If you’re looking at these photos and thinking that Toro dressed up an old three wheeler from decades past to handle sports field maintenance, don’t feel bad.  We’re thinking the same thing.  They call it the “Sand Pro,” and it’s “new.”

Apparently the “new” part is that you can install any of Toro’s 17 sand grooming attachments all over the Sand Pro via its quick attach system — without tools in under a minute — then motor around your own field of dreams with its 18 HP engine and hydraulic power steering chasing down cleaning up after baseball players.

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Mel sent us a link to this interesting tool backpack.  It’s made of Cordura and features “enough interior panels to hold a multitude of tools including a 14-piece wrench set, an electric drill, extension cords, pliers, screwdrivers, and much more.”

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

Electric Lawn Mowers: Hot.
The majority of Toolmongers had great things to say regarding their experiences using an electric lawn mower on a small-to-medium-sized yard, though one did complain about charging issues with his cordless model.

Expensive Snap Ring Pliers: Hot.
It’s unanimous.  Don’t waste your time on cheap-ass snap ring pliers!  Good “expensive” ones can be had for $20 to $25 and they’re worth every penny.

House Warranties: Not.
Though a number of commenters indicated that they try to talk the seller into buying a warranty for them during closing, only a few had good things to say about home warranties in general.  There were also numerous complaints of bad service and shoddy workmanship from shady “approved” contractors; one reader even suggested that you ask for the cash instead of the warranty at closing!

Fast Orange Hand Cleaner: Hot.
This question drew a ton of comments, many complimenting Fast Orange’s cleaning power while recommending other products and methods as well.  Check out the post and comments for lots of useful shop cleaning info.  One caveat regarding Fast Orange, though: the grit is a bit tough on sensitive hands.

Look for more Hot or Not soon!

Rob writes: “These Channellocks feature smaller jaws than standard tounge-in-groove pliers, but with a curved jaw they grab everything.  They make up for what they lose in size with the additional grip.”

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Stuey writes: “Apparently Amazon’s tool storage sale extends beyond the Bucket Boss product I mentioned a few days ago.  Check it out!”

Indeed, the link below returns a couple dozen storage products reduced signficantly in price, some starting for under $2.  There’s a lot more Bucket Boss stuff there, including “contractor’s breifcasae” that looks pretty cool and a “Mug Boss” that looks entertaining, but I think my favorite might be the Custom LeatherCraft denim work apron for just under $7.  Anyone who’s welded a bit knows the value of denim.

60% Off Tool Storage Sale [What’s this?]

While these cable cutters are more evolutionary than revolutionary, their new design does reduce their bulk significantly, rendering them lighter and theoretically easier to wield than other multi-purpose cutters.  When you’ve got to carry ‘em around every day, lighter is better.

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Sizod sent us notice of this deal on an assortment of 42 bits that fit various Leatherman tools including the Charge, New Wave, and Removable Bit Driver — all enclosed in a branded nylon case.  He writes: “At this low a price, this would make a great addition to your Leatherman.  It’s also perfect for when you need to get your MacGyver on.”

It includes a variety of metric and standard hex, Robertson, Pozi, Torx, Phillips, and slotted bits as well as — my favorites — Phillips and standard eyeglass screwdriver bits.

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(Tuesday, March 27th, 2007) We really enjoyed the Made in America segment about Allclad pans. Who knew the same man invented our clad coins as well? That’s truly amazing manufacturing.

All times are central.

• Machinery of the Past (RFD-TV, 5:00 p.m.)
• Chop Cut Rebuild: Customizing and Test Fitting (Speed, 6:00 p.m.)
• Modern Marvels: Engines (History, 6:00 p.m.)
• 10 Things You Must Know: Installing a Skylight (DIY, 9:00 p.m.)
• V-Twin Motorcycle TV: Kansas City Choppers (Speed, 9:00 p.m.)
• Modern Marvels: The Lumberyard (History, 9:00 p.m.)
• John Ratzenberger’s Made in America: Oscar Statuette (Travel, 9:00 p.m.)
• Trade School: Auto Repair (DIY, 9:30 p.m.)
• John Ratzenberger’s Made in America: All - Clad Cookware (Travel, 9:30 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Underwater Car (Discovery, 11:00 p.m.)

Enjoy.

The Herrenknecht EPB Shield S-300 mega tunnel boring machine was built to excavate a road tunnel in Madrid in 2005.  Yep, that’s a 21′ diameter central cutting wheel surrounded by an additional outer cutting wheel which yields a maximum excavation diameter of around 45’ at a time. 

It’s not just big, it’s the biggest ever built.

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Maybe it’s the fact that it’s springtime here in Texas (which means we have about three weeks of nice weather before turns hotter than the surface of the sun), but I’ve become very interested in swamp coolers again.  We’ve got a little one in the shop, but what we’d really like is one of these 48″ monsters.  Just think of it as four feet of blessed summertime relief.

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We’ll admit it: we’re always tempted to dismiss out-of-hand any drill that’s this pretty.  But when we tore into the new SC1400 lithium-ion drill from Black & Decker, we discovered it holds a few surprises for those willing to look more than skin deep.  For a drill that looks like it came from the shop where they built the cars for The Fast and the Furious, the SC1400 packs a wallop. 

Read on for our hands on experiences with this slick-looking drill.

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We love our hose clamp tool for getting at tough-to-reach factory spring-type hose clamps, but it’s a bit slow — and a bit of overkill — if the clamp’s easily accessible.  If you can actually see the tabs on the clamp, spring clip pliers like these will pop it right off in seconds. 

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Here’s a hammer you’d definitely notice in the bin.  When I first laid eyes on this 4 lb. sledge by Nulpa I was fascinated (of course) with the handle.  I keep thinking that there must be some super secret cool-ass reason for the bumpy, stair-stepped nature of the handle, but try as I might I can’t guess what it might be. 

Maybe the lumps add comfort?  Or perhaps extra grip?  Maybe it’s just a marketing gimmick.  It sure looks different all right, but not really in a good way.

Have any of you Toolmonger’s used such a hammer, and if so was it the experience that you hoped it would be?  Sound off and let us know in comments.

4 lb. Sledge Hammer [Nulpa]
Street Pricing [Froogle]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Most types of clamps suck for gluing up furniture. What you really need is a way of getting even pressure all the way around the object, and the best way to do that is to use a strap clamp like the Pony Rapid acting band.  It’s simple: its strap wraps completely around your furniture object — no matter how many corners it has — without marring the finish.

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Join us for a rundown of the top five tools this week as selected by the readers of Toolmonger.com.  Plus, our friend and experienced artisan blacksmith Ray Robinson joins us to discuss getting started in blacksmithing.  (Podcast Download)

As tired as I am of gimmicky multi-tools, Allied’s latest offering — the FlipGrip dual jaw multi-tool — still caught my attention. Apparently “flip grip” means that the grip flips back to expose a dual-headed set of pliers at the center pivot point.

The pliers look fairly useable and are much less ridiculous than some others I’ve seen.   The Flip Grip also carries the standard array of saws, bottle openers and blades as well as a bit compartment in one of the handles that holds four screwdriver bits of various sizes.

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Happy Monday, and welcome to Hands-On week.  Today we’re looking at a really slick drill from Black & Decker.  Look for it in the next hour or so.

We’d also like to see your favorite tools.  If you’ve got a moment today, drop us a line via our contact form with a link to a photo of you with your favorite tool.  Tell us a little bit about it and why you like it so much.  We’ll share your photo and story with Toolmonger readers.