftsman, toolmaker, and machinist (the full title of the 1st edition) is a classic reference work in mechanical engineering and practical workshop mechanics in one volume published by Industrial Press, New York, since 1914. The first edition was created by Erik Oberg (1881-1951) and Franklin D. Jones (1879-1967), who are still mentioned on the title page of the 27th edition (2004). Recent editions of the handbook contain chapters on mathematics, mechanics, materials, measuring, toolmaking, manufacturing, threading, gears, and machine elements, combined with excerpts from ANSI standards.

In 1917, Oberg and Jones also published Machinery’s Encyclopedia in 7 volumes. The handbook and encyclopedia are named after the monthly magazine Machinery (Industrial Press, 1894-1973), where the two were consulting editors.

A single glance at the table of contents gives an idea of how much information has found its way into the ‘Handbook over the past 90 years leading up to the publication of the current 27th edition, including:

• Mathematics
• Mechanics and Strength of Materials
• Properties, Treatment, and Testing of Materials
• Dimensioning, Gaging, and Measuring
• Tooling and Toolmaking
• Machining Operations
• Manufacturing Processes
• Fasteners
• Threads and Threading
• Gears, Splines, and Cams
• Machine Elements
• and Measuring Units

Amazingly, the ‘Handbook continues to gather momentum with expansions this year including 30% more math coverage and new or revised material on cutting tools, screw threads, symbols and abbreviations, threads and threading, disc springs, properties on materials, sine bars, and sheet metal.  Besides the new material, the 27th edition takes a leap ahead of earlier editions in terms of organization with new individual indices for standards, materials and interactive equations as well as improved page layout and graphics.

The classic format for the ‘Handbook is the toolbox version, measuring 5″x7″ for easy use in the field, but the 27th edition is also available in a large print format (7″x10″ and handly for reading without glasses or in the office) as well as contained on a single CD-ROM.  The CD-ROM version installs as a PDF — encrypted to prevent theft — which is text searchable.  New for the 27th edition are interactive math equations in the CD-ROM version.  By clicking on a small icon in the PDF, you can link to the Industrial Press website to plug in your own numbers and see the results in real time.  (Note: using interactive equations does require the download and installation of an ActiveX control.)

It’s hard to describe the ‘Handbook briefly as it covers so much information, but suffice it to say that in the last week alone, we’ve used our copy to pick out an air compressor, understand the properties of drill coatings, look up the proper flux for a brazing job, reference welding symbols on a diagram we received, determine what size chain to use for a lifting job, and perform more conversions than we can count.

Put simply, Industrial Press isn’t exaggerating when they characterize the ‘Handbook as “the technical Bible for the engineering and metalworking industries.” 

Pricing direct from Industrial Press starts around $90 for the toolbox version, with book/CD-ROM combos starting around $160.  However, we did find some deals online for new and used copies, so it pays to look a bit.

Oberg, Erik, et. al. Machinery’s Handbook. 27th ed. Ed. Christopher J. McCauley, et. al. New York: Industrial Press, 2004. (Hardcover) ISBN: 0831127376

The 27th Machinery’s Handbook [Industrial Press]
Street Pricing [Froogle]

Anyone who’s used an old hand-held T50 staple gun can tell you that your hand starts to hurt after about the fifth staple. Thankfully, staple guns aren’t the hand breakers they used to be.  Stanley’s “Sharpshooter Plus” heavy duty staple/brad/nail gun is a welcome sight for sore, um, hands.

The first thing you notice about the Sharpshooter is how easy it is to squeeze the spring action.  It takes very little force from your hand to operate, yet it drives the fastener quickly and firmly with very little kickback.  You can control the force with which it fires by flipping a “hi/lo” lever near the back end of the gun, which is handy if you’re working with softer or thinner material.  A locking mechanism protects against accidental triggering.  And, it’s made from aircraft aluminum for lightness and durability.

The Sharpshooter Plus isn’t meant to compete with higher end air-powered nail guns, but it kicks butt in light industrial and home applications where pneumatics are overkill – like when you’re running Christmas lights or making a small picture frame.

It can accept both brads (1/2″ and 5/8″) and Staples (1/4″, 5/16″, 3/8″, 1/2″, and 9/16″). The Sharpshooter retails for around $23.

Sharpshooter Plus [Stanley]
Street Pricing [Froogle]

In a cordless power tool industry that’s struggling to bring new battery systems to market, Ryobi’s taking a slightly different tack: they’re keeping their batteries the same, shooting instead to make it easier and more cost-effective for you to cut the cord on all your power tools.

Ryobi offers all tools in the “One+” series in both a “kit” form (with batteries and a charger) and in a “bare tool” form for use with your existing Ryobi 18V batteries/charger.  The “One+” concept is simple:  you can start out with one existing 18V Ryobi tool — or purchase a tool in “kit” form — then add to your collection inexpensively by purchasing “bare tools” to use with your exisitng accessories.

Combo kits are also available, though Ryobi encourages you to “roll your own” from their complete One+ line, which includes (among others):

• numerous drill/drivers and hammerdrills
• a right angle “close quarters” drill
• a laminate trimmer
• a 5-1/2″ circular saw (w/laser)
• a 10″ chain saw
• a variable-speed orbital jigsaw
• a variable-speed reciprocating saw 
• a rotary cutter
• an 8-1/4″ miter saw
• a caulk & adhesive gun
• a finish sander
• a nailer/stapler
• a flashlight
• a handheld wet/dry vac

Pricing on the “bare” tools and batteries is quite reasonable.  For example, a single One+ system battery sells for $24.99, and a 1/2″ variable speed cordless hammer drill sells for $49.97.  Ryobi offers a number of combo kits ranging from the ”starter kit plus” (drill, flashlight, circ saw, and sander) up to “the works” (drill, circ saw, recip saw, jig saw, chain saw, wet/dry vac, flashlight, and accessories).

If you’re considering jumping on the One+ bandwagon, Home Depot should be your first stop as they’re now the exclusive Ryobi source.  Your local store should have a variety of One+ tools in stock for you to check out in person.

The One+ Series Cordless Tools [Ryobi]
Ryobi Products [Home Depot]

(Monday, June 19, 2006) There’s some home improvement at 6 on TLC and some big-time construction equipment on the Science Channel at 7, but in this first post-Monster Garage Monday we find the popular show’s slot filled with bikes, bikes, and more bikes.

Tonight:

• While You Were Out: Kansas City: Temple of the Gods (TLC, 6 p.m. CDT)
• Billy Lane Project (Discovery, 7 p.m. CDT)
• Trading Spaces: Houston: Appalachian Trail (Discovery Home, 7 p.m. CDT)
• Building the Ultimate: Of Gods and Monster Machines (Science Channel, 7 p.m. CDT)
• Biker Build-Off: Joe Martin vs. Zero Engineering (Discovery, 8 p.m. CDT)
• Chop Cut Rebuild: Crunch Time (Speed, 8:30 p.m. CDT)
• American Chopper: Sunoco Bike 1 (Discovery, 9 p.m. CDT)
• American Chopper: Sunoco Bike 2 (Discovery, 10 p.m. CDT)
• American Chopper: Never Before Seen (Discovery, 11 p.m. CDT)
• In a Fix: Nature Within (Discovery Home, midnight CDT)

Sorta makes you want to get out and build something with wheels, doesn’t it?

Starett’s running a sale on slide calipers through June 30, including the new electronic Model 799 series we mentioned earlier.

Some specifics:

• 6″ Model 799: $96
• 8″ Model 799: $136
• 12″ Model 799: $256

The sale includes others as well, including the Model 125 verniers, and the Model 120 and Model 1202 dials.

The prices are listed at Starett’s site, but you’ll need to pick up the calipers from distributors.  Not all distributors are participating, but if you give Starrett a call at (978) 249-3551 they say they’ll help you find one that’ll honor the price.

Slide Caliper Sale [Starrett]

All hacksaw jobs are not created equal, nor are they all created in easy-to-reach places. Lenox recognizes this, offering a cool twist on the sturdy rectangle-shaped design standard hacksaws have shared for decades.

The tip of their Gray Wolf 5012 hacksaw is tapered down at the front to fit in areas with smaller clearance for those close-quarter cuts, while the rear of the saw remains large to support a big handle grip that’ll fit your gloved hands. 

We’re really impressed.  In the past you had two options: the big saw or one of those little mini-saws that’s barely bigger than the blade.  Sure, sometimes you’ll still have to use the mini-saw, but in our experience, the ‘Wolf could handle 90% of the close-quarters work..

The ’Wolf uses standard 12″ hacksaw blades and street pricing starts around $20.  (Though if you hunt you can find it for even less.)

The Gray Wolf 5012 Low-Profile Hacksaw [Lenox]
Street Pricing [Froogle]

(Sunday, June 17, 2006) Tonight’s the night to take a break from the TV and go do something.  There’s not much on anyway.  Things don’t get started until 9, and then it’s pretty much entirely re-runs from earlier in the week (or month).

Tonight:

• In a Fix: Nature Within (Discovery Home, 9 p.m. CDT)
• Chop Cut Rebuild: Crunch Time (Speed, 10 p.m. CDT)
• Trading Spaces: Matchmaker (TLC, midnight CDT)
• Building the Ultimate: Power Play (Science Channel, midnight CDT)

Go outside.  Start a new project.  Fix something.  Break something.  You get the idea.  Just remember to get some sleep.  The grind’s back tomorrow.

We love music in the shop.  When you’re doing something you have to do, it makes the job go more quickly.  And when you’re doing something you want to do, it makes the day that much more sweet.

There are some problems, however, with having a radio on the worksite, not the least of which are powering the unit for more than a couple of hours and protecting it from the harsh environment.  If you’ve ever knocked a portable radio off a counter or smacked your CD player with a wandering two-by-four — don’t ask — then you realize that the jobsite is not very boombox-friendly. And that’s assuming that you found a place not currently powering a saw or battery charger to plug it in.

In comes Bosch with the PB10-CD “Power Box.”  With sealed buttons, speakers, battery chamber, and CD player and an aluminum roll cage complete with padding that can protect the unit from a 10-foot drop (!), this is one badass boombox.  You can power it off line power — it includes a 4-way GFCI-protected power splitter so you’re not hogging the plugs — or with any of Bosch’s 12V, 14.4V, 18V, or 24V power tool batteries.  And when it’s plugged in, it’ll charge any of those batteries as well.

Aside from all that cool durability and power, it’s an AM/FM  digital radio with 30 preset buttons (20 FM/10 AM) and a front-load CD player with anti-skip technology and CD-R/CD-RW compatability.  Not to leave out the high-tech among the tool crowd, Bosch included a standard 3.5mm aux jack for MP3 player compatibility.  (A specific iPod dock is available separately, though we question the concept of bringing your iPod to the jobsite.  It won’t take a drop from 10′.)

Street pricing starts around $180, and you can find the PB10 — the same unit, but minus the CD player) for around $130.  Rock on.

PB10-CD Power Box [Bosch]
Price search [Froogle]

(Saturday, June 17, 2006) It’s almost all home improvement on the ‘tube tonight, but there are a couple of interesting exceptions. 

We caught Extreme Engineering: Mega Tunnels a while back and were blown away.  If you think you’ve seen big construction equipment, that mega-dump-truck that you saw has nothing on the automated digger they’re using to build the tunnel.  And if you’re up late, Discovery HD’s re-running one of our favorite Monster Garage episodes — Honey Bee Drift Car.  (The Monster Garage series may have come to an end, but we hear rumors that Jesse’s going to be back in full force on Discovery soon.)

 Tonight:

• Trick My Truck: Jeff Crane’s Ice Breaker (CMT, 4 p.m. CDT)
• Trick My Truck: Mark Havens’ Semper Fi (CMT, 4:30 p.m. CDT)
• Trick My Truck: Rodney Ozbun’s Open-Range (CMT, 5 p.m. CDT)
• Trick My Truck: Make Baldwin’s American Classic (CMT, 5:30 p.m. CDT)
• While You Were Out: Ft. Lauderdale: Fast and Fabulous (TLC, 6 p.m. CDT)
• Extreme Engineering: Mega Tunnel (Discovery HD, 6 p.m. CDT)
• Flip That House: Susan’s Family Flip (Discovery Home, 6 p.m. CDT)
• Holmes on Homes: Hell’s Kitchen (Discovery Home, 6:30 p.m. CDT)
• Flip It Fast: Flip it Fast (TLC, 7 p.m. CDT)
• This House Must Go: This House Must Go (TLC, 8 p.m. CDT)
• Trading Spaces: Matchmaker (TLC 9 p.m. CDT)
• Building the Ultimate: Power Play (Science Channel, 9 p.m. CDT)
• Quake Proof: Building the Perfect Bridge (Science Channel, 10 p.m. CDT)
• Flip That House: Curtis’ Duplex (TLC, 10 p.m. CDT)
• Flip That House: Kelly’s First Flip (TLC, 10:30 p.m. CDT)
• This House Must Go: This House Must Go (TLC, 11 p.m. CDT)
• Monster Garage: Honey Bee Drift Car (Discovery HD, midnight CDT)

Enjoy.

We received a tip about these from a reader who picked them up to cut fabric for a re-upholstery job, and we thought we’d pass it on. 

They’re really pretty straightforward: you pull the trigger, and motor-driven blades do the slicing for you.  It’s powered by a built-in 3.6V rechargeable battery, and comes complete with charger.  A slick table clamp-on table mount lets you use them hands-free.

Street pricing starts around $25, so there’s really no excuse not to have a set of these around.

3.6V Cordless Scissors [Black & Decker]
Street Pricing [Froogle]

Though we love the idea of cordless jigsaws, short runtimes have generally kept us tied to the outlet.  There’s nothing more disappointing than getting halfway through a project and having the saw run out of juice.  So, when DeWalt added a jigsaw to their 36V line this year, it caught our attention.

It’s always difficult to list the runtime in specs as it varies significantly depending on what you’re doing with the tool, but DeWalt says this particular saw (the DC308K, by the way) can cut an average of 62′ of 1″ laminated particle board on a single charge.  They claim that’s about twice what you get from the best 18V jigsaws.

Besides the increased juice, the DC308K features an all-metal lever-action keyless blade change mechanism as well as a keyless shoe bevel with detents at 0, 15, 30, and 45 degrees.  A four-position orbital action lets you set how “aggressive” you’d like the unit to cut by altering the angle of the blade, and there’s an adjustable blower to help you see what you’re cutting.

DeWalt claims the new 36V weighs about the same as their old 18V, and indeed the shipping weight of the two tools varies only two pounds.

One note: With great power comes great responsibility.  Street pricing starts around $400.

We look forward to seeing this tool in action.  It may be time for us to give in and cut the cord on the jigsaw front.

The DeWalt DC308K 36V Cordless Jigsaw [DeWalt]
Street Pricing [Froogle]

We received an interesting request from a reader: where does one find Tamper-Resistant Torx drivers?  (According to the reader, the T8H is required to open the XBox 360’s wireless controllers.)

A quick Froogle search (link below) turned up plenty of mail order places right here in the U.S. that stock T8H drivers, but we prefer this set from Wiha Tools, which is available both online and in-store from Sears.

It includes a handle with a quick release and standard 1/4″ bit holder, and an assortment of 1/4″ bits including:

• Tamper-Resistant Torx, sizes T8H (for your 360 controller), T10H, T15H, T20H, T25H, T27H, T30H, and T40H
• Triwing, sizes 1, 2, 3, and 4
• Torq, sizes 6, 8, and 10
• Spanner, sizes 4, 6, 8, and 10
• Tamper-resistant hex, sizes 5/64, 3/32, 7/64, 1/8, 9/64, and 5/32
• Standard slotted in 6.5mm, 8mm
• Phillips in #1 and #2
• Pozidriv, sizes 0, 1, 2, and 3, and
• Square, sizes 1, 2 and 3

Sounds like any hardware hacker should have this set in their kit.  It’s a gathering of drivers for pretty much every unusual screw head we’ve seen in some time.

The Wiha 39 pc. Bit Set [Sears]
Torx T8H Vendors/Pricing [Froogle]