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:
Spend More Time Painting, Less Time Climbing
The Secure Tray paint tray clamps securely to the top of any stepladder so you don’t have to climb up and down the ladder to reload your roller. Yes, we’ve had paint trays that attach to ladders for ages, but those trays usually just rested on the rungs of the ladder. Plus, the Secure Tray’s airtight lid keeps your paint and roller fresh for hours.
TM’s 2008 Favorites: Elmer’s ProBond Wood Filler
Some foolish person might scoff at wood filler in a Top Ten list full of tools, but we’ve completed at least a dozen woodworking projects with Elmer’s ProBond filler this year and can honestly state for the record that our projects wouldn’t be the same without it. The Elmer’s filler has become as much a part of our woodwork as a sander or circular saw.
Lock Up Your Switches
Quite a few products out there will prevent toggle switches from being turned on or off, but the SwitchGuard is the only one we found that allows you to easily operate the switch if need be.
Preview: Bosch’s New 4V Li-Ion Screwdriver
Sure, the new sub-compact driver class is sweet. But if all you really want is a screwdriver why should you be robbed of modern conveniences like a removable battery, comfy rubber grip, and sub-$100 price? Think of Bosch’s new 4V “Max” as the Lexus of cordless screwdrivers: It looks like a Mercedes, but it’s based on a cost-practical Toyota.
How-To: Build A Reindeer And Sleigh For $15
Many of the project sites we look at take a Julia Childs approach to their holiday wood projects — you know, using materials you don’t have, tools you can’t afford, and plans you couldn’t draw up even if you were a rocket scientist. So to combat this effect we put together a reindeer and accompanying sleigh that you can assemble with a few simple tools and under $15 worth of lumber — in under a day.
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.
