A123 Systems claims to have made a significant breakthrough in battery performance recently, allowing the storage of more power in a smaller place while drastically reducing minimum recharge times — and hopefully opening the door for some really effective plug-in hybrid cars.  But as Toolmonger, we’re looking at another application: power tools!

From A123 Systems’ website:

“Traditional li-ion technology uses active materials with particles that range in size between 5 and 20 microns.  These large particles are required to minimize safety risks inherent to first-generation li-ion chemistries.  A123 high power batteries are based on a safe and stable active material that can use particle sizes below 100 nanometers without adverse reaction.  This new storage electrode enables much faster kinetics prodviding higher power than is possible from any other li-ion chemistry.”

Sounds pretty exciting.  What’s really exciting, though, is the fact that GM recently announced their intention to use these batteries in vehciles — which means A123 should have the cash to push this concept through to completion.

And if that’s not exciting enough for you — imagine a cordless drill/driver significantly more powerful than existing high-end li-ion tools, but with a five minute recharge time.  Wow.

A123 Systems [Corporate Site] [via]

(Monday, February 19th, 2007) Rather than gnash our teeth at the dearth of programming tonight, here’s a more constructive suggestion: Check out your local library’s stock of DIY videos.

Libraries usually have a number of PBS shows (TOH, Woodwright’s Shop, New Yankee Workshop) on video and DVD just waiting to be watched – all for the price of a library card.  Sometimes they will even procure videos that you suggest, making them more responsive to your needs than the Discovery channel.

All times are central.

• Trains and Locomotives: Midwest Trolley Tour Part 1 (RFD-TV, 5:00 p.m.)
• Chop Cut Rebuild: Smokin’ Pipes (Speed, 6:00 p.m.)
• Unique Whips: It’s Electra! (Speed, 10:00 p.m.)
• Trick My Truck: Robert Pike’s Lock Down (CMT, 10:30 p.m.)
• Trick My Truck: Mike Shaw’s Dragon Slayer (CMT, 11:00 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Shattering Subwoofer (Discovery, 11:00 p.m.)

Enjoy.

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:

Preview: Bosch’s 10.8V Impactor
If you liked the Pocket Driver and the I-Driver, you’re going to love Bosch’s “Impactor.”  It’s not much bigger than the Pocket Driver, but delivers a whopping 800 in-lbs of impact torque to drive even the toughest fasteners.  And like Bosch’s other 10.8V tools, it’s light and compact.

Test to Destruction: Crimp Terminals
We put the hurt on a variety of crimp terminals with a spring scale to determine which ones make the strongest physical connections — and why.  As Nate says in the post, the results may not surprise you, but there’s a twist that just might.

Cheap-Ass Tools: HF’s Heavy-Duty 4×6 Bandsaw
If you’d like a bandsaw but don’t want to shell out the big bucks, this is your ticket.  Not only does it work pretty well — especially considering its sub-$200 price tag — it also has a cult following on the web which you can tap into to “pimp out” your saw.  Also, check out these other bandsaw-related posts this week.

Don’t Cheap Out on Spring Compressors
If you’ve ever thought of saving a few bucks on suspension work by swapping out your own struts, you’ll want to give this post a read.  While you’ll find lots of cheap spring compressors available, you might want to think twice before trusting your life and well-being to a $25 two-piece unit.  We give you some better options.

Finds: The Dual-Action Ratchet from Spec Tools
If you spend a lot of time working in tight spaces, this tool could mean the difference between getting the fastener off and just wishing you could.  It’s a squeeze-lever activated ratchet that requires zero swing angle to turn a bolt.

Way back in the day when men wore codpieces — and used words like “fortnight” and “thou” — there were swords.  These swords were carried in battle and on tours of duty throughout a soldier’s carrier.  When the soldier would retire, the sword would often be mounted on a plaque on the wall to forever symbolize the nobility of the soldier’s carrier and service to their king and country. 

My glory, of course, is in the shop rather than on the battlefield.  But, being a hopeless medieval geek, I have a small collection of swords.  I chose to mount my Excalibur replica on the wall because, well, swords are seriously freak’n cool and I found that they aren’t near as cool wrapped in a blanket in the closet where no one can see them.  So I needed a sword plaque.

And, being Toolmonger, I decided to make it myself.  Read on past the jump for details and lots of pictures.

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The title says it all: it’s a backhoe turned dragster “capable of speeds in excess of 140 MPH.”  Damn.

Autoblog is reporting this weekend that Chrysler will likely issue a recall for over 86,000 Dodge Rams built between Nov. 7, 2005 and April 27, 2006.  According to Autoblog:

“[The recall] amounts to little more than adding grease to wheel bearings.  Unfortunately for 2006 Ram owners if this issue is left unchecked it can lead to road noise and vibration and can eventually result in a loss of control and a crash.”

Check Autoblog for additional coverage, or better yet contact your dealer.  (And don’t miss the comments on AB’s post — they’re funny as hell.)

Chrysler Set to Recall Some 2006 Dodge Rams [Autoblog]

After all the positive comments on Hitachi’s very-powerful-for-the-price-point router last week, we thought you might want to check out their new 4″ dry-cut masonry saw.  It features an 11.6 AMP (!) motor that spins the blade at a no-load 11,500 RPM to plow through tile, marble, granite, brick, and such.

They also claim that it’s somewhat “quiet” at 85 dB — which, while closer to a screaming jet aircraft than a peaceful nap, actually isn’t bad when you consider what you’re cutting.  A “one-touch” lever lets you adjust cutting depth, and the switch is claimed to be “dust-proof.”

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We’ve gone through quite a few drills around the Toolmonger shop, so we have some pretty strong opinions about what makes a decent drill.  A long time back, we reviewed the specs of well over a hundred drills before — reluctantly — coming to the conclusion that the drill set pictured above was the best buy for our $100 budget at the time.

In the meantime, we’ve had the chance to use dozens of the drills from the test, and we’re still a fan of the Craftsman 19.2, at least in its price range.  Sure, you can find numerous better drills — but for $100?  With a light?

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If you’ve been thinking about picking up a high-end die grinder, MAC’s offering a pretty nice deal right now: they’ll give you a free standard-duty 1/4″ mini die grinder with the purchase of a heavy-duty angle head mini die grinder for $75.  If you’re actually in need of both tools, that puts ‘em almost down into the Harbor Freight price range.

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For those of you who own VWs and Audis and work on them regularly — you know who you are — Snap-on’s made life a little easier with a custom socket specifically designed to ease the removal and installation of Polydrive head bolts

No offense intended, but after working on my 944S2, I’ve sworn that I’ll never buy a German car again.  Lease one, maybe.  But not buy.  However, I know from email that more than a few of you are fans of the yellow, black, and red and are willing to do what it takes to keep ‘em running — even if that means removing the front of the car and moving the radiator into the “service position” to replace an alternator.

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(Sunday, February 18th, 2007) Seriously, there’s nothing much to watch tonight.  For those of you with cold-shop syndrome, it’s best to set up a workspace in your living room.

All times are central.

• Stress Test (HGTV, 7:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 41 (Science, 7:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 42 (Science, 7:30 p.m.)
• Classic Tractor Specials (RFD-TV, 8:00 p.m.)
• 10 Things You Must Know: Vinyl Siding (DIY, 9:00 p.m.)
• Tricked Out: Honda S2000: Active Aerodynamics (DIY, 9:30 p.m.)

Enjoy.

Reader Sizod clued us in to the fact that Black & Decker’s 18V Hedge Trimmer is available for $80 from Amazon (which is a pretty decent deal), but by adding the coupon code “YARDSALE” you receive an additional $8 off, dripping the price to $72 — which seems to be near the bottom of the range in Froogle.  (We did see one place selling it for $69 this morning.)

We haven’t tried this tool out yet, mainly because neither Sean nor I have hedges big enough to require much trimming.  So if you’ve had any experience with it, drop a comment here for Toolmongers who might be considering going cordless this summer.

Street Pricing [Froogle]
Buy It Now from Amazon [What's this?]

I fully realize that no reasonably-priced paint sprayer is going to give you the same kind of finish you can achieve with careful brushing, but what about a guy who just wants to stain a fence or two?  Would it be worth buying a cheap sprayer to save one’s arms?

Black & Decker’s “Plus Paint Sprayer” (pictured) sells for $80 at Sears right now (and the same from Amazon). B&D claims a “1 gallon in 15 minutes” flow rate, and it ships with a couple of tips and two “replacement atomizer valves.”

I’ve seen a number of other electric sprayers in this price range, too, but I’ve never been able to bring myself to buy one because I’m concerned that they might not make it through the job — or that it might not do the job at all.

So what do you Toolmongers think?  Have you used any of these less expensive models?  If so, how’d they work?  Are there others you’d recommend, either in this price range — or higher priced models that we should consider as an investment?

Let us know in comments.

Plus Paint Sprayer [Black & Decker]
Street Pricing [Froogle]
Buy It Now from Amazon [What's this?]

We’ve written about gloves with impact protection and even gloves with lights on the fingers, but they all seem kinda gimmicky to us.  Realizing that we — like you, probably — do more than just work on the car, what’s your favorite shop glove 

Maybe I should be a little more specific: by “shop glove,” I mean gloves other than the classic “work glove” — which is great, but doesn’t offer anywhere near enough dexterity for most smaller work. 

Right now, we seem to favor the one pictured above — Mechanix’ “original.”  We’ve worn out three pairs over the last few months, but I’m glad to say that it’s the gloves that are worn out and not our hands.  The Mechanix gloves seem to offer a nice balance between durability and dexterity, though they are a little pricey.

But we haven’t tried ‘em all.  I suppose what we should really do is put together a test.  Let us know your favorites in comments, and we’ll schedule a test of as many of ‘em as we can find.

If you’ve been hesitating to jump into the Bosch 36V Litheon line because you’re wondering where they’re taking the line, your wait may be (almost) over.  At the IBS recently, Bosch announced a couple of 36V Litheon line additions, including this 6-1/2″ circ saw.  Hammerdrills aside, we may finally have a way to really compare all the high-voltage li-ion cordless systems — because nothing benefits from high-voltage battery power like a circ saw.

The new saw spins at 4,000 RPM, claims a 26% longer runtime than its closest competitor,  and features a 50-degree bevel capacity.  Keeping in mind why you’d want to cut the cord on your circ saw, Bosch thoughtfully added an integrated rafter hook.

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We picked up some of these plastic 1-quart mixing containers recently for use in mixing Bondo Glass — mainly because we’re lazy and figured at $0.75 each we could just pitch ‘em instead of trying to clean ‘em.  But just a week later they’re in use all over the shop.  Hell, we ended up running back and picking up a dozen of ‘em to keep in the cabinet for later.

Besides acting as calibrated (and cheap) mixing containers, they’re great for holding small parts while you’re working on something — did I mention that the ones we have fit perfectly into most car cupholders? — or for holding a few pencils and pens on the workbench.  I grabbed one the other day to carry a bunch of small pieces of sandpaper from the cabinet to where I was working.  Seriously, if you don’t have a few of these in your shop, pick a few up.  You’ll thank us later.

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(Saturday, February 17th, 2007) As with last night, if you don’t get DIY there’s not really any point in even turning on the TV.  DIY seems to be burning through episodes of Wood Works lately – it’d be nice to see some more variety in their schedule.

All times are central.

• MythBusters: Myths Reopened (Discovery, 6:00 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Ming Dynasty Astronaut (Discovery, 7:00 p.m.)
• Wood Works: Burl-Veneer Occasional Table (DIY, 8:00 p.m.)
• Wood Works: Contemporary Magazine Rack (DIY, 8:30 p.m.)
• Wood Works: Cherry and Maple Medicine Cabinet (DIY, 9:00 p.m.)
• Freeform Furniture: Coat Rack (DIY, 9:30 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 11 (Discovery, 11:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 12 (Discovery, 11:30 p.m.)

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