Here’s something I hadn’t though of before, but apparently the pros know all about: wire pulling lubricants. Rather than just pulling harder — my up-till-now preferred method of coaxing wire through conduit — pros apply a little lubricant to help the wire on its way. According to an A/V installer friend of ours, Klein makes one of the installers’ faves.
Torque control wrenches and screwdrivers help you put things together the right way the first time. But while torque wrenches are commonplace, you just don’t see that many torque screwdrivers around. We wrote about one a while back, but it was a bit pricey. Wiha makes a number of more reasonably priced torque screwdrivers — with great featuresets to boot.
Think of it as lawnmower meets little red wagon. Or maybe it’s just easier to think of it as the ultimate lazy-man’s wheelbarrow. Either way, this is a pretty cool piece of gardening gear from DR.
The model in the picture above is powered by a 5.5 HP Briggs Quantum engine, and (according to DR) can move loads up to 500 lbs. The black bin dumps forward to facilitate unloading, and it’s electric start. Let the Powerwagon races begin.
Pricing starts around $1,500, so it’s not really the poor-man’s wheelbarrow. DR is running a sale right now, and this model is marked down to $1,271.20. (Don’t forget that $0.20.) If you need more hauling capactiy, there are two larger models: the 6-3/4 HP Pro Powerwagon, and even the 6-3/4 HP Pro Pack Powerwagon that features a powered lift bed. (The top-o-the-line model is only $700 + change more than the base model.)
The Powerwagon [DR]
(Friday, October 27th, 2006) Woot! Lots of re-run fun tonight as well as Diva and Holmes, some Trick My Truck, and the excellent DIY Friday lineup.
All times are central.
Our insomniac’s suggestions: After a lineup like this you should probably turn the TV off, but if you’re looking for more there are some reruns of the programs above, but not much else.
While most mechanics aren’t really style conscious — otherwise they’d remember when sleeves like this were popular womens’ workout attire back in the ’80s — they can tell you what you need to wear to protect yourself in the shop. Work boots and shop shirts are the order of the day. Sometimes, though, you require an an extra degree of protection — like when you’re changing the oil filter on a Miata.
The damn thing’s way the hell down at the bottom of the engine compartment, and ’lest you want to jack it up and try to get at it through the wheel well, you’re gonna burn the crap out of your arm — unless you’re wearing one of these 17″ heat sleeves from Mechanix.
If you’ve ever had to re-glue a rear-view mirror back into place, you’ll instantly see the value in this tool. If not, you’ll just have to trust us: it kicks ass. It’s way better than holding the mirror in place for a bit by hand, then hoping that it won’t get too hot in the car — it will — before it dries completely.
Plus, getting the dried glue off your car’s dash and center console when the mirror falls down while you’re at work during the day sucks. Really.
Magnetic torpedo levels are incredibly useful around the fab shop, and (as usual) Stanley’s managed to release one with some great features. Our favorite: the 180-degree rotating vial. It’s the right one in the picture. If you want to duplicate an angle — say, weld on another bar at the exact same angle — you just rotate the vial around until it shows level, then adjust your second bar until it shows level as well.
(Thursday, October 26th, 2006) We’ve gotten used to Terrible Thursday, although today DIY brings us some (mild) relief.
The African Queen is airing tonight at 11:15 p.m. on TCM – one of the few movies to have a machinist (ok, an alcoholic machinist) as the main character. There’s some impromptu prop repair, steam engine hijinks, and improvised munitions galore in this classic movie.
From the synopsis:
“Charlie explains that the Germans have positioned a heavily armed steamer, the Louisa, at the mouth of Lake Tanganyika to block British troops. Rose immediately forms a plan to attack the Louisa by crafting torpedoes out of explosives and an oxygen tank, strapping them to the African Queen and ramming into the steamer.”
Sound enough like an episode of Mythbusters for you?
All times are central.
Our insomniac’s suggestions: Shooting Cars (Speed, 12:30 a.m.).
We’re really starting to see an upturn in the number of press releases piling up in our mailbox… It must be the holiday season! While you’re digging out the Christmas lights — why wait ’till Thanksgiving? — Lincoln’s been cooking up a new inexpensive MIG welder to keep you busy through spring: the Power MIG 140C.
The 140C’s designed to run on common 120V household current and can operate either as a true MIG unit with gas or as a flux-core rig, so it’s a good match for your garage shop. But it also offers some high-end features such as a cast aluminum drive and continuous voltage control. And in case you’d like to try your hand welding some aluminum, Lincoln’s offering an optional Magnum 100SG spool gun made specifically for the Power MIG line.
We’re seeing some gas-ready packages starting at around $600 online. Ho, ho, ho.
Street Pricing [Froogle]
Metabo’s been slowly working their way down their line of drill/drivers, converting them to lithium-ion power. The most recent upgrade recipient: the 14.4V line.
The new BSZ 14.4 will ofer up to 487 in-lbs of torque and no-load speeds up to 1,400 RPM — which Metabo claims enables it to drill up to 1/2″ holes in mild steel and up to 1-3/16″ holes in soft wood. It also sports a significantly longer runtime than the old NiCd, and offers a service life of up to 1,500 charge cycles. Like other li-ion tools, it can stay charged on the shelf for a long time.
Pricing will be up to… We don’t know yet officially, but the old NiCd version sold for around $215.
Sometimes the strap wrench seems like that third fork at a formal dinner setting – you know it needs to be there, but you’re not sure why. Strap wrenches are pretty darn useful around the shop (and house); We actually feel a bit remiss having not mentioned one earlier. Heck, almost everyone we know who actually owns a strap wrench can regale you with at least one story of how they were completely and utterly boned before this little wrench saved the project from a trip to the sledge hammer derby.
(Wednesday, October 25th, 2006) Tonight we’ve got a new Mythbusters (and an old one), Hammered/Junk Brothers madness, CCR and more on Speed — not bad for a Wednesday.
All times are central.
Our insomniac’s suggestions: PINKS at 1 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. on Speed, or Sports Car Revolution at 4 a.m. (same channel).
As you’ve likely already read here on Toolmonger, we’re pretty big fans of Bosch’s foray into “small” lithium-ion applications — specifically the PS10 and PS20. Today they announced another slick application of the “less is more” concept: the Flexible Power System, featuring the 36V “SlimPak.”
The “SlimPak” is a smaller, lighter version of their standard 36V. The idea is that if you need the long runtime, you can use the big battery. If you’re working one-handed or overhead — or just don’t want to carry around excess weight — you can ditch the extra runtime in favor of a smaller “SlimPak” battery.
Think you’re not going to drop a bolt on the inside of an engine bay eventually? That’s about like betting the next pull of a one-armed-bandit will come up all cherries – unlikely. Why not forego the betting and instead stock up on some tools that’ll help get you out of a bind. As we’ve mentioned before, a magnet can help.
The Monster Swivel Magnet can defiantly help save the day when a wayward bolt runs off down a crevice of the engine. With a 10 lb. lifting capacity, it might also help if you need to pull the Tin Man through a keyhole.
The small cordless screwdriver market is in full swing; It seems to be a battle of price and features when it comes to who gets the consumer dollar. Here’s McCuloch’s entry into the compact cordless arena.
The McCulloch 4.8 is like most of the other small cordless drivers we’ve seen in many respects: It has a small profile, comes with attachment bits and, makes about 250 RPM. As you might have noticed from the photo, the unit’s ”claim to fame” is its four part folding hard plastic case that includes 100 (!) bits. You’re bound to find something useful in there.
(Tuesday, October 24th, 2006) Look for a bunch of reruns tonight. Color us unimpressed, but at least there’s something to watch. No Pimp My Ride listings? Wow, what’ll MTV show in its place?
All times are central.
Our insomniac’s suggestions: OK, you caught us. We couldn’t find anything we really care to watch after hours tonight. So, our recommendation is to either a) hit the shop, or b) get some sleep. Sorry ’bout that; Maybe we’ll find something better tomorrow. Of course, if you know of something great on tonight, drop us a comment, yeah?
This one comes from the family history files: My father and an uncle were doing some carpentry work on the side to help fill the space under the Christmas tree, and part of the job involved removing the flat roof from a poolside building and replacing it with a new roof that’d better shed snow and rain.
When I showed up to help, I had the dubious honor of pointed out that they’d managed to build their ladder right into the new roof. They’d been leaning the ladder up against the building, and when they installed the new rafters, they installed one right through the ladder. Doh!
Thankfully they had a good sense of humor about it, even after having put in a tough evening of sawing and nailing — after a full day of normal work.
Note: We could use some help in coming up with “Doh!” of the Week material. Thankfully we seem to be incapable of generating a “Doh!” each week on our own, so why not use our contact form to send us your “Doh!” moment? If you’d like it to remain confidential, just say so and we’ll protect the guilty. Either way, if we use your “Doh!” we’ll send you a little something in the mail.
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