(TV Tonight, Sunday, November 30th, 2008)  Seriously?  More Cool Tools?  Speed also gives us a marathon of Ultimate Factories.

All times are central.

• Cool Tools: Woodworking (DIY, 5:00 pm)
• Ultimate Factories: Harley (Speed, 5:00 pm)
• How It’s Made: Architectural Moldings, Pulleys, Industrial Rubber Hose, Sheet Vinyl Flooring (Science, 5:00 pm)
• Cool Tools: Get It Together (DIY, 5:30 pm)
• How It’s Made: Putty Knives, Garage Doors, Electric Motors, and Wool (Science, 5:30 pm)
• Cool Tools: Holiday Blowout (DIY, 6:00 pm)
• Ultimate Factories: Corvette (Speed, 6:00 pm)
• How It’s Made: Pre-inked Stamps, Cranberries, Cotton Yarn, Road Signs (Science, 6:00 pm)
• How It’s Made: Combination Locks, Pottery, Recreational Vehicles, Erasers (Science, 6:30 pm)
• Cool Tools: The 25 Coolest (DIY, 7:00 pm)
• Ultimate Factories: Peterbilt (Speed, 7:00 pm)
• Cool Tools: Hang Tight (DIY, 8:00 pm)
• Ultimate Factories: John Deere (Speed, 8:00 pm)
• Cool Tools: Yardwork (DIY, 8:30 pm)
• Cool Tools: Better Basics (DIY, 9:00 pm)
• Ultimate Factories: Caterpillar (Speed, 9:00 pm)
• Cool Tools: Paint (DIY, 9:30 pm)
• Ultimate Factories: Winnebago (Speed, 10:00 pm)

Enjoy.

(TV Tonight, Saturday, November 29th, 2008)  We’ve got rerun marathons of Cool Tools, How It’s Made: Remix, and Mythbusters. Things could be worse.

All times are central.

• Cool Tools: Ergonomics (DIY, 5:00 pm)
• MythBusters: Viewer Special (Discovery, 5:00 pm)
• How It’s Made: Remix: Green Products (Science, 5:00 pm)
• Cool Tools: In the Garage (DIY, 5:30 pm)
• How It’s Made: Remix: Baseball (Science, 5:30 pm)
• Cool Tools: Saws, Knives, and Blades (DIY, 6:00 pm)
• MythBusters: Airplane Hour (Discovery, 6:00 pm)
• How It’s Made: Remix: Autos (Science, 6:00 pm)
• Cool Tools: Lost and Found (DIY, 6:30 pm)
• How It’s Made: Remix: Automotive (Science, 6:30 pm)
• Cool Tools: Holiday Blowout (DIY, 7:00 pm)
• MythBusters: Shark Special 2 (Discovery, 7:00 pm)
• How It’s Made: Remix: Boats (Science, 7:00 pm)
• How It’s Made: Remix: Outdoors (Science, 7:30 pm)
• Cool Tools: Wood Work (DIY, 8:00 pm)
• How It’s Made: Remix: Football (Science, 8:00 pm)
• Cool Tools: On the Surface (DIY, 8:30 pm)
• How It’s Made: Remix: Hockey (Science, 8:30 pm)
• Cool Tools: The 25 Coolest (DIY, 9:00 pm)
• MythBusters: End With a Bang (Discovery, 9:00 pm)
• How It’s Made: Remix: Airplanes (Science, 9:00 pm)
• How It’s Made: Remix: Winter Sports (Science, 9:30 pm)
• MythBusters: Crimes and Myth-Demeanors (Discovery, 10:00 pm)

Enjoy.

Though power miter saws offer awesome power and versatility, they can be expensive.  Sure, you can get a power miter saw for less than $100, but you can get a 45-degree-only plastic miter box for less than $10.  Not one to limit my future functionality, I picked up this miter saw and box combo at the big box for less than $20.

Sturdy enough for the occasional DIYer and weekend warrior, the saw gives you quick angles for four, five, six, eight, and twelve-sided polygons — that’s 45, 36, 30, 22-1/2, and 15 degrees — in addition to your perpendicular cuts.

Plastic Precision Miter Saw [Jorgensen]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

With only a few weeks of worktime left till the holiday zero hour, I thought I’d check out a few toy-making books and try my hand at building something smaller than a pony for a change.  Making Wooden Toys: 12 Easy-to-Do Projects with Full-Size Templates by James Stasio caught my eye right away.

His book contains templates for some easy-to-do little rigs like trucks, helicopters, and a naval destroyer.  I figure for $7 and a few pieces of pine I can’t go too wrong, so we’ll see what comes of it.  At least they’ll be easier to poly or paint than the huge pieces I’ve been doing.

If they’re good I’ll post some pics when I’m done — and if they turn out good-for-a-laugh, I’ll post more pics.

Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

“Cheap” really doesn’t describe how far I’ll stoop to avoid shelling out money.  So when my laptop fan started sounding like a small Allison aircraft engine about a year back, I was not spending the $110 to get a new fan assembly — even the $25 for a new fan wasn’t happening.  Instead I decided to treat it like any other machine in the shop:  When it squeaks, I start with giving it some oil.

(more…)

Boston Industrial is selling this 5oz magnetic tack hammer for $2.07.  Handy for upholstery projects, this tool holds then hammers small tacks.

5oz. Magnetic Tack Hammer [Boston Industrial]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

The palm-sized driver category is opening up a bit more with the addition of this pint-sized Dremel Driver.  A palm driver’s diminutive size and ease of operation appeal to people who dislike turning the occasional screw but don’t plan to pay out a ton of green for it.  Given Dremel’s experience with small power tools, we wanted to see if their new driver is out in front of the pack — or just late to the game with a “Me, too!” effort.

Check out our assessment of the Dremel Driver, and see how it compares to other palm drivers.

(more…)

We came across this Patio Pro grill at the local Albertson’s earlier this week with a hefty $30 markdown that brought it to $60.  Char-Griller makes this awesome grill from the fire box of a larger smoker, decked out with sweet cast-iron grill plates and a rolling stand.

We’ve spent time with these bad boys and they grill some mean steaks.  The grill surface itself measures 18″x14” — big enough to cook steaks and vegetables for a family of four without a problem.  Plus its heavy iron construction means you won’t need to replace it nearly as soon as you would a thinner-walled unit .

Patio Pro [Char-Griller]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

(TV Tonight, Friday, November 28th, 2008)  We’ve got more new episodes of Cool Tools and a new How It’s Made on Science.

All times are central.

• Cool Tools: Yardwork (DIY, 5:00 pm)
• Cool Tools: Better Basics (DIY, 5:30 pm)
• Cool Tools: Holiday Blowout (DIY, 6:00 pm)
• How Do They Do It?: Cruise Liner, Satellite, Suspension Bridge (Science, 6:00 pm)
• How Do They Do It?: Vehicles, Deep Mine, Ultimate Football (Science, 6:30 pm)
• Cool Tools: The 25 Coolest (DIY, 7:00 pm)
• Cool Tools: Get It Together (DIY, 8:00 pm) NEW
• How It’s Made: Baseball Gloves, Medical Electrodes, Stetson Hats (Science, 8:00 pm) NEW
• Cool Tools: Hang Tight (DIY, 8:30 pm) NEW
• How It’s Made: Accordions, Pineapples, Artificial Joints (Science, 8:30 pm)
• Cool Tools: On the Move (DIY, 9:00 pm) NEW
• Cool Tools: Handyman (DIY, 9:30 pm) NEW
• How It’s Made: Remix: Thanksgiving (Science, 9:30 pm)

Enjoy.

It’s officially “that time.”  If you’re reading this early enough:  Go, now, before the throng of people in the above image forms at every nearby shopping location and the carnage begins.  Today, chain stores all over the place mark down the gear you want to prices you can pull the trigger on.  It’s Black Friday.

On this day and this day only, old ladies and small children alike are imbued with superhuman strength, the ability to stiff-arm their fellow man without regard for their well-being, and an all-out sixth sense for marked-down goods.  You know — the holiday spirit.

Kidding aside, if there are any cheapskates –- like me -– out there, post up a pic or two in the Flickr pool, or let us know you scored in comments.  We always love to hear the word on the street.

Before we succumb to the tryptophan coma which awaits us on this glorious occasion, we’d like to take a moment to offer our thanks to all of you out there who’ve helped Toolmonger grow to what it is today.

We could produce a big list, but you know who you are:  the daily readers, our favorite commenters, the guys (and gals) who bust us when we miss the point (or the fine print), the tool companies that understand that not all toolaholics are over 60 and not everyone gets their tool news from Popular Mechanics, the other (much more famous and significant) writers who’ve taken us under their wings, the friends and family who’ve helped out with tool testing (and some of the crazy stunts we’ve dreamed up), and the family that puts up with our long hours working on Toolmonger instead of getting a “real” job…

You’re Toolmongers, all of you.

Thanks.

Also remember that tomorrow is one of the best deal-grabbing days of the year.  Already Black Friday hunters are formulating their battle plans for the morning’s assault on high prices and the limited supply of sweet deals to be had.  If you’re short of a plan, check out yesterday’s post on Lowe’s posted bargains.

Rings & Things is selling this 10X loupe for $1.90.  Loupes help out with close-up magnification when you need both your hands.  While this one is hardly a quality loupe, it should work fine for occasional magnification.

10X Loupe [Rings & Things]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

(TV Tonight, Thursday, November 27th, 2008) For some bizarre reason, DIY is running four new episodes of Cool Tools tonight.  There’s also a Dirty Jobs marathon on Discovery.

All times are central.

• Cool Tools: Cut Above (DIY, 5:00 pm)
• Dirty Jobs: Monkey Caretaker (Discovery, 5:00 pm)
• Cool Tools: High Tech (DIY, 5:30 pm)
• Cool Tools: Change of Season (DIY, 6:00 pm)
• Dirty Jobs: Turkey Inseminator (Discovery, 6:00 pm)
• Cool Tools: Demolition (DIY, 6:30 pm)
• Cool Tools: Holiday Blowout (DIY, 7:00 pm) NEW
• Dirty Jobs: Dirty Chip Maker (Discovery, 7:00 pm)
• Cool Tools: Paint (DIY, 8:00 pm) NEW
• Dirty Jobs: Mannequin Factory (Discovery, 8:00 pm)
• Cool Tools: Make the Cut (DIY, 8:30 pm) NEW
• Classic Tractors (RFD-TV, 8:00 pm)
• Cool Tools: The 25 Coolest (DIY, 9:00 pm) NEW
• Dirty Jobs: Vellum Maker (Discovery, 9:00 pm)
• Dirty Jobs: Turkey Farmer (Discovery, 10:00 pm)

Enjoy.

Black Friday normally incites one of two reactions — either you cower and run to the nearest panic room and hope it all passes you by quickly; or you join the store-combing hordes of undead shoppers, as pictured above.

Like it or not, you can get some serious deals if you’re one of those brave souls not afraid to push around your fellow man with a shopping cart.  Lowe’s conveniently posted some of the deals that’ll be available this November 28th:

(more…)

What’s that you say?  You need a light on your box cutter for when you’re working in a dark warehouse?  A light for when you’ve climbed to the top of the stock bins where holiday merchandise is piled to the ceiling? I wish I’d had one of these during my stint as a stock boy — it would have meant less risk of management catching me where I really wasn’t supposed to be, and a lot less time spent trying to figure out why the computer says I have fourteen, but only one is on the shelf.

It looks like Sheffield put this together to be a good quality knife to start with, then added the kicker of an LED.  You know whether you need this, and whether you ought to be where you need it.

Lighted Utility Knife [Sheffield]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

If you prefer raking leaves onto a tarp for disposal, then you might want to look at the Leaf Net.  Spread the Leaf Net on the ground just like you would with a tarp — you can optionally stake down the corners with the included 6″ stakes.  Rake leaves on top of it.  When you’re done, pull the string to form a bag, and carry or drag the leaves away using the pull-string as a handle.

Douglas Net, a manufacturer of fishing nets as far as we can tell, makes the 8′ x 8′ leaf net from brown 1/4″ polyester mesh.  When not in use the Leaf Net scrunches up smaller then a tarp for easy storage.

Amazon is asking $20 for the Leaf Net.

Via Amazon [What’s This?]

When an American bricklayer says “tuckpointing” he’s talking about repairing mortar between the bricks of an existing wall, which often includes removing existing mortar.  This tough and dusty job becomes even tougher in situations where you might want to save the bricks from damage in order to put them back.  So Bosch designed a grinder especially for that purpose.

(more…)