(TV Tonight, Saturday, January 31st, 2009)  We’ve got another Saturday devoid of any sort of How-To.

All times are central.

• MythBusters: Viewer Special (Discovery, 5:00 pm)
• Deconstruction: Electric Wiring (DIY, 6:00 pm)
• Dirty Jobs: Reef Ball Maker (Discovery, 6:00 pm)
• Deconstruction: Granite (DIY, 6:30 pm)
• Under Construction: A Stained Relationship (DIY, 9:00 pm)
• Under Construction: Change Order Open (DIY, 9:30 pm)
• Wrecked: Under the Wire (Speed, 10:00 pm)
• Wrecked: On Top of the Game (Speed, 10:30 pm)

Enjoy.

Join us as we run down this week’s top five, take some listener calls, and shoot the bull about great (and odd) reader projects and shops. Remember, if you’ve got a question or comment you can call us at 866-718-9403. (Podcast Download)

A popular woodworking magazine published a letter a few months ago from a guy whose doctor said he could no longer use his woodworking machinery because of his pacemaker.  If that was me, I don’t know if I’d take that advice sitting down — I’d probably try to measure the fields with a meter like this one from AlphaLab to see if there actually was a danger or if I could shield the machinery somehow.

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The life of the prop builder is often difficult — they’re crunched between time, budget, and what they can actually accomplish with the creative freedom they’re given.  Reader Eggman, who built this badass chair for the Santa Fe Opera House production of Tea, gives the lowdown on its construction.

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The Craftsman Hand Impact Driver has helped me on numerous occasions to remove stuck screws and bolts. You just combine the 1/2″ driver with an impact socket or included screwdriver bit, then hit the end of the driver with a hammer to break lose the fastener.  I used mine for removing motorcycle case and tailgate fasteners.

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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:

FreezeAlarm Calls You When It’s Too Cold
Do you stay awake at night while you’re on vacation wondering if your pipes are freezing or if your freezer full of beef is still frozen?  If you had the FreezeAlarm from Control Products you might sleep more soundly.

Hands-On: Striker Magnetic LED Light
We’ve heard many theories on what the Striker ball is, everything from disco ball and mini-land mine to one horrified person who dropped it immediately and scolded us for tossing them a sex toy. It’s actually an LED light with magnets stuck all over it for providing light in odd places.

Cause An Avalanche
Snow and ice dams can cause major headaches for homeowners. At least once every winter the news will show someone on their roof with a snowblower — neither Toolmonger nor the manufacturers recommend this.  Instead, you can clear that snow off your roof simply and safely with the Avalanche series of snow removal tools.

Woodworkers Height Gauge
With the Angle Wright Woodworkers Height Gauge you can measure your saw’s, router’s, or shaper’s cutting height to the 32nd of an inch.  Because of its recessed brass knobs this fine tool can operate in either the horizontal or vertical position.  It runs a bit on the pricey side, but at today’s wood prices it might pay for itself in a few missed mistakes.

Warm Feet Are Happy Feet
Whether you’re up in the deer stand or on the shop floor, when your feet get cold, life is no longer fun.  You can dress as warm as you want, but sometimes it’s not enough — that’s when it’s time to slip some Cozy Feet foot warmers into your shoes.  Powered by a few AA batteries, they’ll warm your toes in seconds.

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.

Imagine installing a battery-operated smoke detector that communicates with other detectors around the house so they all go off at the same time — just like hard-wired smoke alarms.  Now give them a voice telling you where the smoke is located and you’ve got First Alert’s ONELINK Talking Wireless Alarm.

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Delta’s Unisaw has been kicking around longer than most tool guys out there today.  Over the years they’ve changed it to fit the times and added a few things here and there that make it a little more pleasant to deal with — this March, Delta’s launching the latest incarnation of this famous saw system, and they’ll be accepting pre-orders in a matter of days.

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Widget Supply is selling a #61-#80 drill bit set for $4 — handy for those times you need to drill or enlarge tiny holes.

#61-#80 Drill Bit Set [Widget Supply]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

(TV Tonight, Friday, January 30th, 2009) Why even bother complaining about the lack of practical shows?  We get a new How It’s Made tonight showing us how more stuff is created, but not “how-to.”

All times are central.

• Ask This Old House (DIY, 5:00 pm)
• This Old House (DIY, 5:30 pm)
• How It’s Made: Balloons, Wallpaper, Frozen French Fries, Incandescent Light Bulbs (Discovery, 6:00 pm)
• How Do They Do It?: Passenger Airplanes; Lightweight Chainsaws (Science, 6:00 pm)
• Rock Solid: Stamped Concrete (DIY, 6:30 pm)
• How It’s Made: Footballs, Electric Guitar Amplifiers, Marbles, and Airplane Propellers (Discovery, 6:30 pm)
• How Do They Do It?: Weather Forecasting, Hovercraft Vehicles (Science, 6:30 pm)
• Dirty Jobs: Goose Down Plucker (Discovery, 7:00 pm)
• Ask This Old House (DIY, 7:30 pm)
• How It’s Made: Riding Mowers, Popcorn, Adjustable Beds, Cultured Diamonds (Science, 8:00 pm) NEW
• How It’s Made: Combination Wrenches, Deli Meats, Golf Cars, Airships (Science, 8:30 pm)
• How It’s Made: Remix: Golf (Science, 9:30 pm)

Enjoy.

It’s a strange kind of thing that happens when you watch Norm build a Tiger Maple washstand and think to yourself, “I bet I could build that.” It doesn’t occur to you at the time that there’s no reason for you to want one or that you didn’t know what it was until Mr. Abrams explained it to you 30 minutes earlier.

As usual, watching Norm is a mix of down-home building, super-sweet tools, stock you could only drool over, and advice from a master craftsman with more years of experience than you’ll ever have. To sum up, season 21 of New Yankee Workshop is in full swing and it’s as good as ever.

Even if you don’t plan to make a turkey table or hat rack, seeing this go down is worth your time. I’m stoked about the dresser he’s got coming later this year — it’s on my list of things to build anyway, and I’d like to see how the New England boys get it done.

Sidenote: His collection of flannel shirts is truly staggering.

New Yankee Workshop [Website]

Cut a 2″ knockout in four seconds flat with the Maxis Max Punch.  Rather than using hydraulic ratcheting, the Max Punch harnesses the power of your standard cordless drill to pull common punch dies together to quickly and accurately cut knockouts in electrical panels.

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Before you jam a potato into that broken bulb, take a look at the Bulb Base-Out tool — you insert it in the broken bulb base, twist the base of the tool, and then twist the bulb out.  I never had any luck with that old potato anyways.

The Bulb Base-Out’s magic is in the fingers at the end — they expand when you twist the base so they can grab the inside of the broken light bulb. Strategic Insight makes the tool from non-conductive plastic so the danger from shock is minimized.

You can get the Bulb Base-Out directly from Strategic Insight for $5 — any tool at this price is worth giving a shot.

Bulb Base-Out [Strategic Insight]

I’ve wanted to live in a castle or old mansion my entire life, just because they often have secret rooms and passageways –- you know, like Clue.  Reader Beano-t must’ve been under the spell of that same desire when he built his new closet door.

Beano’s building a hidden latch mechanism into the bookcase to make it even cooler, and we can’t wait to see how it all comes out.  If he manages to build the latch into a tilting book he gets mad props.

It’s also fun to remember that the best things in life are free. Two years from now when someone who’s never seen it comes over to his house and Beano finds a way to work around to opening the creaking secret door, the sounds of jaws dropping will most likely be heard next door.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

Don’t throw out your favorite beer mug just because you chipped the rim — with DMT’s Crystal Saver file you can smooth the sharp edges and keep on drinking without cutting up your lip.

The Crystal Saver is a 4″ long half-round nickel file coated with a coarse grit of diamonds.  DMT gave the file a fake crystal handle — probably so you’ll put it in the silverware drawer, not the toolbox.

It’ll smooth jagged edges on hard material such as glass, china, or ceramic.  Just moisten the file and take a few light strokes over the chip with the flat side.  Use the round side to take care of sharp dips.

You’ll pay around $18 for the Crystal Saver.

Crystal Saver [DMT]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

When it’s time to feed the shop dog or to drag that bag of oil dry-sweep to the next oil spill, try attaching the Bag Grabbit bag handle — it’ll help you lift and carry unwieldy bags up to 50 pounds.

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Improvement Direct is selling this Malco S2 3″ Hand Seamer for $33.32.  Basically a handheld sheet metal brake, this tool will bend an edge and then fold it flat to make a seam along the edge — handy for most sheet metal projects, HVAC, roofing, etc.

Malco S2 3″ Hand Seamer [Improvement Direct]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]