Seeing Michael Waltrip’s sad-sack face on the front page of CNN and reading the associated story from a couple of angles got me to thinking about how little most people know about fuel additives — and how much BS I’ve heard about ‘em.  I suppose what really set me off was how excitable everyone was that the additive discovered in Waltrip’s intake manifold was “rumored” to be a component of jet fuel.

Even if this turns out to be true, this is sensationalism at its finest.  While the words “jet fuel” might conjure up images of sleek fighters ripping through the sky or demonstration-only dragsters screaming like bats-outta-hell down the 1/4 mile, the truth is that jet fuel itself isn’t very exciting.  It’s darn similar to diesel fuel, though they differ dramatically in additives.

But what about all the over-the-counter fuel additives available to you?  In a classic case of life imitating art — the art of BS in this case — check out this description of STP’s Gas Treatment:

“STP Gas Treatment improves quality of gas by adding powerful cleaning agents to help fight accumulation of harmful carbond, gum and varnish deposits in the fuel system that can reduce performance.  Also engineered to remove water, which can lead to fuel line freeze.  Thsi product is made with Jet Fuel, a high quality carrier of active ingredients.  This product is safe for all gasoline engines.”

Let’s tear that apart and see what it really means — past the jump.

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Some months back when Chuck mentioned a Storehouse brand assortment of crimp terminals, I commented that this was one place you really didn’t want to skimp on quality.  We all agreed this would be a good subject to test emperically, and I finally found the time to jump in and give it a shot. 

What follows is a test of three brands: Calterm (found at the local auto parts store), Storehouse (the Harbor Freight house brand), and some ETC terminals (which I can’t seem to find online) that I had in my toolbox from a previous job. 

The conclusion won’t surprise you, but there’s a twist that might.  Read past the jump for the skinny – plus oodles of pictures.

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(Friday, February 16th, 2007) It’s another good Friday – unless you don’t get DIY, Home and Science, in which case you should probably go rebuild an engine or something.

All times are central.

• How It’s Made, Season 2: Episode 20 (Science, 6:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made, Season 2: Episode 21 (Science, 6:30 p.m.)
• Trick My Truck: Robert Pike’s Lock Down (CMT, 7:00 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Jet Assisted Chevy (Discovery, 8:00 p.m.)
• Toolbelt Diva: Built-In Bench (Home, 8:00 p.m.)
• Classic Car Restoration: 1965 Mustang, Pt 8: Interior Restoration (DIY, 8:00 p.m.)
• Toolbelt Diva: Sink Swap (Home, 8:30 p.m.)
• Classic Car Restoration: Modern Upgrades and High-Tech Gadgets (DIY, 8:30 p.m.)
• MythBusters: 22,000 Foot Fall (Discovery, 9:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made, Season 2: Episode 31 (Science, 9:00 p.m.)
• Holmes on Homes: Shower Stalled (Home, 9:00 p.m.)
• Classic Rides: ‘48 Indian Motorcycle: Speedometer, Fuel Lines and Leather (DIY, 9:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made, Season 2: Episode 6 (Science, 9:30 p.m.)
• Holmes on Homes: Cabinet Chaos (Home, 9:30 p.m.)
• Classic Rides: ‘48 Indian Motorcycle, Pt. 9: Electrical Components, Shift Lever and Seat (DIY, 9:30 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Jet Pack (Discovery, 10:00 p.m.)

Enjoy.

The folks at Bosch dropped us a line today to fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge regarding the new “Impactor.”  Specifically, they’re claiming 800 in-lbs of torque — a hell of a lot of power for such a small tool.

It’s also going to carry an MSRP of $199, which means it’ll likely sell in the same $150 range as their current 10.8V offerings.

The good news is that we’re indeed confirmed to test one of these for you as soon as they’re available.  The bad news: it might be a bit.  This was a really early announcement, so we’re probably a few months away from seeing the real deal.

In the meantime, enjoy this “action shot” Bosch sent us.  How’s ’bout a photo of it next to a PS20?

Preview: Bosch’s 10.8V “Impactor” [Toolmonger, of course]

Following on the popularity of their gravity-rise table saw stand, Bosch introduced a miter-saw-specific version at this year’s IBS last week.  It looks pretty slick — espcially the way it folds down.

Like the table saw stand, the trick here is the way the stand directs the weight of the saw to help you fold the stand up and down.  There are no pneumatic struts, but the way it moves makes it — or at least so Bosch claims — feel like there are.   Look after the jump for a photo of it in the storage position.

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Longtime reader and commenter Rick writes: “Since the bandsaw post earlier this week seems to be pretty popular, I thought this blade welder sort of goes along with it but I may deserve its own post as well.  Basically, this is a cheap Chicago Electric bandsaw blade welder from Harbor Freight.  It requires 220V power. But the hot item IMHO, is this 12v car battery powered model [photo after the jump].  Basically it does the same job in a smaller package.  Granted, it retails for $50 more than the 220V one, but for those — like many of us – who don’t have 220V in our garages or workshops, this could be a godsend.”

“Breaking and rewelding a blade is sometimes necessary if you’ve got to make an internal cut into something that requires you to thread the blade through, make the cut, and then brake the blade and thread it out.  In that sense, I think the smaller battery powered welder might be better as it’s easier to hold by hand, etc. without dragging everything over to the welder like the Harbor Freight model.

“Blade welders overall, though, are a useful tool if you want an easier way of welding a blade (assuming you have a regular welder), or just a way of getting it done, period, if you don’t.”

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As we’ve been doing some car audio installation work around the Toolmonger shop this week, we’ve taken a sudden interest in any kind of tool that’ll help us get at difficult-to-reach fasteners.  (You haven’t truly lived until you’ve tried to reach a screw that’s 6″ inside the dash with a 1-1/2″ clearance.  Damn!)

Besides picking up a Skewdriver (which we mentioned a while back and saw some great comments on — watch for a hands-on soon), we’re also thinking about grabbing Spec Tools’ “dual action ratchet.”  Think of it as a GearWrench-style pass-thru ratchet that also rotates when you squeeze the handles.

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ACE Hardware’ll give you 20% off (almost) anything you can fit inside one of their 17″ x 11-3/4″ bags this Saturday.  As you might imagine, there are some restrictions.  Here’s the small print:

“Power tools and small appliances qualify for a 10% discount.  Offer valid Feb. 17, 2007.  Discount applies to the regular price of in-stock merchandise that can fit inside the 17″ x 11-3/4″ bag at one time.  Individual items can be up to twice the bag height (34″), however multiple stacked items cannot exceed the height of the bag (17″).  Merchandise placed in the bag must retain its original packaging.  Excludes Best Buys, sale items, city stickers, gift cards, on-line purchases and other items that each participating store may designate.  Discount does not apply to phone orders, special orders or store charge accounts.  No rain checks will be given.  Limit one bag and one offer redemption per customer while supplies last.  Void where prohibited.”

This, my friends, is what happens when you take a very cool idea — a “bag sale” — and run it past a pack of lawyers.  Wouldn’t it just be easier to take the loss on the one sale where some guy stuffs a ladder in the bag and won’t back down — this is probably, by the way, the same asshole who tapes a refrigerator to his suitcase at the airport and calls it “carry-on” – and take the huge windfall of people who aren’t dicks but might skip the sale because the item they’re interested in might be one of the ones your participating store may designate?

Whining aside, if you’re planning on buying something reasonably small in size from ACE, Saturday might not be a bad day to do it.

ACE Hardware [Corporate Site]

Reader Jack pointed out the LawnBott series to us this morning, and it’s totally grabbed our attention.  We’ve long desired a “Roomba for the yard,” but most of the ones we’ve seen are missing the Roomba’s best features: a charging station that it can find on its own and a programmable work schedule.

Granted, the LawnBotts take a little more set-up work than a Roomba.  The LawnBott requires staked-in wire boundaries which you’ve got to put in place before use.  Using a control pad, you tell the ‘Bott when to mow (and when not to mow — like before noon on Saturday or in the middle of the night).  But after that, it looks like you can sit back and watch it go.

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Let’s face it: it’s pretty rare to see a really new power tool.  We’ve seen plenty of expanding the line (with everything from radios to vacuums) and lots of companies making bigger or smaller versions of what you’ve already got, but it looks like Makita’s taking a stab at something new with their “Hybrid(tm) 4-Function Impact Hammer-Driver-Drill.”

Let’s start by clearing the hype.  I’m not trying to desparage the tool in any way, but the Hybrid(tm) 4-Word Name definitely elicited a chuckle around our offices.  C’mon, Makita, the real “hybrid” here is the combination of an impact driver with a hammerdrill.  The professionals for whom you designed this tool know that.  And can you really trademark the word “hybrid?”  Should everyone from Toyota to Battlestar Galactica now cease and desist?

That said, this looks like it might be a great tool for fence and deck builders — or just about anyone who pre-drills before driving big fasteners.

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(Thursday, February 15th, 2007) Tonight OCC starts the Flowjet bike, which shows how interwoven the promotion with OCC’s smiling faces used in Flow’s ads in various trade publications is with OCC conspicuously using a Flow waterjet.  Why doesn’t Flow give me a water/abrasive jet as well?  (That’s Flow’s stock price in the title, by the way, up over 1000% since 2003.) 

There are new American Blowhard Hotrod and Biker Buildoff episodes as well tonight.  We don’t know what Kustomizer is about, and it’s up to episode 4?  Any hints?

All times are central.

• Ultimate Factories: Peterbilt (National Geographic, 6:00 p.m.)
• Classic Tractor Specials (RFD-TV, 7:00 p.m.)
• Kustomizer - The Series: Episode 4 (TLC, 7:00 p.m.)
• Rock Solid: Granite Facade (DIY, 8:00 p.m.)
• American Hot Rod: ‘31 Truck 1 (TLC, 8:00 p.m.)
• Rock Solid: Schoolyard Bird Sanctuary (DIY, 8:30 p.m.)
• American Chopper: Flowjet Bike 1 (TLC, 9:00 p.m.)
• 10 Things You Must Know: Building a Deck (DIY, 9:30 p.m.)
• Biker Build-Off:
•  Trevelen vs. Paul Cox and Keino (TLC, 10:00 p.m.)
• Don’t Sweat It: Ceiling Fan and New Deck (HGTV, 10:30 p.m.)

Enjoy.

Dazrin writes: “These are the long-reach version of the Craftsman mini-pliers I saw here a couple of weeks ago.  I’ve found them to be much more useful than the mini-pliers themselves.  I own the Craftsman version — that no longer appears to be made — of the tools listed.  These from MAC seem spendy, but Amazon is a great reference.”

These indeed look quite useful, especially for tight automotive dash both inside the dash and under the hood. 

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It’s hard to say exactly what makes a great tape measure because they’re, well, very personal items.  Some people like shiny, some like flat.  Some like plastic, some like metal.  This new tape from Irwin brings most of the standard features we’ve all come to expect, like a good friction lock, a blade brake (so the tape doesn’t break if you let it slam in unattended), and a 10′ standout — the distance you can extend the tape without someone else there to hold it for you.

The one feature that stands out a bit, though, is the tape’s “quick-mark tip” — a small bar of pencil lead hidden in the tip that allows you to mark distance by simply “swiping” the tip instead of breaking out a pencil.

Update: Look for a picture after the jump that shows the “quick-mark tip” in action.  [Thanks Emery!]

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Toolaremia writes: “If any of you have ever changed the exhaust pipes on a car made in the last 20 years, you’ve dealt with the rubber exhaust hanger supports.  I usually get them off the hanger barbs with a crowbar, WD-40, bloody knuckles, and swearing that would make a sailor proud.  Now I see the Lisle has felt my pain and created a simple solution.  At about $15 delivered, it’s cheaper than stitches, too.”

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Patrick sent in a link to this bandsaw blade quick release from Carter Products.  He writes: “$150 seems a bit steep for one of these, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s really necessary to detension the blade between uses.”

I certainly haven’t heard of detensioning to extend life, but what about you Toolmongers?  Is this something you’ve seen or heard of doing?

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DennisL sent us a heads-up about this product from Malco — an attachment that turns your 14.4V or larger cordless drill into a metal shear that can handle up to 18-gauge galvanized steel.  I’d imagine this would be pretty handy for an HVAC pro, leveraging an already-purchased coredless drill and eliminating a high-cost second tool all in one shot.

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If you’re one of the many readers of Toolmonger who lurks behind an RSS reader, we wanted to clue you in to a great set of comments that you might have missed.  In our post earlier this week regarding Harbor Freight’s 4×6 bandsaw, a number of readers commented on how easy it is to modify this bandsaw to make it much better than as-shipped. 

Truthfully, it’s been my experience that any metal-cutting bandsaw will only cut right if it’s properly adjusted and fitted with a quality blade appropriate to the task at hand.

When I first got the HF band saw, I thought it was a complete piece of crap.  It cut very slowly and burned through blades like mad.  When I was over at a friend’s shop, I noticed that his bandsaw (a JET) cut like the wind, so I asked a few questions.  Probably more importantly, every time I used it, I took a moment to feel the blade tension and head loaded.  When I got home, I swapped in the same blade he had and adjusted it to match, and voila — mine cut like the wind, too.

So if you have a minute, check out the thread on the original post, and let us know in comments your secret to the perfect bandsaw setup.

Comments on Cheap-Ass Tools: HF’s Heavy-Duty 4×6 Bandsaw