SK Hand tools announced their new line of dead blow hammers today.  All four new models are made in the USA and feature fully molded Trucothane (read: rubber plastic coating) shells that protect the head from splitting, even when you do incredibly stupid things with ‘em.  (What else are dead blows for?)

The dead blow hammer is called such because of its shot-filled canister that counteracts a hammer’s natural tendency to bounce back.  The steel canister is welded to the rod and fully incased in the handle for safety.

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This isn’t exactly a new idea — converting a power tool to drive a little toy car — but what makes this clip so funny is the dialogue at around the 45 second point. 

Somethin’ makes me think this kid’s ass is gettin’ whooped.

We’re fans of Black & Decker’s Handisaw — but that’s not what we’re talking about here.  This is a powered version of a good ‘ole hand saw.  Admittedly, at first glance we wondered why there’s a need for this kind of tool, but then wondered if maybe it wouldn’t be useful for homeowners who’re cutting a few 2×4s.

What say you?  Cool tool or junk?  Check out the link below and let us know in comments what you think.

Firestorm 18V Cordless Powered Hand Saw [Black & Decker]

Related:

• Hands-On: Black & Decker’s HandiSaw
• Hands-On: The Worx Revolver Assault Reciprocating Saw
• Stanley’s Folding Pocket Saw

The market is totally flooded with gimmicky tools.  Seriously.  (And if you don’t believe us, just spend a night watching infomercials.  Damn!)  When we saw the Vpro Ratcheting wrenches, we couldn’t help but wonder if they’re really pro-grade. 

They do, however, have some cool features.  Essentially, these are your good ‘ole standard ratchets with the addition of a 72-tooth gear mechanism that provides 5° of sweep.  Oh yeah, and some MOMA-ish styling.

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Those of you who caught the Mythbusters “pirate special” last week on Discovery may have — as we did — risen a little out of your chair when you saw Tory “sharpening” a kife with an angle grinder.  The result was, well, not promising.  What they really needed was a workstation like this one from Burke.

Rarely — if ever! — is actual grinding required to put an edge back on something that was once sharp.  Even creating an initial edge can often be accomplished by simply using a coarse grit on a paper wheel.  Burke’s unit gives you everything you need: an abrasive paper wheel, a leather wheel, and a buffing wheel.

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I know this stuff is available from a variety of sources, but I always pick it up from Harbor Freight because it’s seriously, seriously cheap.  Like $3.50 for an 18″ x 72″ piece — and that’s not even on sale.

I always pick up a little extra when it goes on sale — I paid $1 per 18″ x 72″ piece last time — and stick it in storage because I always seem to be adding some kind of tool box/cart/etc. to our collection here.  The photo above is from our tool cart, which is also highly recommended.  This stuff keeps the tools from sliding around when you roll the cart, and keeps nicer tools from getting scratched up/scratching up the box/cart.

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I love ToolLogic.  I don’t know a damn thing about them, but I love ‘em.  Why?  Because in the SL3 they bring together two of my favorite things: knives and fire. Ok, so it may not be the best looking knife around — but did I mention it makes fire? 

The SL3’s main features are a 2” serrated stainless blade and a magnesium alloy fire starter which — when combined with a special notch on the SL3 blade — deliver a shower of sparks at over 2500º.  Toollogic says “It will even spark when wet.”  Sweet.

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We’ve received quite a bit of email over the last few weeks asking about the fate of our “Week in Tools” podcasts.  Rest easy — they’re returning next week after some time off to revamp and improve them.

In fact, starting next Friday Toolmonger will produce and release two podcasts.  The first, Tool Talk, will replace the “Week in Tools” ‘cast with additional content including a rundown of the week’s top tools from Toolmonger, answers to called-in questions, and a weekly feature.  Next friday’s feature will be “getting started with plasma cutting,” for which we’re joined by a long time welder from Hobart.

Tool Talk also gives you the chance to call in with your own questions regarding tools, home improvement, automotive mods/repairs — hell, pretty much anything even remotely tool related.  Since podcasts aren’t recorded live, listeners will leave their questions on a voice mail system we’ve set up, and we’ll respond to them in future podcasts.  The advantage of this is that — unlike most live radio call-in shows — if we can’t answer the question, we can make some calls and find someone who can.  And believe me, writing about tool all day every day means we have one hell of a Rollidex.

Wanna know how tool companies measure drill torque?  Need to know how to adjust a door?  Ever wonder how modern electronic car transmissions work?  Hit us up.  We’re up to the challenge.  The voice mail system’s already set up, so if you’d like to get into the first show, give us a call right now toll-free at (866) 718-9403.

Our second podcast will be called “One Beer Projects” and will feature quickie projects you can do in ten or fifteen minutes.  This ‘cast will last only about five minutes and will release at least weekly — though possibly more often.

So there you have it.  New podcasts next week.

Sick of giving up half your power strip outlets to wall warts that cover more than one plug?  Try this: The Power Squid treats ‘warts and single plugs equally.

Richie writes: “This is great for the workshop or anywhere else where you have several huge adapters that plock other outlets.  It can be found most cheaply at Home Depot or Radio Shack.”

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DeWalt’s 36V cordless package seems like a perfect match for a 1″ SDS rotary hammer, so it’s no surprise that they recently released one.  And it’s a beast, pushing 2.0 ft-lbs (not in-lbs) of impact energy.

This is power enough, according to DeWalt, to drill 1″ holes in concrete.

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(Wednesday, January 24th, 2007) We’ll take what we can get, and what we can get is a new Mythbusters about (Jamie attempting to drown Adam?) escaping from a car underwater with the B team trying to fold a piece of paper. That sounds about right.  To be fair, the B team is testing the 7 paper fold myth, which has been previously busted (by a young girl), but should highlight some interesting topology.

All times are central.

• Chop Cut Rebuild: Tear Down Day (Speed, 6:00 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Killer Cable Snaps (Discovery, 7:00 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Underwater Car (Discovery, 9:00 p.m.)
• Unique Whips: Back With a Vengeance (Speed, 9:00 p.m.)
• Junk Brothers: The Two Tables (HGTV, 10:00 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Cell Phones on Planes (Discovery, 10:00 p.m.)
• Unique Whips: Them’s the Brakes (Speed, 10:00 p.m.)
• I Love Toy Trains (RFD-TV, 11:30 p.m.)

Enjoy.

Think of this tool as the half-way point between a winch and a come-along.  Phillip writes: “You’ll want one of these if you use a come-along very often.  Warn just introduced a 110 VAC and a 24 VDC version, both of which come in chainsaw-looking cases and weigh just 15 pounds.”

Indeed, both the corded and the cordless versions each are rated at 1,000 pounds of lift or drag.  Each includes a variable speed trigger to help you control the pull speed, and they operate in forward and reverse.

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According to News8 in Idaho Falls, Idaho, a guy names Shawn Pruett hopped in a front-end loader and took it on a ride via public streets.  According to the articles, Pruett swiped the front-end loader — as well as a mini-excavator and a skid steer — in order to make some side cash doing a snow removal job.  But apparently that wasn’t all he did during his 16-hour joyride:

According to Police, Pruett drove his girlfriend’s kids to school in the front-end loader.  He also flipped a car upside down with the big machine.  “He said that he was angry and he didn’t want to take his anger out on people, so he flipped the vehicle,” said [Jessica] Hunt [an Idaho Falls patrol officer].

Ouch!  The good news, though: no damage to the construction vehciles, though Pruett did burn a ton of gas.

Idaho Falls Man Takes Loader on Joy Ride [LocalNews8.com] [via]

The ultimate DIY does their own automotive work — including rebuilding that old, worn-out engine.  A glaze breaker is for those type of people. The first thing anyone needs to keep in mind is that crosshatching and de-glazing your own cylinders is not something one should charge off and do without some knowledge.  Doing so is a good way to turn your workable block into a boat anchor.

The glaze breakers work by spinning the 3″ 220 grit cutting stones in one direction down the bore, then reversing the spin and pulling it back out while it’s still spinning.  Done correctly, the stones produce a diamond pattern and remove the heat-polished glaze from the inside of the cylinder bore.  An adjustable stop-collar permits quick selection of 2″ to 4″ and 4″ to 7″ range settings and serves as a safety stop if the tool is extracted from cylinder while turning.  This model works with any 3/8″ or 1/2″ chuck electric drill.

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The quote from the joke MacGyver multitool (read: paperclip) packaging below:

“A paperclip can be a wonderous thing.  More times than I can remember, one of these has gotten me out of a tight spot…”

So what’s YOUR MacGyver tool?  If you were to remove the word “paperclip” from the quote and insert a tool you own, what would it be?  Post a comment below, or drop us a line with your ultimate MacGyver tool — anything from a toothpick to a milling machine.

This photo’s been making the rounds today.  Since we’ve been covering a number of different multitools recently, we thought you’d enjoy it.

Update: Whoops.  Saw this on Digg this morning, then noticed that SuperJdynamite (a relatively regular commenter here on TM) submitted it as well.  Thanks SJD!

It’s definitely manly to get your hands dirty, but there’s nothing manly about showing up for a date with black crap ground into your pores and skin.  Nor is there anything particularly manly in using chemicals or stiff brushes that leave your hands looking like a burn victim.  Try this instead:

Dan writes: “This is a soft plastic-bristled nailbrush — ironically, it doesn’t work all that well at getting grime out from under nails because it’s a bit too soft, but it’s fantastic at getting ground-in dirt from the backs of hands, around cuticles, the crinkly bits of knuckles, etc.  And at $7.50 for a dozen, you can put them everywhere.”

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