The more time we spend in the shop, the more I find that it’s not always just what you know or how flashy your tools are – it’s what you have laying around the shop that counts.  Don’t get me wrong – know how and tools are very important — but all the know how in the world won’t help you if the project requires a 1/4-28 x 2 socket head cap bolt and you don’t have one.  The solution: keep a bunch of fasteners in the shop before you need them and save yourself a trip to go fetch one. 

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Sometimes the most useful tools are very easy to overlook.  For instance we use the receiver hitch on the shop truck almost every week; it hauls thousands of pounds without any trouble every-time.  Without it we would own very heavy immovable objects around town; so a receiver hitch like this class IV from Putnam is a shops’ best friend.  (Assuming, of course, that you have a tow vehicle.)

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(Saturday, December 30th, 2006)  Steel Drum is well worth watching (a repeat, natch); we love the stubby hammers they use.  Obviously there isn’t much on.  The other night we chanced to watch an old episode of King of the Hill we hadn’t seen before.  Titled Little Horrors of Shop, the plot has Hank Hill serving as substitute shop teacher. The messages of the episode will warm the heart of any toolmonger, it’s something to keep an eye out for given the dearth of programming this weekend.

All times are central.

• MythBusters: Crimes and Myth-demeanors (Discovery, 7:00 p.m.)
• Freeform Furniture: Magazine Rack (DIY, 8:00 p.m.)
• Wood Works: Contemporary Night-Table (DIY, 8:30 p.m.)
• Handmade Music: Steel Drum, Episode 1 (DIY, 9:00 p.m.)
• Woodturning Techniques: Lidded Container (DIY, 9:30 p.m.)

Our Insomniac’s Suggestions: Robot Rivals (DIY, 1:00 a.m.).

A good shop apron helps keep all your commonly-used tools ready at hand and also helps protect you from small flying objects and debris.  The beautiful one pictures comes from the Woodworker Academy and is available in leather and acrylic — primarily designed for woodworking use, of course.

We keep a less-expensive leather apron around the shop for protective use during metal griding operations, as it seems that no matter how you approach the job you always end up throwing debris at your midsection with an angle grinder.

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Here’s another portable table saw stand, with a difference: It features wheels large enough to roll over rough terrain at the jobsite and a built-in outfeed support.

The manufacturer’s page has that “as seen on TV” feel, but the product looks pretty slick, though $169 seems a bit steep for this type of stand.

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You’ve heard of J-B Weld?  Who hasn’t.  It’s famous.  (Infamous?)  But have you heard of J-B Stik?  It’s a “hand-kneadable, steel-reinforced epoxy putty/adhesive/sealant” designed to help plug holes and make permanent repairs on wet or dry surfaces.  And, like most other J-B products, it can be drilled, sanded, filed, tapped, machined, and painted.

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FastCap makes some pretty decent adhesive for attaching laminates and veneers.  But what’s really interesting is that they offer it in a tape form as well.  It’s like double-sided tape; you just apply the tape to the substrate, peel off the backing, and apply your laminate or veneer.  The tape assures even and thorough coverage — with no overspray.

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Phillip writes: “RIDGID’s plastic basin wrench is a life-saver during the installation of a kitchen faucet or sprayer.”

As you can imagine, this device fits around a pipe to grab difficult-to-turn-in-tight-places plastic mounting nuts on facuets and such.

I feel stupid.  I’ve fought with these before, and as much as I’ve talked to RIDGID over the last month, I still didn’t know about these.  At $20 street, I’ll damn well have one before I install my next faucet.

Plastic Nut Basin Wrench [RIDGID]
Street Pricing [Froogle]

Mltech wrote in to tell us how much he loves his DeWalt 18V cordless impact driver.  He writes: “It drives dech screws up to 4″ in length with almost no effort and VERY quickly.  It’s an awesome timesaver.”

We love impact drivers as well, though we always seem to end up with the smaller ones as they’re lighter and still drive screws like a banshee. 

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In the Metro Commentary section of the Philadelphia Inquirer’s online branch, columist Carl Golden writes:

I am terrified of Home Depot. And Lowe’s. And places like them.

Oh, sure, I watch all the TV commercials that show helpful store personnel in orange aprons skillfully demonstrating the latest in power tools to smiling customers.

Everybody looks delighted.

Me? I break out in a cold sweat every time I walk into one of these places and take in miles of aisles offering merchandise to build, remodel, renovate or demolish just about anything ever constructed.

I have this recurring nightmare in which I’m stranded in the middle of the store, unable to find an exit.

I know what you’re thinking: I’m about to make fun of Carl for his lack of DIY know-how.  I’m not.  After reading the rest of his column, this bit stuck in my mind:

While I stand on the cold concrete floor looking like an American tourist in downtown Moscow, I’m surrounded by a bunch of guys in tan work boots, ripped blue jeans, and dirty T-shirts with cartoon logos on them. They all seem to have tattoos on their biceps, sawdust in their hair, and paint smears on their forearms.

But they all seem to know precisely what they’re doing and why. They all seem to know exactly which gadget to pluck out of a bin filled with thousands of similar devices, or exactly how many boards they will need for whatever job they are doing, or just how many gallons of paint they will need so there is none left over.

I’m not laughing at Carl.  I feel sorry for him.  His problem isn’t his lack of knowledge; it’s his quick — and thoroughly wrong — stereotype of those of us who use tools and do for ourselves.  I have no tattoos, own very few pairs of jeans with holes in them (they suck for welding — don’t ask), and don’t wear T-shirts by themselves while working because they make me look like Onslow from Keeping Up Appearances.  Sure, I know guys (and women!) who fit his description wholly or in parts, but the point is this: DIYer are marked by only one trait — the fact that they do it themselves.

If Carl could just look part the stereotype and realize that he doesn’t need tan-colored work boots to solve DIY problems, he’d soon realize that all he needs is a strong desire to do so and the will to figure it out.

I’d be willing to bet a quarter — even after losing dozens to Sean lately — that the guy he saw plucking a gadget from the bin probably threw it back and looked at 10 more before he found the right one.  And, the guy who knew exactly how many boards he needed likely spent a good hour drawing the job out on paper to figure it out (by whatever method works for him) — and likely had some left over as he accounted for the screwups that are part of learning the job.

We rarely just know how to do the job — we figure it out as we go, reading books or asking friends, collegues, or even the people at the store for help.

Speaking of the people at the store… five or six years ago Home Depot employed a lot of knowledgeable staff that could really help, even with difficult electrical and plumbing tasks.  While there are exceptions, I certainly feel that the level of service has dropped significantly at Home Depot since.  We hear that this has something to do with a corporate restructuring a few years ago, but I know nothing of the details.

One thing I do agree with Carl about:  “The power-tool section is particularly bewildering. The selection is so vast that I can’t understand how anyone could possibly choose the proper one.”  Well, Carl, we’re here to help.  If you get a chance, check out our guide to selecting your next cordless drill.  And, in late January check out our Ultimate Drill Test where we’re putting together a massive test of dozens of the market’s most common drills.

A Fear of Mr. Fix-It [Philly.com]

With the right tools, pulling a steering wheel’s like petting a goat at the petting zoo.  Without, well…  It’s more like slaying a seven-headed hydra.  (Read: Impossible.)

A steering wheel puller kit works a lot like any other puller — harmonic balancer, pulley, etc. — applying slow, steady force via mechanical advantage.  Two bolts slide through a metal plate then screw into holes on the steering wheel.  A third bolt goes through the center of the metal plate and pushes on the center of the axle of the wheel when tightened; it’s this action that pops the wheel off its splined home.

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(Friday, December 29th, 2006) It’s a wonderful night of car and home related programming, even if it’s thick with reruns.

All times are central.

• DIY Tools & Techniques: Avoiding Kickback/Choosing Chisels (DIY, 5:00 p.m.)
• Pimp My Ride (MTV, 5:00 p.m.)
• Pimp My Ride (MTV, 5:30 p.m.)
• Chop Cut Rebuild: Long Nights (Speed, 6:00 p.m.)
• Pimp My Ride (MTV, 6:00 p.m.)
• Pimp My Ride (MTV, 6:30 p.m.)
• Dirty Jobs: Penguin Keeper (Discovery, 7:00 p.m.)
• Pimp My Ride (MTV, 7:00 p.m.)
• Toolbelt Diva: Lighting 101 (Home, 8:00 p.m.)
• Classic Car Restoration: 1962 Corvette Roadster: Engine Removal (DIY, 8:00 p.m.)
• Toolbelt Diva: Breakfast Nook Rescue (Home, 8:30 p.m.)
• Classic Car Restoration: 1962 Corvette Roadster: Body Work and Interior Disassembly (DIY, 8:30 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 22(Science, 9:00 p.m.)
• Holmes on Homes: Sweet Home Abandoned (Home, 9:00 p.m.)
• Classic Rides: Driveline and Brakes (DIY, 9:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 23 (Science, 9:30 p.m.)
• Holmes on Homes: Terrible Terrace (Home, 9:30 p.m.)
• Tricked Out: 2001 Celica: Acrylic Subwoofer Enclosure (DIY, 9:30 p.m.)
• Unique Whips: Southern Dis-Comfort (Speed, 10:00 p.m.)

Enjoy!

Southpaw submitted this, which he saw on a TV ad.  From the ad: “The Craftsman CompuCarve is a compact, computer-controlled, 3-dimensional woodworking machine with an easy-to-use interface that allows even a novice to craft wood and other soft materials like a pro.  In addition to its one-of-a-kind carving capability, the unique configuration of the machine allows it to perform many other woodworking functions, including cutting and contouring, jointing and routing.”

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I suppose this was coming.  On the game side of things, the classic Monopoly game’s been bent to cover every sort of -opoly imaginable from sports teams to food.  And John Deere’s brand is quickly following Harley Davidson in terms of becoming more valuable than the product itself — to the corporation, anyway.

So here it is: John Deere Monopoly.  I kid you not.

And no, I didn’t even find this in TSC or such.  I found it in JC Penney’s when I was shopping for day-after-Christmas deals on lights and ornaments.

Street Pricing [Froogle]

One of the first steps in turning a mild mannered street vehicle into a show-stopping monster-of-doom is to remove the stupid looking factory body molding.  For that, you need a molding remover set.

The set consists of two spring steel blades; the larger 3 ½” hand held tool works well, but for tough projects where elbow grease just won’t cut it you can attach a pneumatic air hammer to apply up to 40 PSI of force to the 2” edge.  That’ll peel that 80’s crap off like a banana.

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Want to feel like you’re on an Indy 500 pit crew instead of just stuck on the side of the road? Try changing your flat tire on the interstate with a 12 volt Impact wrench that plugs into your cigarette lighter outlet. 

Getting the lugs off your vehicle and back on again in good time can be frustrating by hand, but RoadPro says the 12v impact wrench packs 250 foot pounds of nut turning torque that’ll get them spinning off an uncooperative wheel in no time.  It also sports a 12’ cord so you can change all four tires even on large SUV’s or trucks.

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Tjdunlap submitted this tool he found via Workbench Magazine.  He writes: “The Antex Pipemaster is designed to complement the torch in the tool kit of the plumbing contractor or home improvement enthusiast.  As an alternative to the torch, the pipemaster elements heat the heads to a temperature that allows solder to be applied to copper pipe joints.”

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