Porter Cable’s offering up $25 to $50 rebates on a variety of their routers.  Specifically, they’re offering a $25 rebate on their 9690 or 690LR routers, a $50 rebate on any router purchase that includes a Model 4212 Deluxe Dovetail Jig, a $50 rebate on any series 7500 router, and a $50 rebate on any router kit.

For what it’s worth, it’s been our experience that most pro shops use PC routers almost exclusively.  If you’ve been thinking about a purchase, this might be the time.  Be sure and check the fine print.

Promotions [Porter Cable]

Dremel keeps punching out great accessories for their already-ubiquitous rotary tool — like their new “multi-vise.”  Think of it as a bigger, beefier version of the “third-hand” style vises you use for electronics work.

It has the same swivel-type base — which is removable to allow you to sit the unit on a bench directly — but its padded jaws can handle heavier objects. 

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If you’ve been looking for a pro-level li-ion cordless screwdriver, Milwaukee may have your number.  A few weeks ago they gave IBS attendees a preliminary look at their new V4 li-ion cordless screwdriver.  It’s one of the first “traditionally-shaped” cordless screwdrivers we’ve seen to incorporate li-ion and a pro feature set.

Besides the standard two-position handle, the V4 includes a two-speed gearbox (200 or 600 RPM) and a 21-position clutch.  (There’s a clutch-disabled “drill mode” for drilling small pilot holes.)  The battery is a 4V single-cell version of the V28’s 7-cell (and the 20V V18’s 5-cell) battery — a 3.0 Ah monster that should provide some pretty hearty runtime.

It’ll MSRP at around $110.  The only bad news: These won’t hit shelves until summertime, so you’re gonna have to stretch that old NiCd ‘driver a little farther.

(Thursday, February 22nd, 2007) Well, there should be new shows on Discovery’s channels, but their schedule page seems broken as this is written…  so check your local listings.

All times are central.

• Chop Cut Rebuild: Pump Up the Volume (Speed, 6:00 p.m.)
• Classic Tractor Specials: “Everybody Promenade.” (RFD-TV, 7:00 p.m.)
• Rock Solid: Walkway Revamp (DIY, 8:00 p.m.)
• 10 Things You Must Know: Replacing Windows (DIY, 9:30 p.m.)
• Don’t Sweat It: First Home Fixes (HGTV, 10:30 p.m.)

Enjoy.

Evan writes: “I don’t really want to submit this as a good tool, but I think it’s time for another installment of ‘Why the hell is this at the tool store?’ from Harbor Freight.  I found this in the ‘miscellaneous hand tools’ section on the website.”

While I’d agree that HF sells their share of weird crap — their frog family statue comes to mind — a ring sizer can be handy, and even essentialy for jewelry makers.  Truthfully, this is the kind of tool that I’d imagine hanging out in the shop of a real toolaholic – the kind of guy who has a tool for everything, leaving nothing to chance.

And at $4, I might just pick me one up the next time I’m in the store.

Ring Sizing Stick [Harbor Freight]

Sizod — henceforth to be called the King of deal-finding — sent in this sweet sale today: a 2-pack of 9-LED aluminum pocket flashlights for $6.  Hell, we thought we’d found a deal when we saw some LED flashlights for $4 each at HF.  Compared to this, HF is price gouging.

From GoldenGadgets.com, these lights are powered by 3 AA batteries, and 3-3/4″ long by 1-3/16″ in diameter, and feature aluminum bodies.

Damn.

2-Pack of 9-LED Aluminum Pocket Flashlights [GoldenGadgets.com]

We asked all you Toolmongers out there about a couple of products recently, and here’s what you told us:

Magnetic Strip Tool Storage: Hot.
Though the majority of responders seemed to like magnetic storage — in certain situations — a number did express concern about the fact that these strips can magnetize tools over time.  This may not be a problem for you, but you’ve got to keep it in mind.

Bandsaw Quick-Release Blade De-Tensioners: Hot, but not for $150.
While everyone agreed that de-tensioning is a good thing, almost everyone panned the concept of spending $150 for an aftermarket de-tensioner.  (We’re a cheap-ass lot here at Toolmonger, and we’re proud of it.)

Makita’s Hybrid Impact Driver/Hammerdrill: Not.
While intrigued by the concept, readers pointed out that a) there’s a significant difference in form factor between impact drivers and hammerdrills because they’re each used in different ways and these can’t be easily combined, b) most professionals already own one of each, and c) this thing’s way pricey.

Cheap Paint Sprayers: Not.
Commenters’ experience ranged from terrible to bad, and many recommended a slight step up to a $150+ model for even reasonable responses.  Even then, readers say you should expect to spend a lot of time cleaning the sprayer — this isn’t the free-for-all, spray-and-forget experience most manufacturer try to sell you on.

Vehicle Dollies: Meh.
Readers didn’t show any strong response to vehicle dollies.  They did, however, point out some different sources of availability.  So, if you’re thinking about picking some of these up, check comments for deals.

Look for more Hot or Not this week.

Rikon recently released an updated 14″ bandsaw featuring 13″ re-saw capacity and a built-in quick-release blade tensioner.  (If you missed it, be sure to check out the great discussion in comments regarding de-tensioning.  The short version: it’s a good idea.)

While I haven’t owned any Rikon products personally, I’ve known a number of people who have, and they always seem to have good things to say about ‘em.  You’ll note, too, that according to Rikon this was a Popular Woodworking magazine “Editor’s Choice.” 

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When I was younger, I spent a very long weekend trying to glue up the parts of a bookcase I was building for a friend’s dorm room.  While I had (mostly) the tools to do the job, I didn’t really know much about woodwork — which is why I had so much trouble getting the joints straight.  Now it’d only take a few minutes, because I have a couple of sets of box clamps.

Recently, a friend recommended the Pinnacle clamps (pictured above) to me, and I’m thinking about picking up a set.  They look very easy to use, and they handle any thickness wood from 1/4″ to 1″.

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Reader Sizod tipped us to the fact that Amazon’s selling Black & Decker’s StormStation all-in-one rechargeable power source/radio/light — which we wrote about back in June — for $60 with free shipping right now.  Froogle’s finding it for more like $75 to $100, so this looks like a pretty good deal.

If you’ve been considering one, now may be the time.

The StormStation [Black & Decker]
Street Pricing [Froogle]
Buy It Now from Amazon [What’s this?]

(Wednesday, February 21st, 2007) Ho Hum, Nothing much.

All times are central.

• Chop Cut Rebuild: Hide ‘n’ Seek (Speed, 6:00 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Franklin’s Kite (Discovery, 7:00 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Crimes and Myth-demeanors 2 (Discovery, 9:00 p.m.)
• Unique Whips: Slam Dunk (Speed, 9:00 p.m.)
• Junk Brothers: The Side Table and the Kitchen Table (HGTV, 10:00 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Exploding Lighter (Discovery, 10:00 p.m.)
• I Love Toy Trains (RFD-TV, 11:30 p.m.)

Enjoy.

(Tuesday, February 20th, 2007) Many shows to watch tonight – although with a high rerun factor.  Made in America’s Zildjian Cymbals episode is great, especially for the RGM watch company segment.

All times are central.

• Machinery of the Past (RFD-TV, 5:00 p.m.)
• Chop Cut Rebuild: Fender Bender (Speed, 6:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 13 (Discovery, 7:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 14 (Discovery, 7:30 p.m.)
• Dirty Jobs: Pig Farmer (Discovery, 8:00 p.m.)
• Overhaulin’: Hot for Teacher (TLC, 8:00 p.m.)
• Tank Overhaul: The Sherman (Military, 8:00 p.m.)
• V-Twin TV (Speed, 9:00 p.m.)
• 10 Things You Must Know: Repairing a Roof (DIY, 9:00 p.m.)
• Dirty Jobs: Cave Digger (Discovery, 9:00 p.m.)
• John Ratzenberger’s Made in America: Oscar Statuette (Travel, 9:00 p.m.)
• Trade School: Asphalt Paving (DIY, 9:30 p.m.)
• John Ratzenberger’s Made in America: Zildjian Cymbals (Travel, 9:30 p.m.)
• Unique Whips: Bullet Proof (Speed, 10:00 p.m.)
• Dirty Jobs: Parade Float Dismantler (Discovery, 11:00 p.m.)

Enjoy.

ChannelLock’s taking their place on the short list of Tool Manufacturers With Balls(tm) with their awesomely-named 20-1/4″ BigAZZ Tongue and Groove Pliers.  Seriously, what else would you call a 20-1/4″ pair of pliers?  “Large” just doesn’t cut it, does it?

We think that other manufacturers should jump on the bandwagon as well, following the lead of Stanley (the FUBAR) and Snap-on (the “Crud Thug”) and giving tools names that a) actually describe what they do, and b) reflect something that we’re actually likely to call ‘em.

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When you’re buying a compressor, you’ve got to put some thought into what you’re going to do with it.  For example, if you’re planning on running an air wrench or a die grinder, you’re going to need a pretty big tank.  But if you’re just looking to drive a single nailer — like many people do at the jobsite — your needs are somewhat different. 

And that’s what makes this new compressor from Bostitch so interesting.  Its small, internal 1.6 gallon tank is plenty to drive a nailer, but because its 1.5 HP motor only draws a peak of 8 amps, you can run a lot longer extension cord to it — a big deal when you’re working on a new-build house where there’s only one power source.

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We’ll be the first to admit that we have a pretty strong preference regarding the quality of auto parts stores — at least in our area.  That got us to thinking about how the quality we perceive locally might well vary significantly from state to state and locality to locality.

So we thought we’d ask you: What’s your favorite auto parts store, and why do you like it so much?

Here in North Texas, we’ve had nothing but bad luck with AutoZone.  While the stores are ubiquitous, the parts aren’t.  We had difficultly finding basic parts for a variety of common vehicles at our local stores, and it’s been our experience that most of the people at the shop can offer very little in terms of personal experience (read: ideas beyond what’s in the computer).  Our customer service experiences have been mediocre at Napa, but they’ve almost always had the parts we need — which is what really counts.

Actually, we’ve had the best luck with O’Reilly’s here.  Generally there’s at least one person in the store that was able to point us in the right direction with some of our more difficult questions, and they stock a lot of parts.  Best yet, they can almost always ship between stores on the same day, which is a big help.

So what do you think?  Let us know in comments.

Reader Rodney sent us a link to this simple “straw holder” for spray cans, called “Hold-It.”  As you can see in the picture, it’s designed for stuff like WD-40 which comes with a little stray that you almost inevitably lose.

Personally, I always remove the straw and re-tape it to the side of the can.  While this works for me, though, I’d imagine that if you used the can more regularly, that’d be a pain in the ass.

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Greg writes: “I’ve got a long term project car in the garage.  When I’m done working on it, I need to move the car out of the way so I can park in the garage.  I’ve seen these wheeled platforms that go under the wheels and wanted to know what you guys think of them.”

I have the ones pictured above — cheap versions from Harbor Freight for $80 a pair (or $160 per car) — and I’m not incredibly impressed with ‘em.  They work, but they’re not nearly as great as I thought they’d be.

We mentioned a set a while back from Griot’s Garage that looked a bit more practical in that they include a hydraulic lift system.  You slide them around the wheel, then jack ‘em up to lift the car up.  The downside: they’re $300.

Have any of you used these extensively?  If so, let us know about your experiences in comments.

2 Pc. Vehicle Dollies [Harbor Freight]