Some projects are difficult to tackle without help — like installing 12′ pieces of fiber cement siding, for example. To make installing siding a one man job, PacTool International developed the SA902 siding gauge. It clamps to the previous course to hold the next piece of siding at a preset reveal. Once in place, two siding gauges can fully support a 12′ piece of fiber cement siding, leaving your hands free to secure it.

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Making mortises by hand takes patience and a lot of practice, and dedicated mortising machines cost hundreds (or thousands) of dollars and take up valuable shop real estate. Luckily, there is a middle ground: if you already own a drill press you can buy an attachment to convert it into a mortising machine. Northern Industrial Tools will sell you a kit with everything you need to get started making mortises on your drill press for $40.

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(Wednesday, October 17th, 2007) Tonight: a new Build It Bigger builds a baseball stadium and we seem to have returned to a heavy schedule of How It’s Made reruns – not that we’re complaining (much).

All times are central.

• How It’s Made: Episode 1, paving asphalt, marshmallow cookies, loudspeakers and electronic door locks (Discovery, 5:00 p.m.)
• Holmes on Homes: This Mould House (Home, 5:00 p.m.)
• Build It Bigger: Hurricane-Proof Homes (Science, 5:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 51, architectural moldings, pulleys, industrial rubber hoses and sheet vinyl flooring (Discovery, 5:30 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 14, eyeglass lenses, granite, potato chips and microprocessors (Discovery, 6:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 18, Hydroponic lettuce, construction wood and fishing flies (Discovery, 6:30 p.m.)
• Build It Bigger: Major League Stadium (Discovery, 7:00 p.m.)
• How Do They Do It?: Bullet Proof Vests, Robots, Formation Skydivers (Science, 7:00 p.m.)
• Classic Tractor Specials (RFD-TV, 7:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made, Season 3: Episode 13, electrical panels, kites, eyeglass frames, and toothbrushes (Science, 7:30 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Snow Special (Discovery, 8:00 p.m.)
• Rock Solid: Manufactured Stone Fireplace (DIY, 8:00 p.m.)
• Rock Solid: Stamped Concrete (DIY, 8:30 p.m.)

Enjoy.

When I think Colman I think gas stoves and sleeping bags — not power tools. Recently, though, Colman teamed up with a company called (wait for it) Team Products International to introduce the Flashcell screwdriver, a light-duty cordless screwdriver that draws its juice from a capacitor rather than a battery, allowing it to fully charge in just 90 seconds.

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Ridgid recently updated their benchtop thickness planer line with a 3-cutter blade design. They say the triple-cutter design will mean smoother finishes on your work (read: less sanding). And the cutters are double edged, too, so you can flip them around and use the other edge to prolong the life of the blades.

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C. H. Hanson, manufacturer of the Chalk Hog, now offers something called the Angle Snap — a chalk line jig designed to simplify complex layout on sheet goods like plywood, sheet rock, or OSB. With built in positive stops for fast placement on edges and corners, it works with any standard chalk line to mark angles simply and accurately.

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Have you heard about Bosch’s Rapid Repair service? If Bosch service centers and Rapid Repair partners can’t repair your tool in five business days or less, the repairs are free. Maybe we’re finally seeing a viable alternative to the return-it-to-the-store-for-a-replacement option.

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(Tuesday, October 16th, 2007) Lots to watch, just nothing new tonight. Sticky Stuff would be our fave of the night.

All times are central.

• How It’s Made: Episode 20, carpet, drinking water, laser eye surgery and acoustic guitars (Discovery, 5:00 p.m.)
• Holmes on Homes: Sunnyside Down (Home, 5:00 p.m.)
• Build It Bigger: Fault Zone Tunnel (Science, 5:00 p.m.)
• Machinery of the Past (RFD-TV, 5:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 50, countertop laminate, frozen treats, children’s building blocks and detergents (Discovery, 5:30 p.m.)
• Dirty Jobs: Salt Miner (Discovery, 7:00 p.m.)
• How Do They Do It?: Buildings, Electricity Pilons, Balloon Makers (Science, 7:00 p.m.)
• John Ratzenberger’s Made in America: Filson Outdoor, Apparel PSE Archery, Schutt football helmet (Travel, 7:00 p.m.)
• Modern Marvels: Sticky Stuff (History, 7:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made, Season 3: Episode 12, kitchen knives, mannequins, socks, and hypodermic needles (Science, 7:30 p.m.)
• John Ratzenberger’s Made in America: Jacuzzi, Sand Trix, Dr Pepper (Travel, 7:30 p.m.)
• Dirty Jobs: Chick Sexer (Discovery, 8:00 p.m.)
• 10 Things You Must Know: Landscaping  (DIY, 9:00 p.m.)
• Trade School: Neon (DIY, 9:30 p.m.)
• Dirty Jobs: Sludge Cleaner (Discovery, 10:00 p.m.)

Enjoy.

(Monday, October 15th, 2007) Tonight: tons of reruns to watch. The TV guide says that Top Gear is new, but we’re not convinced of that. We can only hope.

All times are central.

• How It’s Made: Episode 8 trucks, adhesive bandages, computer circuit boards and liquors (Discovery, 5:00 p.m.)
• Holmes on Homes: Best Laid Plan (Home, 5:00 p.m.)
• Build It Bigger: Boot Camp (Science, 5:00 p.m.)
• Machinery of the Past (RFD-TV, 5:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 3 toothpicks, acrylic bathtubs, helicopters and beer (Discovery, 5:30 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Concrete Glider (Discovery, 6:00 p.m.)
• Modern Marvels: Racetrack Tech (History, 6:00 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Killer Cable Snaps (Discovery, 7:00 p.m.)
• How Do They Do It?: Helicopter, Luxury Yachts, Ball Park (Science, 7:00 p.m.)
• Top Gear: Episode 2 (BBC America, 7:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made, Season 3: Episode 11, cement, caskets, soft drinks, and glider rockers (Science, 7:30 p.m.)
• MythBusters: Baseball Myths (Discovery, 8:00 p.m.)
• Top Gear: Episode 1 (BBC America, 8:00 p.m.)
• Junkyard Wars: Beach Rescue Racers (Home, 9:00 p.m.)
• Junkyard Wars: Laundry Launchers (Home, 9:30 p.m.)

Enjoy.

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, October 14th, 2007) We told you they would keep milking the Ice Road Truckers reruns. At least the show’s worth rewatching, at least a few times.

All times are central.

• Trains and Locomotives (RFD-TV, 5:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 29, wheel loaders, vegetable oil, hand tools and cotton swabs (Science, 6:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Episode 30, temporary metal fences, asphalt shingles, expanded polystyrene products, and hard candies (Science, 6:30 p.m.)
• Ice Road Truckers: 08 - Into the Whiteout (History, 10:00 p.m.)

Enjoy.

How many 9V gadgets do you have around the shop – or the house? Let’s count: there’s the studfinder, the moisture meter, the fox-and-hound wire tracer, a handful of multimeters, a flashlight, a transistor radio. Wow. The list goes on and on! I’m a big advocate of rechargeable batteries, but the nickel-based chemistries aren’t ideal for most nine-volt applications. Now there’s an alternative: Lithium!

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Sometimes an 1800-watt heatgun is overkill. That’s when the ProHeater proves handy. Intended for heat-shrink applications, this 350-watt mini-heatgun is also ideal for label removal and other adhesive softening.

You probably won’t find it useful for stripping paint, but it most likely won’t melt your cheap extension cord, either. It’s less bulky than a standard heatgun, and will set you back about twenty bucks.

Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What's this?] 

So you’ve decided on a woodworking project, but will it fit your budget? What if you made if from cherry instead of oak? Forget the backs of envelopes, join the 21st century and let your computer do the work with the Woodworkers Estimate Helper (WEH) from Software for Woodworkers. A few simple steps allows you to estimate lumber and hardware costs while limiting how much wood you waste, too.

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(Saturday, October 13th, 2007) It’s a typical night of woodworking on DIY and assorted other shows on other networks, but you’ll be busy out in the shop anyway, right?

All times are central.

• Top Gear: Episode 1 (BBC America, 5:00 p.m.)
• Dirty Jobs: Snake Researcher (Discovery, 6:00 p.m.)
• Modern Marvels: Wiring America (History, 6:00 p.m.)
• Dirty Jobs: Bell Maker (Discovery, 7:00 p.m.)
• New Yankee Workshop: Hall Seat (DIY, 7:30 p.m.)
• Classic Tractor Specials (RFD-TV, 8:00 p.m.)
• New Yankee Workshop: CD Storage Case (DIY, 8:00 p.m.)
• Wood Works: Tool Cabinet (DIY, 8:30 p.m.)
• Wood Works: Wood-Finishes Tour (DIY, 9:00 p.m.)
• Freeform Furniture: CD Storage System (DIY, 9:30 p.m.)

Enjoy.

Last week was a busy week here at Toolmonger. If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select:

Give Yourself A Brake
Almost no one has a full-sized metal brake in in the shop so BAC helps you out with their 18″ model. It bolts to the bench and can bend up to 16 gauge steel.

Bend The Rules
This sweet bend rule from Incra is the easy way to correctly mark up your latest project. With a measuring rig like this, you have shot at not suffering from a case of the mis-marked wobbles.

Simple Green, Simply Clean
Cleaning up the shop often feels like an impossible mission. Simple Green puts the smackdown on dirty shops and the crew in them.

How To Build A Cheap, Simple Worktable
Workshop table aren’t a big deal – unless you don’t have one. This how-to is a great way to remedy a big problem with a minimum of effort and materials. We’re all about that.

Protect Your Lawn-Mowing Investment
Around our neck of the woods, getting the mower put away for the season normally involves some dancing and a hand gesture — but smart folks use a mower cover to keep the weather at bay to ease next season’s first-start blues. 

Help us choose next week’s Top 5!

We’d appreciate your help in choosing next week’s Top 5, which’ll be featured here, elsewhere, and in the podcast as well. While you’re reading TM this week, look out for the “Interesting Post” button at the bottom of the article:

When you see an article that piques your interest, click the button once. You’ll return to the same page, but TM’s software’ll score your click for future reference. We’ll check in on the totals before selecting next week’s Top 5.

Tired of tearing your hands up on cheap-ass, not-fully-smoothed cast faucet knobs? You could replace the faucet with an expensive modern one, but if the valve’s still good, why not try Faucet Mitts? Just soften these rubber covers in warm water then just slip ‘em into place. They’re four bucks a pair and are way, way easier on your hands.

Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What's this?]

Remember Irwin’s new marking chalk we previewed a while back? At least one of the four variants is now on shelves: the “dust-off” variety. Irwin claims that this chalk, intended for short-term indoor use, easily wipes away with a rag.

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