(Wednesday, February 28th, 2007) While we definitely enjoyed the exploding lava lamp, and the electro-lifter on these Mythbusters reruns, we can only lament the hollow shell Wednesday has become.

All times are central

• MythBusters: Exploding Lighter (Discovery, 7:00 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Earthquake Machine (Discovery, 9:00 p.m.)
• Unique Whips: Big Trouble (Speed, 9:00 p.m.)
• Junk Brothers: The Lawnmower and the Dining Chairs (HGTV, 10:00 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Anti-Gravity Device (Discovery, 10:00 p.m.)
• I Love Toy Trains (RFD-TV, 11:30 p.m.)

Enjoy.

(Tuesday, February 27th, 2007) Look for a new V-Twin TV and a new Dirty Jobs tonight, as well as the overhaul of a Hellcat (which is better described as a tank destroyer, not a tank).  Many other things to watch besides!

All times are central.

• Machinery of the Past (RFD-TV, 5:00 p.m.)
• Chop Cut Rebuild: Nostalgia (Speed, 6:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 15 (Discovery, 7:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 16 (Discovery, 7:30 p.m.)
• Dirty Jobs: Termite Controller (Discovery, 8:00 p.m.)
• Overhaulin’: Chip & AJ Trading Places (TLC, 8:00 p.m.)
• Tank Overhaul: The Hellcat (Military, 8:00 p.m.)
• Dirty Jobs: Salt Miner (Discovery, 9:00 p.m.)
• John Ratzenberger’s Made in America: Merillat (Travel, 9:00 p.m.)
• V-Twin TV (Speed, 9:00 p.m.)
• 10 Things You Must Know: Installing a Sprinkler System (DIY, 9:00 p.m.)
• John Ratzenberger’s Made in America: Frito-Lay-Corn Chips (Travel, 9:30 p.m.)
• Trade School: Woodworking (DIY, 9:30 p.m.)
• Unique Whips: Blazing a Trail to NASCAR (Speed, 10:00 p.m.)
• Dirty Jobs: Mushroom Farmer (Discovery, 11:00 p.m.)

Enjoy.

An anonymous reader tipped us to write about something that we’ve used on and off since we were kids: Lava brand soap with pumice.  (Sometimes we get so wrapped up in writing about the newest power tool that we forget to mention something as simple as good hand soap for the shop!)  From the Lava FAQ:

What is pumice?
Pumice is a by-product of volcanic activity that provides the mildly abrasive quality in the Lava Bar and Lava Liquid soaps.  It is also the meaning behind the “Lava” name. 

The FAQ goes on to say that this is pretty much the same product they release 80 years ago.  So, yes, the Lava we used as kids in Dad’s shop is the same stuff.  Now it’s available in a bar and liquid format, and they even have a “pro” version that includes whatever that orange stuff is that’s so popular in cleaners now-a-days.

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Timmy writes: “These are the greatest tool nobody’s ever heard of.  They’re specially designed for installing and maintaining wire fince on metal and wood posts.  It’s six tools in one: a staple starter, hammer, two staple pullers, a wire stretcher, a wire splicer, and two wire cutters.  There are many brands of fence pliers available, but I’d put my money on the Channellocks to be about the best.”

I’ll admit that though I’ve had a couple of pairs of fence pliers, I haven’t written about them yet because I never really work on fences.  I’ve used them to pull staples, as a hammer, and to cut thick wire, but I’ve never really used ‘em for their intended purpose.

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Stuart tipped us off to another Amazon promo code:

“Special Offer: Use promotional claim code SCREWGUN at the checkout to get a Black & Decker LI3000 cordless screwdriver with internal lithium battery worth $34.99 free when you purchase $150 or more of any of thousands of qualifying tools.”

We’re not sure exactly which tools qualify, but if you were already planning on picking up a tool from Amazon you might easily cross the $150 mark.  It’s certainly worth trying the code.

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We’re happy to announce that we’ll be sponsoring and attending Make’s awesome Maker Faire 2007 at the San Mateo Fairgrounds in California on May 19th and 20th.  We’re working out the details, but it looks like this is going to coincide perfectly with our upcoming “cordless drill shootout.”  Our plan is to bring all the drills out to the event so you can help us evaluate ‘em in person.

It’ll also be a great opportunity for us to meet any of you close enough to the Bay Area to make the trip out.  Hell, we’ll excited just to meet all the cool Makers that’ll be there.  We drooled over last year’s event since we couldn’t make it out.

Obviously we’ll bring you a lot of coverage of the even as well with cool tools, projects, and the people who make them.

All the recent discussion about flooring and fixtures has us wondering what some of your shops look like.  We hear about your successes — and some of your projects — in comments, but we’d like to see ‘em, too.

If you get a chance, drop us a photo of your shop or work area.  You can email photos to me directly at ccage [at] toolmonger.com.  (You know the anti-spam drill — replace the [at] and spaces with the appropriate symbol.)  We’ll publish some of the pictures here for everyone to check out, and hopefully we’ll all come up with some new ideas for how to improve the place we enjoy spending our time.

PS: Don’t spend a lot of time resizing images, but our perfect photo is 450 pixels wide.  Larger is better than smaller, but don’t bother with extreme high-res as we’re not doing any print work.

We look forward to hearing from you!

(Monday, February 26th, 2007) It’s, um, Monday, which means not much on TV.  So, how are people’s projects going?

All times are central.

• Trains and Locomotives: “Midwest Trolley Tour Part 2.” (RFD-TV, 5:00 p.m.)
• Chop Cut Rebuild: I’ve Got Kidney Beans (Speed, 6:00 p.m.)
• Dirty Jobs: Cave Digger (Discovery, 8:00 p.m.)
• Unique Whips: Heart Broken (Speed, 10:00 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Crimes and Myth-demeanors 2 (Discovery, 11:00 p.m.)

Enjoy.

Last week we added a new feature to Toolmonger — the “Interesting Post” link:

There’s been a little confusion about how this link works.  Here’s the skinny.

Whenver you read a post on Toolmonger that catches your interest, just click the link.  It’s not a “voting system” per se — where you’d vote for a single post out of a specific group, but rather a way for you to indicate any article which catches your interest.

We use your clicks in a couple of ways.  First, we take them into account when selecting the “top 5″ posts for feature in the week-ending “Week in Tools post” — which is distributed to some other websites and will be featured in our new podcast.  We’ll also use your clicks to get an idea of what kind of posts you enjoy most so we can increase our coverage in that area.

So, to review: Whenever you see a post that’s interesting, just click on the “Interesting Post” button.  And if you’re reading this via RSS, we’d sure appreciate it if you’d take the time to click through and click the button if you come across something interesting as well.

We appreciate your feedback!

Loctite’s Power Grab construction adhesives have been a staple for finishing work for some time.  Now they’ve introduced the same adhesive in a double-sided tape format to make attaching things like house numbers, coat hooks, and baseboards simpler.

Like the original Power Grab, the rolled version is waterproof, resistant to UV light, and stands up to temperatures from -40F to 248F.

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We’re getting a little tired of doing scroll work with a jigsaw, so we’re thinking about picking up a small dedicated scroll saw.  We’ve got a few coming in for review, but we’d love to hear your recommendations.

You’ll note that there’s a pretty big difference in price between the two in the photo above.  The Task Force on the left goes for $99, while the Delta Shopmaster is marked $219.  While I’m sure the Delta’s worth more, is it worth the extra $119?

Let us know in comments, especially if you have one that you’re happy with.

If you believe the hype, WD-40’s good for everything except curing cancer.  And regardless of what unkind words you might have about it, we’d be willing to bet you’ve got a can in the garage somewhere.

But with that in mind — is it still worth keeping in the shop?  We’ve found far better penetrants, and there are better lubricants available for almost any special purpose.  On the other hand, isn’t it handy to have a general-purpose lubricant around?

What say you?  Let us know in comments.

If you liked Skil’s 10.8V drill but couldn’t justify $75 for it, you might want to keep an eye on the sales table at your local Lowe’s.  We saw five of ‘em on the sale table marked down to $30.

You’ve probably got a great tap set back in the shop — like we do — but what if you’re up in a ceiling (or somewhere else remote) and you can’t carry the whole set?  Klein’s got you covered qith a screwdriver-shaped tool that’ll create six of the most common threads.

There are three taps on each end of the shaft — which is reversible — ordered from smallest to largest so you just slip the shaft through to the correct size.

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(Sunday, February 25th, 2007) International Furniture Show should be fun – if you’re the type that likes trade shows (like we do)!  Axes, Swords and Knives is well worth watching if you haven’t seen it yet.

All times are central

• Dirty Jobs: Penguin Keeper (Discovery, 6:00 p.m.)
• Modern Marvels: Axes, Swords and Knives (History, 6:00 p.m.)
• Dirty Jobs: Poo Pot Maker (Discovery, 7:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 43 (Science, 7:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 44 (Science, 7:30 p.m.)
• Dirty Jobs: Well Digger (Discovery, 8:00 p.m.)
• International Furniture Show 2007 (HGTV, 8:00 p.m.)
• Classic Tractor Specials (RFD-TV, 8:00 p.m.)
• Dirty Jobs :Bug Breeder (Discovery, 9:00 p.m.)
• 10 Things You Must Know: Installing a Skylight (DIY, 9:00 p.m.)
• Tricked Out: Dodge SRT-4: Engine Management System (DIY, 9:30 p.m.)

Enjoy.

Mike R. writes: “Gorgonz makes a cool glove that has a valve in the back that you breathe into to help warm your hands.  They seem well built and have a comfortable fit that allows for a lot more dexterity than a typical cold weather gloves.  The valve works great, and breathing warm air into the gloves definitely helps keep your hands warm.  There’s an easy-to-grab flap covering the valve, which keeps crap out of it.”

“Home Depot carries a couple sytles (the 650 and 475), though the 650 and 850 are the only ones with the valve.  The 650 has less insulation but allows for more control than the 850.  The 650s are cheaper at Home Depot — $29 around here – than on the Gorgonz website.”

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Mike R. writes: “Sams Club sells an interlocking mat product that works great as a cheap-ass shop floor.  They are black on the reverse side so you don’t have to deal with the obnoxious colors.  You get 33 square feet for just under $20, which works out to like .60 a square foot.  I’ve got it in a basement shop, kids play area and laundry room, and it’s held up great for 6 months of random kid and shoe abuse.  Since it’s a thick rubber foam, it’s alot more comforatable to stand an walk on than concrete.  The panels are easy to pull up and replace if you manage to screw one up.  It’s also very easy to cut with a utility knife, so installation was painless.”

“I doubt this would last long if you parked cars on it, but I plan on putting some in the shop area in my garage this spring.  I haven’t had this in a greasy or oily enviroment yet so I don’t know how well it will handle that kind of abuse.”

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