TM reader and Flickr pool member donaldsquire posted this photo of him and his helper in the demolition phase of remodeling their kitchen. From what we can see, this room is in pretty good — if ungloved — hands.
It just goes to show that you’re never to young to help Dad rip stuff up. I know it would have ranked tops with me when I was his age.
And yes, we’re sending two pairs of gloves, even though one pair might take a while to grow into.
Join Sean and me for this week’s special break s#!$ edition of Tool Talk. As always, we also run down the week’s top five posts as selected by Toolmonger readers, taking some time at the end to call out a few posts we thought deserved attention, but we’re also joined by Mike Marusiak, Stanley’s global product manager for hammers and demolition. Highlights: we dish on all the stuff we broke at Maker Faire Austin last weekend to kick off Toolmonger’s Break S#!$ Week, talk about pinewood derby cars and how far they’ve come over the years, and compain about the lousy service at big box lumberyards. Remember, if you’ve got a question or comment you can call us at 866-718-9403. (Podcast Download)
Trenches are man-eating cave-in monsters waiting for the right moment to spring their collapsing trap, so the last thing you want to do is anger one by walking in with a vibrating soil compactor. That’s why smart construction workers drive the compactor in by remote control.
Like Stephen said in a recent Dealmonger post, firefighters are the kings of breaking s#!$. Here’s another tool from their get-through-the-wall-fast-or-die arsenal: the T-N-T tool. It’s a true five-in-one multi-tool — an axe, a sledge hammer, a pry bar, a ram, and a D-handled pull hook.
And by “fix” we mean “reduce to a smoking hole and a puddle of molten metal.” Thermite is a mixture of powdered aluminum and a metallic oxide like iron oxide (rust) or copper oxide. Igniting the powder at about 1,400 degrees F triggers an aluminothermic reaction in which the oxygen that’s bound to the iron oxidizes the aluminum dust. The result: pure iron, aluminum oxide, and a ridiculous amount of heat, topping out around 4,500 degrees F.
Ever wonder how firefighters bust through interior walls so quickly to save kids hiding in the closet? Watch and learn: at Maker Faire Austin last weekend we held a competition to see who could get through three interior walls first armed with nothing but Stanley’s on-shelves-in-January FuBar III.
Our competitors: Megan Miller (of PopSci Future Girl fame) and her PopSci cohort Nick Mann.
The rules: tear through the three identical interior walls as quickly as possible with nothing but the FuBar III. Remove all studs. To stop the clock and claim victory, smash and shatter a pumpkin frozen in liquid nitrogen by Theo Gray, PopSci’s resident Mr. Wizard and author of their monthly Gray Matter column.
(Thursday, October 25th, 2007) A new Street Customs promises to be double plus good as they’ll be making a contractor’s truck, and a new How Do They Do It? tells us how to set forest fires and turn on our car.
All times are central.
How It’s Made: Episode 14, eyeglass lenses, granite, potato chips and microprocessors (Discovery, 5:00 p.m.)
Holmes on Homes: House Arrest (Home, 5:00 p.m.)
Build it Bigger: Super-Stadium (Science, 5:00 p.m.)
How It’s Made: Episode 16, personal watercraft, ice skates, wine and office furniture (Discovery, 5:30 p.m.)
Overhaulin’: The Boss is Back (TLC, 6:00 p.m.)
How Do They Do It?: Rescue Services, Rotating Boat, Parachutists (Science, 7:00 p.m.)
How It’s Made, Season 3: Episode 19, Escalator Handrails, Highlighters, Guitar Strings, Wigs (Science, 7:30 p.m.)
How It’s Made: Episode 24, individual transporters, cedar canoes and electric guitars (Discovery, 8:00 p.m.)
American Chopper: Go Daddy 2 (TLC, 8:00 p.m.)
How It’s Made: Episode 50, fur coat, a hearse, outdoor lighting fixtures and a golf tee (Discovery, 8:30 p.m.)
TM reader and Flickr pool member isaacknight posted this photo the remodel of this wall. We have to say that anyone that goes after a wall rebuild with a flatbar in hand is our kind of guy.
We also noticed that he didn’t have any gloves so we are just goingto have to fix this with a pair of demolition gloves!
Anyone who’s seen The Terminator knows that robots are out to get us. Need further proof that Skynet is nigh? The Swedish company Brokk offers a line of compact demo-bots for all sorts of dangerous demolition jobs. They’re popular in the nuclear power industry where radioactive contamination is an, um, issue. These particular models are remotely operated via a wired or wireless control box – to limit the operator’s exposure to dangerous environments and to prevent fatigue from vibration — but it’s just a short step to sending them out to do your demo work all by themselves.
Ingersoll-Rand’s workhorse rock drill is mean. It can drill a 2″ wide hole up to 18” deep into solid rock — perfect for when the s#!$ you need to break is made of stone. And just think how cool you’ll look weilding it!
This is what happens when a three-foot wrecking ball gets loose on the street and pinballs a waiting car. Alex Habay of Pittsburgh found out his late model Taurus doesn’t react to well to getting whacked with a one ton concrete ball. He wassitting in the vehicle at the time
Our first thought: you just know the crame operator had that sinking feeling in his stomach as he watched the ball rolling off the crane and out of sight. Priceless.
“Better get the Jaws of Life,” is not a phrase that you want to hear after you wreck your car. But thankfully for you, your local emergency crews have the foresight to own Hurst’s Jaws of Life — which has snatched people from the jaws of death for over three decades. Now Hurst is introducing an improved combination spreader/cutter version: the X-Tractor C.
The ultimate way to break s$#! is to blow it up, and the folks over at Gerber offer a multi-tool designed especially for the trained demolition techicians whose job we all covet. The Gerber Multi-Plier 600 Demolition Explosive Technician Tool is the only multi-tool certified for explosive ordinance disposal units and follows U.S. miltary specifications.
The tool includes a non-reflective black coating, a blasting cap crimper, and a universal saw coupler with remGritT saw. You also get a standard cross point screwdriver, large, meduim, and small flat- blade screwdrivers, a file, a bottle opener, a lanyard, and a nice ballistic nylon sheath.
And right now you can pick one up from Snapberry for just $79.05 with $8 shipping.
Got pics of your latest demo job? Post ‘em to the Toolmonger photo pool and you could win some sweet demolition gloves. We’ve still got lots of gloves to give away, so your chances of winning are, well, quite high. We’ll pick a couple each day to feature — and send ‘em gloves for their trouble.
After watching this week’s FuBar III demolition demonstration, one reader commented that he’s surprised none of us was injured. Guess what? I was. You can’t see it in the video when it happens, but at one point I put the FuBar completely through the wall and caught my thumb on the wall itself. (I was wearing light gloves, ’cause I forgot my demo gloves.) The result: what you see above.
It actually doesn’t hurt anywhere near as bad as it looks. Really.
Regardless of what other demo tools you own, you definitely need a big-ass metal bar. The Guster Demo-Bar Series II looks like a good candidate: it takes the place of a demo hammer, pry bar, scraper, and nail puller, allowing you to quickly swap from task to task — causing controlled havoc and mayhem — without stopping to grab another tool.
