Tired of lugging that 18V monster drill/driver around just to drive small screws and assemble stuff? Bosch’s PS20 sub-compact driver has provided an alternative for the last few years, but it’s seen little competition.

Until now. Milwaukee’s new sub-compact is similar in size and claims slightly better specs. But we needed to see it – and put it to the test in the Toolmonger shop – to believe it. Read on past the jump to see how it fared. (more…)

If you think belt hooks on tools are stupid — they’re usually not well-designed, and my belt is generally too tight to easily hook a tool on it — strap on a drill holster.  Black Rhino has adapted the gunslinger’s companion for the Toolmonger.

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If that cursed rattle can is giving you “finger fatigue,” transform it into a spray gun with Krylon’s Snap and Spray.  The pistol-grip-shaped Snap and Spray snaps onto any spray can, giving you better control and accuracy — and pulling the built-in trigger is much easier than pushing down on the spray head.

You can find a couple of different versions of the Snap and Spray floating about.  Expect to pay about $3 to $4 for either version, or you can get a case of 12 for less than $30.

Snap and Spray [Krylon]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon(B0002YP7SO) [What’s This?] [What's This?]

Memorial Day is past, but I say there’s no time like the present to work on converting all you pegboard haters — and anyway, Fourth of July is almost here!  Alligator Board offers metal pegboards and accessories in many varieties, but this specialty item really caught my eye.  Whether your patriotism is flashy or not, this pegboard will set the record straight and put you back on the red-blooded-American list.

Alligator Board sells the flag pegboard for $200, plus $34 shipping.

American Flag Pegboard [Alligator Board]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

For lawns too big for the Yard Butler that still need plug-style aeration, this Craftsman Lawn Aerator will do the trick.  Several readers commented that lawn moisture conditions had to be just right for their other aerators to work — the pics on Sears.com show a more open design of the coring points on this aerator, which should allow the plugs to fall out more easily, wet or dry.

The tool has garnered all positive reviews on Sears.com — it retails for $180.

Lawn Aerator [Craftsman]
Lawn Aerator [Sears]

If you’ve ever worked on a job site where you’re outdoors as well as indoors, you might find yourself choosing between clear vision and proper eye protection. Tinted specs blind you indoors, and clear lenses don’t help with the glare outside. SmartLens safety glasses incorporate the same auto-dimming materials found in prescription specs, for safety glasses that dim in just 30 seconds.

(more…)

Have you ever stripped one of those tiny screws — you know, the ones that no hardware store seems to carry?  Fix the threads yourself, or even make new ones, with this mini tap and die set from Senter.

The hardened steel plate includes 14 dies ranging from 0.7mm to 2.0mm for threading fine screws and wire. A set of 14 taps allows you to thread the matching holes.

This mini tap and die set will only set you back about $20.

Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon(B000ZBVHJC) [What’s This?] [What's This?]

Tools Plus is selling this Milwaukee insert bit screw driving set for just $5. The set includes Phillips bits in sizes 1 x P1, 7 x P2, and 1 x P3; square drive bits in 1 x S1, 3 x S2, 1 x S3; Torx bits in sizes 1 x T15, 1 x T20 and 1 x T25; and slotted bits in 1 x S16-8 and 1 x S18-10. All the bits, as well as a magnetic drive guide, come neatly contained in a puck-shaped magnetic housing.

Insert Bit Set [Milwaukee]
Insert Bit Set [Tools Plus]
Via Amazon [What’s This?] [B000QV0184] [What's This?]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

(Wednesday, May 28th, 2008) Discovery once again shoots itself in the foot by rolling out a new program with little or no fanfare. Factory Made promises to be a lot like all the other how/made shows, but that’s not a bad thing.

All times are central.

• Holmes on Homes: Pasadena 911 (Home, 5:00 p.m.)
• Harley-Davidson: Birth of the V-Rod (Science, 5:00 p.m.)
• Rock Solid: Eco Masons: Dean and Derek Go Green (DIY, 5:30 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Conga Drums, Metal Plating, Buttons (Discovery, 6:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Grinding Wheels, Compost, Window Blinds, Milk (Discovery, 6:30 p.m.)
• Factory Made: cowboy boots, restoring old carpet (Discovery, 7:00 p.m.) NEW
• Factory Made: combine-harvester factory, fishing-rods (Discovery, 7:30 p.m.) NEW
• MythBusters: Earthquake Machine (Discovery, 8:00 p.m.)
• Build It Bigger: High Risk Tower (Science, 8:00 p.m.)
• Under Construction: When a Door Shuts, You Install a Window (DIY, 8:30 p.m.)
• Ax Men: The Toughest Season (History, 9:00 p.m.)
• Master Blasters: Alien Recon (Science, 9:00 p.m.)
• Hammered With John & Jimmy DiResta: The Steel Drum Barbecue (DIY, 9:30 p.m.)
• Factory Made: The world’s largest HD video screen, windshield glass (Discovery, 9:30 p.m.) NEW
• How It’s Made: Plastic Injection Moulds, Automotive Oil Filters, Filing Cabinets, Blown Glass (Discovery, 10:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: High-Precision Cutting Tools, Stained Glass, Semi-Trailers, Recorders (Discovery, 10:30 p.m.)

Enjoy.

If you’ve got a yard with lots of “trash” trees or big old trees that drop lots of branches, you may not need an ark-sized chipper that costs a bundle.  For as little as $175 you can get one of these garden-gnome-sized McCulloch electric shredders. It’ll handle the stuff not worth cutting up, and the rest goes on the woodpile for the winter. It’s not a beast, but it might be the right tool for the job — and maybe it won’t bring back unpleasant memories of that scene from Fargo.

Electric Shredders [McCulloch]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?] [What's This?]

For the sake of convenience engineers designed the terminal-block screw, which can be driven with either a slotted or Phillips screwdriver. Although a slotted screwdriver can transfer a lot of torque to a fastener, it can slip off the head — not very desirable if you’re working inside a service panel. On the other hand, a Phillips screwdriver stays on the screw head, but tends to cam out at higher torque. To specifically fit terminal-block screws, Wiha designed these cross-slotted screwdrivers, incorporating the best features of both slotted and Phillips drivers.

(more…)

If time isn’t an issue with your flat tire, and if you already own an air compressor with a standard air chuck, then this $5 kit will let you repair six tires. In addition to being cheap-ass, these kits won’t send your tires out of balance enough to notice, and they provide a permanent fix.

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Many companies offer clothing branded with their name or logo — tool companies are no different. The company-branded gear flooding the market ranges from free promotional hats to rather expensive jackets.

From a company’s standpoint, branded clothing functions as a cheap advertising tool — or better than cheap, if they can make a profit selling it. But why do we willingly act as billboards, sometimes even paying for the privilege?

Do you proudly wear company-branded clothing, or do you rue the idea of being a walking billboard? Let us know your opinion in the comments.

If you’re going golfing after work, take along this little specialty tool from Dremel to keep your balls clubs clean; even if clean clubs don’t improve your game, at least they won’t make that slice any worse. Spinning at either 7,000 or 14,000 RPM, this rotary tool could drastically increase the number of golf-related eye injuries if people don’t wear protective gear! Toolmongers, of course, know better than to skip safety glasses when wielding a rotary tool — Sean says to wear a frackin’ face shield — but we have a responsibility to our fellow man.  Get out there and spread the word, or that one-eyed golfer in your life may soon have company!

Street pricing is about $20. If you think you might get one for Father’s Day, ask for goggles, too.

Golf Cleaning Kit [Dremel]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?] [What's This?]

At some point, drilling shelf-pin holes became rocket science. You’d think most woodworkers would have enough skill to lay out a line of equally spaced holes, but it seems everybody has a trick or a new product to save us from our shortcomings. To give us yet another way of laying out equally spaced holes, FastCap created their layout tape.

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I enjoy painting my house about as much as having my teeth removed with rusty pliers — but at least I can take some pleasure in buying a new tool for the job. Amazon is selling this Porter Cable abrasive paint remover for $202 with free shipping. Powered by an 8A motor, with gear-driven, all ball-bearing construction and a variable-speed dial which sets the speed from 3,300 to 4,500 RPM, the tool’s tungsten carbide discs remove paint faster and easier than more traditional methods. The paint remover comes with a side handle, a wrench, a disc, an allen wrench, and a one-year warranty.

Paint Remover [Porter Cable]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What's This?]

(Tuesday, May 27th, 2008) It doesn’t get much worse than tonight, alas.

All times are central.

• Holmes on Homes: Pasadena 911 (Home, 5:00 p.m.)
• Machinery of the Past (RFD-TV, 5:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: Plastic Injection Moulds, Automotive Oil Filters, Filing Cabinets, Blown Glass (Discovery, 6:00 p.m.)
• How It’s Made: High-Precision Cutting Tools, Stained Glass, Semi-Trailers, Recorders (Discovery, 6:30 p.m.)
• Rock Solid: Interlocking Stone Wall and Steps (DIY, 8:30 p.m.)

Enjoy.