Mirror Mirror on a Stick
By Sean O'Hara
D’you ever wish you had an extra set of eyes on the tip of your wrench? Well, for those of you who aren’t X-Men, a telescoping mirror’s probably the next best thing.
Telescoping mirrors are by no stretch of the imagination a new thing, but we’ve run into quite a few people who don’t keep one in the toolbox. Shame on you. These can be a life saver if you can’t see what you’re trying to grasp or otherwise get to.
Recently we were attempting to remove a lock ring from a water pump — damn Porsche to hell for putting the thermostat there, pointing downward of all ways – and just couldn’t get the right view and still see where our pliers were positioned without a mirror. The concept’s pretty simple — it’s just an adjustable mirror on a telescoping bar handle. Slide the mirror into place and adjust as necessary to see an object at the correct angle for the task at hand.
Available in almost any shape and size with street pricing starting around $2, you can pick one up in a multitude of places both on the web and in your favorite brick and mortar establishment.
Pick one up and throw it in the drawer, you won’t be sorry down the road.
Mirrors-On-A-Stick [Froogle]
August 3rd, 2006 at 12:49 pm
Don’t overlook the geek solution - webcam on a stick, with the laptop balanced precariously on the engine…
The mirror on a stick is really handy when plugging in cables on a stereo or computer you can’t move far enough to turn around as well…
August 3rd, 2006 at 3:40 pm
On the ball as usual Nick. Though the laptop an the engine would wind up getting mangled somehow knowing my luck
August 4th, 2006 at 7:25 am
I’ll second what Nick says re: the geek solution. Our network & phone guys have a well used in the toolbox.
August 7th, 2006 at 12:31 pm
[...] We’re thinking about making the investment in one of these ourselves. How handy would it be to be able to stick this through a spark plug hole and see what’s going on inside a cylinder? Or how about seeing what’s actually stuck in the drain? We can think of dozens of applications, and based on the response to our post on mirrors the other day, we bet you can, too. [...]