With the Gecko suction cup holder from Festool, you can lift and carry loads with smooth, non-porous surfaces that weigh over 100 lbs — pretty cool. Add the guide rail adapter to all that coolness, and you can hold Festool guide rails on any surface that the Gecko will cling to, without using clamps.
Grab some candles that’ve seen the end of their use as a light source, and you can finish woodwork on a lathe beautifully and economically. Once the actual shaping is complete and you’ve sanded to your satisfaction, simply hold the candle stub to the wood and watch the shine grow. It may not be the highest quality finish, and it’s certainly not the most complicated, but the candle wax produces a warm glow that brings out the beauty of the wood — and it can be as cheap as free if someone in the house is forever burning candles.
Photo from Flickr member Paraflyer.
Lathe Finish Tips [Ask Dresdner]
Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]
Here’s another reason to dive into Bosch’s line of 10.8V cordless power tools: with the purchase of a PS10-2, PS20-2, or PS40-2, you can get a free PS20 via mail-in rebate. The free driver doesn’t come with a battery, but the various kits come with two. Shop wisely and you can turn your dream of double-fisted PS20 action into a reality. The deal is valid from May 15 to July 15, 2008.
Rebate Form [Bosch]
Bosch 10.8V Litheon Street Pricing [Google Products]
(Tuesday, May 20th, 2008) Tonight we’ve got Overhaulin’ and American Chopper on the Military channel, and precious little else.
All times are central.
Enjoy.
It seems to us that tool guys obsessed with the latest recip or computer-controlled cutting machine often overlook jigsaws, but jigsaws offer a cheap and effective way to cut curves for woodworking projects. Even we’d been infected with the craze. So when we got off our high horse and headed to the store to pick up a quality jigsaw, we were surprised how far the modern jigsaw has progressed.
Skil’s 4690 corded jigsaw delivers a few new features that weren’t available on the unit we cut with in high school shop class. Its six amp motor plows through wood a lot faster, too. For the testing process we decided to see how the 4690 faired against a real world project: the 18-1/2′ plywood dinosaur we built a few weeks ago.
Read on to see how it — the saw, not Bob the big-ass dino — performed.
Textured walls still seem to be the craze, and texturing with a sponge still seems painfully slow. If you’re tired of sponging it on, try shooting it out of this hopper gun instead. You can find less expensive hopper guns, some of which only handle paint, but the Sharpshooter I features seven different orifice sizes, a handy air-control valve, and a big trigger for less hand fatigue.
The Steam Stripper makes heavy-duty restoration work easier, by harnessing this basic principle: heat and wet make things softer. At first I didn’t buy the idea of steam working on oil or latex paint; I generally think of these as waterproof. But as I studied the website, it started making sense. Tiny imperfections in the paint allow steam to get under the surface — and with old paint, you’re even more likely to find imperfections in the coat, whether from age or accidents. Window Restoration Systems claims that their Steam Stripper actually works better with more layers of paint.
It seems like everyone’s re-engineering their screwdriver line — Klein’s no exception. In a departure from their instantly recognizable yellow and black screwdrivers, this month they introduced the new Journeyman series of screwdrivers which they designed to meet or exceed applicable ASME/ANSI specifications.
These new Journeyman screwdrivers copy other manufacturers’ three-sided design with their “tri-lobe” handle, made with a soft-grip material molded over a solid inner core. The butt of the handle features Klein’s Tip-Ident — these patented markings allow you to instantly see what type of screwdriver you’re holding and the orientation of the tip.
Some people will tell you that real DIY maintenance of a gravel drive is impossible, even with a lawn tractor or ATV and a grader attachment — they’ll tell you the only real solution is a full-size tractor or grader. However, lots of Toolmongers will tell you differently. I’ve heard about or seen rigs made of I-beams, box springs, and welded monstrosities, pulled behind every kind of contraption commonly seen in a yard, field, or worksite. This patented Driveway Groomer, designed to be pulled by a truck with a trailer hitch, seems as good as any.
Toolmongers are always improvising. If they have a job that needs to get done, they get it done, regardless of whether the proper tools are readily available. A prime example, this gentleman from Mexico needed to sharpen his tools but had no sharpener — so in true Toolmonger fashion, he made his own.
Depending on where you live, porch-swing weather may be upon you or closing in. If you don’t already have a porch swing, or if the old one needs to be retired, take a gander at the plans on Black & Decker’s site. Though it’s nothing fancy, it’ll satisfy the basic requirements: space for a butt or two, and something to hang the swing by.
If you ever remodel something, you’ll probably need to add or move an electrical outlet, and a fish tape’ll make that job a lot easier. No, a fish tape isn’t an adhesive for catching fish; it’s a steel tape that you “fish” through walls or floors — you attach your cable to the end of the fish tape, then retract the tape to pull the cable through the cavity. Ideal makes this 120′, 4.6-pound fish tape from high-grade steel, and it’s housed in a molded plastic case with a non-slip, oversized, finger-grip handle. Sears has marked it down to $30, so it won’t break your bank.
Tuff-Grip Fish Tape [Sears]
Tuff-Grip Fish Tape [Ideal]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
(Monday, May 19th, 2008) Airbots looks interesting, and a new Dirty Jobs salvages ice from leftover drink cups at McDonald’s — or something like that.
All times are central.
Enjoy.
If you’re wondering exactly how an “internal combustion” cordless nailer works, Sean’s here to show you. He walks you through the basics, then drives a few nails to give you a feel for the nailer.
It’s been 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:
Perfect Punch Placement
When the name of the game is accuracy, and optical center punch can introduce a whole new level of “dead-on” to your projects. With this center punch system you can punch within .002″ of your mark, so your final hole position will be about as accurate as it gets.
Irwin’s Line-Marking Tape Measure
Irwin’s 25′ Strait-Line tape measure features a pencil-less, quick-marking tip. Just measure out your distance, press the bottom of the tape against your material, and mark your line. It’s not laser-accurate, but it’s great when speed is the key.
Maglite With A Side Of Beat Down
Rothco has expanded on the notion that Maglites look like modern-day Billy clubs. Their new side handle system turns any C or D Maglite into a police style tonfa club — for defense or for just showing off your mad flashlight-twirling skills.
Hole Saw Slug Problem
Recently we were testing some hole saws in the Toolmonger shop, and we managed to get a giant, circular hunk of two-by-four stuck in the cup. We ended up removing the chunk with a small drill bit and a large common screwdriver, but we couldn’t help but wonder if there are better solutions. Toolmongers answered “hell yes.”
Preview: Hitachi’s New Pneumatic Staplers
Hitachi recently released a new 1/2″ standard crown stapler and a new 15/16″ wide crown stapler. Both lightweight staplers are sleek, metal-clad stapling thoroughbreds. There’s no crazy green rubber, either — just metal and performance. We dig it.
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.
Some jobs are remote enough to make carrying an air compressor problematic — for instance replacing a few slats at the back of your wooden fence or building a shed in the back forty. That’s when the Paslode CF-325 Cordless framing nailer shines. It drives nails just like your standard pneumatic nailer — but without all the extra gear.
Read on past the jump to find out how this sucker turns butane and battery power into nail-drivin’ fury.
Join us as we run down this week’s top five, plus give you a peek into our testing this week — specifically Husky’s 5-in-1 drywall tool, Stanley’s new FatMax levels, and Paslode’s CF-325 cordless framing nailer. Remember, if you’ve got a question or comment you can call us at 866-718-9403. (Podcast Download)
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