It’s Sunday, which around the Toolmonger offices means a chance to hit the shop for our own personal projects — the ones we put off all week in order to write about tools! If you’re not able to spend time in the shop, though, there’s some decent stuff on the tube:

(Sunday, September 30th, 2007) We get a new Tricked Out tonight, as well as a visit to the holy land for Toolmongers, the National Hardware Show!

All times are central.

• How It’s Made: Episode 39 firefighter boots, garden tools, automated machines and gypsum boards (Science, 6:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 40 plastic bottles and jars, mail processing and wooden pens (Science, 6:30 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 41 plastic injection moulds, automotive oil filters, filing cabinets and blown glass (Science, 7:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 42 high-precision cutting tools, stained glass, semi-trailers and recorders (Science, 7:30 p.m.)
• National Hardware Show 2007 (HGTV, 8:00 p.m.)
• Classic Tractor Specials (RFD-TV, 8:00 p.m.)
• Ice Road Truckers: 06 - Driving on Thin Ice (History, 9:00 p.m.)
• Tricked Out: S2K Custom Interior (DIY, 9:30 p.m.)

Enjoy.

So some guys are sitting around their gas stove one day thinking, “You know what this fire needs? Some crackle!” Then some down-home American ingenuity kicked in, and they probably sank their life savings into a company to bring us the Cracklebox — a digital recording of “real country fires in southwest Virginia” contained in a tiny box. According to the Kracklebox site “What Kracklebox provides, in a word, is realism.”

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We featured the LifeHammer last month – a plastic safety hammer used to escape a crashed car or truck. Nov8safty also offers the ResQMe, which similarly performs the thask of cutting seat belts and busting auto glass. But unlike the LifeHammer, it’s small enough to fit on a key chain — and inexpensive enough to give away as stocking stuffers.

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The stuff some people build is amazing. You’ve got to have a great imagination – like Mike Stamps from San Clemente, CA — and a sense of humor, too, to create something like this. He devised this contraption to help him with a daily task of which he’d tired: kicking ass.

The Spanish inquisitors — or at least Mel Brooks’ interpretation of them — would be proud. And he’s looking for victims volunteers to work for him and get paid to get their asses kicked. Really.

Ass-Kicking Machine from the Best of Craigslist [Craigslist]

Over at Buy.com you’ll find this 31-piece screwdriver set on sale for $10 — shipping included. So what types of cheap-ass, importedm no-name-branded screwdrivers do you get for your crisp Hamilton?

• Six precision (miniature) drivers
• Ten 1″ bits
• Bit driver for 1″ bits, probably magnetic
• One pick and one hook
• Four slotted drivers
• Four philips drivers
• Two star drivers

Don’t worry – I only counted 29 tools as well. There’s a discrepancy between Buy.com’s description and the photos; it looks like there’s a 4-piece hook and loop set included instead of the two pieces advertised. The color coded handles on the full-size drivers make them ideal for toolbag storage – perfect for your vehiicle’s emergency tool kit.

31 Piece Screwdriver Set [Buy.com]

(Saturday, September 29th, 2007) Tonight: not a bad night of reruns tonight, with a marathon of recent Mythbusters episodes.

All times are central.

• How It’s Made: Episode 47 ceramic tiles, nuts, steel forgings and skateboards (Discovery, 5:00 p.m.)
• Top Gear: Episode 7 (BBC America, 5:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 17 winter jackets, animation, mushrooms and gold (Discovery, 5:30 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Baseball Myths (Discovery, 6:00 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Superhero Hour (Discovery, 7:00 p.m.)
• New Yankee Workshop: Pedestal Table (DIY, 7:30 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Red Rag to a Bull (Discovery, 8:00 p.m.)
• New Yankee Workshop: Four Drawer Chest (DIY, 8:00 p.m.)
• Wood Works: Sculpted Maple Bowl-Table (DIY, 8:30 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Myth Revolution (Discovery, 9:00 p.m.)
• Woodsculpting: Mallard Drake Decoy (DIY, 9:00 p.m.)
• Freeform Furniture: Coffee Table (DIY, 9:30 p.m.)

Enjoy.

We laughed for a long time when we saw TM reader and photo pool member Inmarr28’s latest project — the perfect protection against the possibility of mass zombification. What totally seals the deal in our opinion, though, is the way it’s mounted in a perfect Martha Stewart meets Shaun of the Dead style with wrought-iron decorations and candles. Check the photo pool for additional pictures, including some shots during construction.

Though it’ll pale to the enjoyment he’ll get seeing his project on the wall for years to come, we’ll send him a free set of gloves for sharing. We hear they totally prevent blisters when wielding an axe.

Toolmonger’s Photo Pool [Flickr]

Last year we covered Irwin’s release of their (then-)new spade bit, the SPEEDBOR Blue-Groove, which claimed to drill four times faster than a standard spade bit. But it looked pretty much like a regular spade bit. Now Irwin’s bringing a new design to the game — something that looks more revolutionary: basically, Irwin took the best elements of the spade bit, brad point bit, forstner bit, and auger bit slammed them all together to create the new SpeedBor Max.

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It’s a good idea to keep dangerous power tools and appliances out of the hands of people who don’t know how to use them correctly, but who wants to keep everything in a tool crib like your shop teacher did? The Stopower cap offers a better solution, firmly locking onto any 115V American-style two- or three- pronged plug, requiring removal (with a key) before you can plug the attached tool into an outlet.

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Winter is on its way, and if you’re planning on cutting your own wood, this this $250 log splitter from Northern Tool could help. It features a 1,500 watt 2 HP motor that delivers 5-tons of wood-splitting power. The manufacturer claims it can split logs up to 16″ in length. Two wheels under the rear provide easy maneuverability. And it comes with a 12-month warranty, too. (Shipping to most places runs about $65.)

Log Splitter [Northern Tools]
Street Pricing [Google Product]

Your table saw is probably one of the most expensive tools in your shop, yet you end up throwing crap on it or using it as an ad-hoc work table when you’re not using it because it presents a convenient flat surface. Why not protect it from damage with a TOOLClad magnetic cover.

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(Friday, September 28th, 2007) We’ve all been curious, at one time or another, about how steel wool is made. Well, tonight you find out on a new How It’s Made.

All times are central.

• Holmes on Homes: Drain Disdain (Home, 5:00 p.m.)
• Toolbelt Diva: Built-In Bench (Home, 7:00 p.m.)
• Take Home Handyman: Getting Plastered: Hunter & Will (Home, 7:30 p.m.)
• New Yankee Workshop: Four Drawer Chest (DIY, 7:30 p.m.)
• Holmes on Homes: A River Ran Through It (Home, 8:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made 4: Episode 4, Steel Wool, Ranges, Carved Candles, Slot Machines (Science, 8:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made 4: Episode 3, Wooden Bowl, Chainsaws, Stackable Potato Chips, Jet Compressor Bl
• ades (Science, 8:30 p.m.)
• Build It Bigger: Boot Camp (Science, 9:00 p.m.)
• Classic Car Restoration: ‘65 Mustang, Wheels, Finishing Touches and Restoration Recap (DIY, 9:00 p.m.)
• Resto Rides: ‘66 El Camino Restoration, Part 1: Suspension and Brakes (DIY, 9:30 p.m.)

Enjoy.

Details about Craftsman’s new storage system, the AXS, were scarce when we introduced it to you almost 8 weeks ago as digital bling. But now that it’s officially released, the full specs are out — and the AXS storage units are making appearances at many Sears locations. I think that this storage system offers a number of cool features, but whether or not it has earned its description as the “cutting edge of tool storage” remains to be seen.

To refresh your memory, the 6-drawer chest comes with a 12V car-style adapter plug – which really can be handy at times. There’s also an LCD display on the chest which seems to provide radio controls, calendar information, and the temperature. Sears calls this display a multi-functional LCD digital information center, so hopefully it provides more information than can be found on a $15 travel clock radio.

The 7-drawer roll-away, on the other hand, is somewhat more appealing, with a load capacity of 1200 pounds, a slide-out lighted worksurface, and a 6-outlet 120V power strip.

Both the chest and roll-away come with 27″ wide self-closing ball-bearing drawers which can hold 75 pounds each. In addition, you get a Master Lock One-Key Locking System, which allows one to adjust the lock to accept the same key – or most standard house keys – for both chest and cabinet. Finally, you get the option to choose among many different color combinations and patterns, though some color schemes will drive up the price.

The AXS combo is on sale this week for a cool $1,000, or available separately for $430 (chest) and $570 (roll-away).

Personally, I think this storage system screams “gimmick”, and would rather get a lot more bang for my buck. But quite a few of you chimed in when we first posted about the AXS, and now that further details have been released and display models are available for firsthand evaluation, we’d love to hear your opinion in comments.

Craftsman ALX [Sears]
Press Release [Business Wire]

Remember old-school Toolmonger that was all young, dumb and full of… vigor? So do we. Check out what we were discussing a year ago this week:

• We wrote about Dremel’s cordless pumpkin carving kit, a cool (and cheap) addition to the upcoming Boo-day fun.
• We also noticed Ryobi’s radio for the One+ kit. Man, that One+ line has everything.
• Kreg’s “universal bench clamp” still looks like a cool solution if you’re willing to mod your bench.
• We gushed about the only Snap-on tool I can afford. (PS: I’ll send a pair of gloves to the first person — who doesn’t write for TM — who guesses correctly in comments which project I bought it for.)
• Crafting on the go? We found a cool butane-powered hot glue gun.
• And after testing GearWrench’s serpantine belt tool we pronounced it freakin’ awesome. I still wonder how we lived without one.

Of course, you don’t have to wait for us to call out these great old posts. Try plugging your areas of interest into TM’s search engine to turn up hours of old-school TM fun. See you next week.

Using fresh sandpaper – particularly sanding belts and discs – can be a joy. But once they get clogged up with pitch and loose sandpaper grit it’s miserable. And if you’re making fine furniture, it can ruin your work as well. Woodstock International’s Pro Stik abrasive cleaner sticks are basically formulated from crepe rubber that easily removes the built up gunk on your favorite abrasive belts and discs.

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TM reader and photo pool member fredboness posted this cool pic of his final design for a peanut-butter jar bird feeder. He plans on making a dozen or so as casual Christmas presents.

Not only is this a cool idea — I’m going to make one, since my old feeder finally got nasty and I had to throw it away — it’s something that you could easily do in a few minutes.

Thanks, fredboness, and hopefully the set of free gloves we send your way will inspire you to finish off the refurb of that birdhouse on the left you say you’ve been putting off.

Toolmonger’s Photo Pool [Flickr]

The Pro Top is a non-conductive molded work tray with a V-notch that caps a select few of Louisville’s extension ladders. Its wider design provides a larger contact area than a normal extension ladder, giving you more stability when leaning it against flat surfaces. The V-notch provides additional stability when you rest the ladder on corners, poles, or trees.

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