We totally understand that your choice of floor coating isn’t only a matter of taste — it’s also a matter of use.  But assume for a moment that we’re talking about a general-purpose home shop, which is commonly a re-purposed garage. 

Would you enjoy an epoxy finish on your garage floor if you were doing some basic woodwork, metalwork, and automotive work?

We have our own opinion, of course.  We have an epoxy finish on the Toolmonger shop floor and we’ve come across a few pros and cons.  On the pro side, it’s almost impervious to most chemical spills.  We’ve cleaned up gasoline, brake fluid, and other nastiness without any negative effects on the coating.  It’s also a very light gray color, which means there’s a lot more light underneath vehicles.  On the con side, though, it scratches pretty easily.  It’s also hard to clean paint overspray off of it, though that’s pretty easily avoided.

Ours is a Sherwin Williams two-part product, professionally applied.  I’m a little more doubtful of the less expensive Rustoleum product, and I hate the “paint chip” finish they always show in their ads.

What do you think?  Let us know in comments.  (And when you comment, please let everyone know your specific experiences with your floor!)

While these are obviously intended for basic auto body panel straightening, they have all sorts of uses around the shop.  If you’ve ever found yourself trying to shape a piece of thin metal — sheet or otherwise — these are the core tools that’ll help you in the process.

And at just $25 for the set, there’s really no excuse not to have ‘em in the drawer, even if you have no intent of learning sheet metal work.  These are perfect for reshaping a metal bracket or putting a curve in a small piece of thin bar stock.  They’re not the best hammers and dollies around, but they’re great for general shop use.

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Milwaukee’s V4 announcement inspired reader Copsey to send in a link to Hitachi’s current 3.6V li-ion cordless screwdriver offering, pictured above.  It includes many of the same features coming in the V4, including a 21 position clutch, two-speed 200/600 RPM operation, and (of course) li-ion batteries.

But in the bateries lie one of the major differences: Hitachi’s screwdriver ships with 1.5 Ah batteries as opposed to the V4’s 3.0 Ah cell.  While I’d imagine the tools are quite similar from most other performance standpoints, I’d guess that the V4′ll provide a much longer runtime — maybe twice as long.

Of course, we’ll see this summer when we get the chance to pit the V4 against the Hitachi directly.

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Everyone’s heard of Bondo, but were you aware that they make a range of other materials, many of which are useful for purposes other than lowering the resale value of your car?

We ran into one of those, um, other uses this week when we were modifying some interior console panels in a GMC Denali pickup.  While we were able to create some of the surfaces with wood, we used Bondo’s Bondo-Glass fiber-reinforced filler material to create some of the more complex curves.

Bondo-Glass works a lot like traditional Bondo in that it’s a two-part substance: the core material and a “hardener” agent that activates it.  Once mixed, the material is workable for about five minutes, quickly solidifying into a hard shape that’s sandable and paintable.  The major difference from the classic filler, of course, is the inclusion of fiberglass filler material which drastically increases its strength.

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(Saturday, February 24th, 2007) Tonight Travel is showing some Made in America reruns, and expect the old standard woodworking from DIY.

All times are central

• Ultimate Factories: Harley-Davidson (National Geographic, 6:00 p.m.)
• John Ratzenberger’s Made in America: Burt’s Bees (Travel, 6:00 p.m.)
• John Ratzenberger’s Made in America: Kitchen Aid (Travel, 6:30 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Crimes and Myth-demeanors 2 (Discovery, 7:00 p.m.)
• Wood Works: Walnut and Glass Display Stand (DIY, 8:00 p.m.)
• Wood Works: Pyramid Art Pedestal (DIY, 8:30 p.m.)
• Wood Works: Circular Kitchen Table (DIY, 9:00 p.m.)
• Freeform Furniture: Bench (DIY, 9:30 p.m.)
• Unique Whips: Slam Dunk (Speed, 10:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 13(Discovery, 11:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 14 (Discovery, 11:30 p.m.)

Our Insomniac’s Suggestions: Talk2DIY Automotive (DIY, 1:00 a.m.)

It’s been a very, very busy week here at Toolmonger, but one thing made us happy: We got to spend some time in the shop.

If you’ve been spending time in the shop, too, and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select:

Hands-On: Irwin’s Self-Adjusting Wire Stripper
This tool (which is new to the Irwin line, but not new to any old-hand electronics buff) proves to be a winner.  We tried it out on a variety of wire types and posted lots of pictures to help you get a feel for it.  (And if you’re still using a manual stripper — or one that requires you to pick the right hole – you should definitely check out a self-adjusting model.  They rock.)

Cheap-Ass Tools: REALLY Cheap LED Lights
It wasn’t enough when a reader found a 2-pack of 9-LED aluminum flashlights for $6.  Another reader blew that out of the water with 10 keychain LED lights for $4.70 shipped.  These would make great gifts — or even parts for a project.

Preview: Milwaukee’s V4 Cordless Screwdriver
If you’re a fan of the classic two-position cordless screwdriver form factor but’ve been holding out for li-ion extended runtime and shelf charge, you’ll likely find your match with Milwaukee’s new V4, which features a single-cell version of the same lithium manganese battery set used in their famous V28 and V18 sets.

Preview: Dremel’s Multi-Vise
Think of this new Vise from Dremel as a big version of an electronics guru’s “third hand” designed to hold small bits of wood and other items you might wish to modify.  It clamps to most workbenches and features a 360-degree tilt-swivel base and a bar clamp up top.

Finds: An Inexpensive Paint Respirator
Why not pick up one of these before your next rattle-can paint job?  The life you save may be your own.

Help us choose next week’s Top 5!

We’d appreciate your help in choosing next week’s Top 5, which’ll be featured here, elsewhere, and in the podcast as well.  While you’re reading TM this week, look out for the “Interesting Post” button at the bottom of the article:

When you see an article that piques your interest, click the button once.  You’ll return to the same page, but TM’s software’ll score your click for future reference.  We’ll check in on the totals before selecting next week’s Top 5.

Despite the fact that the emails Sears sent out about this sale focus on mattersses and appliances, they are actually offering some discounts on tools as well.  Specifically, they’re offering discounts on all online and catalog exclusive tools.

Our favorite: the ProVision 36″ scope, pictured above.  These fiber-optic borescopes have been on our wish list for some time now because they’re incredibly useful around the shop.  Sears is currently offering $25 off a few of the ProVision models as part of this sale.

Sale Items [Sears]
ProVision 36″ Obedient Scope [Sears]

Another tip to the casual rattle-canner: pick up a decent respirator.  Yeah, you can probably “get away” with filling your lungs with chemicals and your nose with paint a few times, but why take a few years off your life when you can pick up the a bare minimum decent respirator for under $30?

We picked up the AO Safety model pictured above at Lowe’s for $29, though they list it online for $28.  Better yet, we found it on Amazon for $25.  It’s not the finest available, but it’s quite reasonable.  We didn’t have any trouble adjusting it for a good fit, and it made a big difference in how we felt after painting for a few hours.

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Here’s another piece of kit we came to love this week: good sandpaper.  We picked up some of Norton’s 800, 1200, 1500, and 2000 grit SandWet product from the paint shop after they got done laughing at our rattle-can project. 

The real winner here, though, is the 2000 grit.  It offers a totally different level of control from the 320 grit you find at the big-box stores.  We were even able to make some minor repairs on a clear-coated finish, then add just a little clear to cover up the work.

The SandWet works for either wet or dry sanding — a function of the material used for the backing paper — and it’s great to have in the shop.  Like I said, we picked up the other grits while we were there so we’ve got a variety to work with.

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We’ve been doing some serious rattle-canning in the TM shop this week, and we’ve learned a couple of things: 1) Any kind of painting takes a tremendous amount of patience, and 2) all the same tools the pros use work great for rattle-can work as well.

Don’t doubt the fact that the guys at the paint supply shop will definitely laugh at you when you come in.  They’ll give you s#!&, lie to you about the gear they sell, and generally treat you like the total poser you are.  But they do have tools that’ll make the difference for you, and you may need to deal with ‘em to get what you need.

Thankfully you can mail-order some of the stuff you need, like this portable bench from Steck.  One of the first things you’ll discover when you start trying to do more than just make something roughly a different color with paint is that you need to be able to comfortably get at all areas of the part you’re working on.  And seeing how anything you use to prop it up will get completely and totally covered in paint, you really need something designed for the task.

This bench folds up to get out of the way, and when unfolded stands 45″ tall with 38″ between its foam-padded rails.  Using the two chains you can adjust it slightly for height, and Steck claims it’ll hold up to 500 pounds — probably more than you’ll need.

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You may have noticed that we added a little feature to Toolmonger this week — a little button:

What is it? 

By clicking this button, you can let us know that the post in question caught your interest.  Clicking the button isn’t doesn’t show your approval of the tool in question or even your agreement with the sentiments contained within — it simply lets us know that the post was significant to you in some way.

But why bother? 

Well, we use this information in a couple of ways.  First, we review it every so often to see what topics we should put more effort into and which topics Toolmongers as a whole aren’t really interested in.  We also use it to assist in selecting the “top 5″ tools each week for our Week in Tools roundup.  And, we use it to determine which posts we should discuss in the Toolmonger podcast.

Can’t I just click it 10,000 times?  Is this a real contest/voting system?

Yes.  No.  Please don’t.  We’re not looking to become the next Digg here, so we haven’t invested in trying to prevent gaming of the system or other such abuses.  We’ll simply ask you to use the system as it’s intended, clicking the button only once when you’re interested in a post.  We’ll go over the results and use our own common sense when interpreting them.

We hope this information helps, and we also hope that you’ll take the time to click the button!

Okay, let’s just start by getting the jokes out of the way.  You can imagine all the unsavory places this can go.

All through?  Ok, this tool is actually used to mix concrete and mortar — which responds better to vibration than to standard tined mixing.  This particluar model vibrates at 12,500 VPM and runs off a 12V NiCd battery.  Makita makes a number of different models — including one based on their LXT li-ion line — but this one seemed the most price effective, streeting for around $400 in kit form.  (If you’ve already got a 12V setup — or the LXT setup — you can buy these in tool-only form for much less.)

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(Friday, February 23rd, 2007) It’s just the old dependable lineup tonight — no complaints, and Discovery’s schedule is now working.

All times are central

• How It’s Made, Season 2: Episode 22 (Science, 6:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made, Season 2: Episode 23 (Science, 6:30 p.m.)
• Trick My Truck: Ken England’s Ken’s Drive In (CMT, 7:30 p.m.)
• Toolbelt Diva: Backyard Playground (Home, 8:00 p.m.)
• Classic Car Restoration: ‘65 Mustang Restoration, Pt. 9: Dash, Stereo and Head/Taillight Upgrades (DIY, 8:00 p.m.)
• Toolbelt Diva: Safe Home (Home, 8:30 p.m.)
• Classic Car Restoration: Wheels and Tires, Finishing Touches, Restoration Recap (DIY, 8:30 p.m.)
• How It’s Made, Season 2: Episode 32 (Science, 9:00 p.m.)
• Holmes on Homes: Cold Feet (Home, 9:00 p.m.)
• Classic Rides: ‘48 Indian Motorcycle, Pt. 9: Electrical Components, Shift Lever and Seat (DIY, 9:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made, Season 2: Episode 7 (Science, 9:30 p.m.)
• Holmes on Homes: Exit Wound (Home, 9:30 p.m.)
• Classic Rides: The Finishing Touches (DIY, 9:30 p.m.)

Enjoy.

Based on a Toolmonger comment we read a while back, we decided to pick up a set of Irwin’s (semi-)new self-adjusting wire strippers, so we thought we’d give you a look at ‘em as well.  In short: They rock.  They’ve quickly become the wire stripper of choice in the TM shop.

Read on past the jump for our hands-on experience and some detail pictures.

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Deal King Sizod writes: “I wish I’d found these $2.42 cutter/strippers before I bought the $20 at home depot.  It’s made of hardened steel, and the stripper has a plier nose and cutters.  It strips fiber jackets and 10-20 gauge wire.  They’re spring-loaded with a locking mechanism to keep ‘em shut when not in use.”

Wire Cutter/Stripper [MilesTek]

Mike R. writes, “Since cheap LED flashlights have been popular, here are 10 for $4.70 shipped from a reliable webstie.  They’re very bright for their size, and at less than $0.50 each, they’re basically disposable.  Black and clear are available at the site.  The only downside is that the shipping time is about two weeks.”

Well, it looks like we’ve finally hit bottom in terms of LED light pricing — unless anyone out there finds someone who’ll pay us a few bucks to take a dozen.

White Flashlight Keychain 10-Pack [DealXTreme]

Rick sent us this great writeup of the Robland X31 combination tablesaw/jointer/planer/router/mortiser, and he’d like your opinion as well.  He writes, “The Robland X31 Combination Tablesaw/Jointer/Planer/Router/Mortiser is just one of this class of machines.  It seems to be a popular – though not inexpensive — choice. Overall, my submission is about this class of machine in general.  I’ve been reading up a lot on these style machines.  They hail primarily from Europe where they are very popular for hobbyists and one-person woodworking shops.  Some of the benefits are: a more compact size, a tend toward VERY solidly build, and — in the case of this X31 — a fairly powerful set of motors.  (I think there are like five separate 3hp motors running the show.” 

“For some reason, though, this style of machines just isn’t popular in the US.  Maybe it’s the whole US mentality of wide open spaces, etc.  It’s tough to worry about space for equipment when you’ve got a 1,500 sq ft shop sitting on three acres of farmland, etc., whereas in Europe you have folks with a closet for a shop that’s attached to the back of their home in a small urban neighborhood.  This is similar to how the US tends to like bigger cars, and it’s only been in recent decades that we’ve embraced small cars (to some degree).”

“The primary disadvantage I see is cost.  These machines aren’t cheap.  The X31 is $7,000 and that’s somewhat on the mid-range of the scale for this style machine.  That said, when you get this delivered, you’re set for quite some time.  These aren’t some cheap multi-tool that has all of these functions – and does none of them well – and is rife with compromises made in design and functionality.  The Shopsmith lathe-based multi-tool comes to mind.  It has a bunch of functions running off one relatively underpowered motor, etc.  Perhaps that’s the other reason why folks to tend to shy away from them here.”

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