Professional metal shops with copious amounts of space allow you to keep job-specific tools on hand. Dedicated tube benders and press brakes are great, if you’ve got the cash and space — but what are small shops and dedicated hobbyists to do? The Universal Fabricator, a metal fabrication multi-tool, combines a powered pipe/tube bender with a hydraulic-press-brake-type plate bender.
Driving around the countryside, you see a lot of fencing hung on T-posts — they’re economical posts for wire fences. Well, don’t you wish there was an easy way to get over ‘em? Lobo Products grants that wish, with the T-Post Stepper.
UFO’s NailScrews combine the holding power of screws with the speed of a nail gun. These specially designed fasteners, that you shoot out of a nail gun, hold so well that they have to be removed with a screwdriver.
On the jobsite, we often overlook hearing protection, because it’s easy to ignore — hearing damage is a “pay later” situation that most are comfortable gambling with, until it’s too late and the harm is done. Band-style earplugs are both cheap and effective, but the real question is, would you wear ‘em all day?
Small in-ear plugs can block quite a bit of sound, and a set like the ones pictured here are rated 28 out of 30 on the sound-protection scale. They’re almost disposable at around $7 a pair, and the local big box always carries ‘em.
Our only complaint: Because of their design, they put a great deal of pressure on your ears as they squeeze together to remain stuck on your head. Do you just get used to this? Or are over-the-ear cans better, despite their dorkiness? Let us know in comments.
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon
Bending over or working on your knees with your nail gun can be tough on your body, especially when you do it every day. Wouldn’t it be nice to drive nails while standing up? Sure Drive’s pneumatic Nail Gun Extension lets you operate almost any nail gun with a handle and a trigger from a standing position.
We like the new Milwaukee 0880-20 28V wet/dry vac if for no other reason than it looks like a toolbox — so we’ll probably be able to manage it more easily than the normal, R2-D2 looking vacs on the market. Oh yeah, it also features a two-gallon capacity and an airflow rating of 45 cfm.
According to Milwaukee, the 0880-20’s V28TM lithium-ion batteries will power the vac continuously for around 16 minutes on one charge. With more air power and suction than its 18V predecessor, it’ll quickly and easily remove dust, debris, and water.
When I’m doing heavy grinding, I hate having to stop and change over to a flap wheel for the finishing work, so this is the perfect deal for me. Home Depot’s offering a two-pack of Makita 4-1/2″ grinders for $80. Most comparable grinders cost $80 for just one, so when I spotted this combo package while wandering through Home Depot’s tool corral, I couldn’t pass it up. But it’s in-store only, so keep your eye out!
Makita Grinder (In-Store Only) [Home Depot]
(Tuesday, March 25th, 2008) There’s nothing new as far as we can tell, but plenty to watch. Oh, how we crave new episodes of Tank Overhaul.
All times are central.
Enjoy.
With their 6-in-1 rescue tool, Channellock has beefed up a pair of linesman pliers to specialize ‘em for rescue work. The extra-coarse texture of the pliers provides a stronger grip, and hardened cutters will cut through almost any wire. A hardened steel point on the tip of one handle will shatter safety glass, and a spanner wrench allows you to tighten or loosen standard hose couplings. The other handle functions as a pry bar and as a wrench that’ll fit over standard gas valves.
For all the Norm junkies out there, the New Yankee Workshop — which is set to start shooting its 20th season — is offering up more episodes than ever before on DVD. They’ve finally embraced the 21st century, and they’ll no longer be archiving to VHS.
I pick up a lot of my tools secondhand — garage-sale specials — and those slick molded cases are usually long gone by the time I get my hands on ‘em. But if I ever want a case, Carry Cases Plus offers plastic, blow-molded cases in a variety of sizes. They’ll protect anything from high-priced power tools to your collection of antique hand planes.
The cases come in three levels of quality: Standard, Infinity, and Defender. Build quality and internal protection increase with price. Sizes range from the smallish 7.5″ x 8.125″ x 3.53″ to models that are 26-inches long. You can order cases either empty or with your choice of internal foam padding. For a fee, they’ll even custom-cut foam inserts from submitted CAD files.
Prices range from about $10 for the smallest cases to $80 for large models with well-protected insides.
Carry Cases Plus [Official Site]
I’ve always liked the easy lines of the Burgon and Ball tools, especially of knives like their classic pruning knife. Though my attempts at gardening usually begin and end with kicking the occasional dandy-lion over, I still like the blades.
Burgon and Ball have been making hand tools in Sheffield, England for longer than the US has been a country — with that kind of time to work at it, we aren’t surprised they have a good looking product. These folding pruning knives feature blades that are about 3-1/2″ long and a thick, heavy handle for large, gloved hands to work with.
They aren’t the newest thing on the block, but that’s not really the point. Solid craftsmanship and old-school lines are the name of the game, and they’ve got that down.
Street pricing starts at around $55.
Classic Pruning Knife [Burgon and Ball]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
A few months ago a coworker held up the item pictured above and said, “This is called a cheeseborough.” I didn’t believe him, nor could I see any particular use for the tool. Later, I found out he wasn’t making up the term, and that all a cheeseborough does is clamp onto 1-1/4″ to 1-1/2″ pipe. And a few days ago I found out what makes this odd tool so cool.
Weldcraft just added the LS17 to its air-cooled Legacy Series of TIG torches. With its styled ergonomics, it looks a bit more like a toothbrush than a torch — but then again, toothbrushes are comfortable and easy to hold, so there may be something to that.
What’s better than one tool bag? Thats right, two tool bags. You can get this duo over at Sears for $7.50. Each bag — one is 10-inches and the other 12-inches — features a large interior, three outer pockets, two full-handle grips, zipper top with a steel reinforcement bar, and double stitching on the base, which provides resistance to both water and abrasion. Offer ends March 22.
Craftsman Tool Bag Two-Pack [Sears]
(Monday, March 24th, 2008) A new Top Gear should be funny, and there’s a ton of other stuff to rest your eyeballs on.
All times are central.
Enjoy.
(Sunday, March 23rd, 2008) History airs a new Ax Men, and DIY shows us how to build a treehouse.
All times are central.
Enjoy.
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