Mechanized square dancing: when I picture it in my head there’s the kind of image that I can’t scrub out later. So that we’re all running on the same level here, check out the video of just such an event.

Let’s be clear — I’m not judging my Southern brethren. It took a long time to learn the “steps” of the tractor dance. In fact, the whole two-minute dance was very well timed and everyone watching seemed to enjoy it. However, I think it might fall in the “don’t tell anyone you go to tractor square dancing parties” category.

Best Ever,Tractor Square Dance [YouTube]

This anonymous British text from the 1860s was designed as “an instructive text on the importance, dignity, and techniques of labor.” It details the work of over thirty trades including millers, sugar refiners, and shoemakers, with over 700 illustrations — many of tools of the time period. If you’re into antique tools or the history of hand craftsmanship, this book is an inexpensive (street pricing runs around $11) and interesting guide to the kind of work your great-great-grandfather might have done.

Book of Old-Time Trades and Tools [Dover Publications]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Street Pricing [Google]

To borrow a phrase from Dirty Harry, “Do I feel lucky?” While a caulk gun can’t do as much damage as a .44 Magnum, you might think so after hearing a homeowner scream as you leave gobs of caulk on the new carpet. With the FastCap Caulked N’ Ready holster you’ll always have your caulk gun at the ready and won’t depend on luck to contain the mess.

Made in the USA from high-impact plastic, the Caulked N’ Ready measures 17″ long and has an inside diameter of 2-3/8″. When you slide the caulk gun into the holster a spike enters the tube tip, plugging it closed. A reservoir around the spike holds the excess caulk that inevitably seeps out of the tip, keeping it off hard-to-clean surfaces.

Cutouts in the top of the holster capture the caulk gun trigger so the gun won’t spin around, and a 6″ adjustable wire clip allows you to hang the holder from your pants, belt, five-gallon bucket, workbench, ladder, or wherever else you decide to dangle it.

Right now the only place we can find the Caulked N’ Ready holster online is McFeely’s for $12.

Caulked N’ Ready [FastCap]
Caulked N’ Ready [McFeely's]

DeWalt has recalled about 9,000 framing nailers because “the bump action trigger…could have been incorrectly asssembled during production, which would allow the nailer to eject a fastener unexpendedly or cause the trigger lock-off not to function” says the Consumer Product Saftey Commission. The affected nailers are models D51825 and D51850, pictured above.

Thankfully the CSPC has seen no injury reports so far, but if you own one of the nailers they ask that you immediately stop using it and contact DeWalt at 877-437-7181 (between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.) for instructions on receiving a free replacement bump action trigger.

DeWalt Recalls Framing Nailers Due To Serious Injury Hazard [CSPC]

Sword Demon is an interesting place to browse around. They have a wide array of tactical knives and folders but they also deal in blades that are a little less practical. From movie replica blades to Barbarian battle maces, Sword Demon can get you what you’re looking for.

The fantasy blades are just for show, of course. It’s strictly a high-end street market or carnival type of affair, but that can be fun too. Most of the blades you’ll find here are more for fun than anything else, but the less-exotic offerings like the M-Tech Folding Knife Pakkawood for $7 or the Sword Demon brand 2 Piece hunting knife set for $20 can be good practical purchases.

Into the whole holiday knife-buying spirit? Here’s a Fourth of July 7” folder for $7. If you watch the “Knife Show” on cable it’s very similar, just in website form.

Sword Demon [Website]
Stiletto American Flag Folding Knife [Sword Demon]

Do we really need more stuff in our pockets?  We already have keys, cell phones, knives, multi-tools, wallets, change, and even Pocket Chisels.  So now FastCap recently introduced yet another tool we can stuff into our bulging pants: a pocket diamond sharpener.  This double-sided 300 and 600 grit diamond sharpener sports the same folding handle FastCap uses on their pocket chisels.

Even if you don’t have room in your pocket, the folding handles do serve another purpose. They fold over the diamond stone on heavy-duty stainless steel pins to protect it from unintentional wear or, possibly, to protect everything else in your pants, pouch, or toolbox from the diamond stone.

Fastcap makes the Pocket Diamond Sharpener in the USA and claims it’ll last a lifetime. It’ll run you about $25, or you can buy it with a set of four pocket chisels for about $80.

Pocket Diamond Sharpener [FastCap]
Street Pricing [Google]
Sharpener only Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Pocket set Via Amazon [What’s This?]

The industry standard for knockout punches, Greenlee screw- or hydraulic-actuated two-piece piloted dies are designed to make holes in sheet metal for conduit and instruments. But what about for the weekend warrior or the guy starting out in the trade? Harbor Freight has a set of four for only $15.99, about a tenth of the price of a set of Greenlee punches. You can of course find used Greenlee brand punches for much less, if you’re lucky.

The real question is whether the Harbor Freight set works well enough, actually makes clean holes, and can survive more than one or two uses. So we ask, Hot or Not?

(TV Tonight, Tuesday, June 30th, 2009) Nothing exciting nor new tonight.

All times are central

• Cool Tools: Classic Update (DIY, 5:00 pm)
• Machinery of the Past (RFD-TV, 5:00 pm)
• This Old House: New Orleans Project (DIY, 5:30 pm)
• Ask This Old House: Clogged Drains, Installing Kitchen Cabinets (DIY, 6:30 pm)
• Weapon Masters: Roman Scorpion (Military, 8:00 pm)
• Cool Tools: Transformers (DIY, 9:00 pm)
• Drag Race High: Fathers & Sons (Speed, 9:00 pm)
• Deconstruction: Windows (DIY, 9:30 pm)
• Drag Race High: A Day at the Office (Speed, 9:30 pm)
• Jesse James Is a Dead Man: Figure 8 World Championships (Spike, 10:00 pm)

I love watching New Yankee Workshop. It’s one of my favorite shows that I pull off the Tivo every weekend. I don’t think I’ve ever had the burning urge to put together a Norm Abrams Jigsaw puzzle before, but apparently now you can.

A limited run of signature series 357 piece 12” x 18” jigsaw puzzles depicting the bearded, flannel-wearing craftsman are available through the New Yankee Workshop site for $20 plus shipping.

(more…)

Chuck has this great picture of a set of small ornaments a friend of his made with a forge and 3 lb. hammer. Reader Whiteforge posted this little key chain lying across a similar hammer that, I’m guessing, came to life in much the same way.

It’s always amazing to me that such small, rather delicate-looking objects can be made with brute force and three pounds of steel hitting it repeatedly. I would most likely lose patience and make an ashtray out of everything, like I did when I was a kid and had to work with clay.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

You can carve an incredible face, but if you don’t get the eyes right, what’s the point? Used correctly, these American-made eye punches from U.J. Ramelson will give you perfect eyes every time.

U.J. Ramelson makes two types of eye punches: round and oval. You use the round punches to create human eyes and the oval punches to form animal eyes. To make round eyes you position the properly sized punch over the otherwise completed face and rotate it while pushing on the handle.  We’re not exactly sure how to use the oval punches properly.

They manufacture round punches in 3mm, 5mm, 7mm, 1/8″, 5/32″, 7/32″, 1/4″, and 9/32″ sizes with either palm or stub handles. Oval punches are also available in the same sizes with palm or stub handles, except one oval punch is 5.5mm instead of 5mm. All the punches measure approximately 6″ in length.

A single punch retail for $12 to $14.  You can also pick up a set of three round punches for $37 or a set of two oval punches for $26, including shipping and handling.

Eye Punches [U. J. Ramelson]
Round Set Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Oval Set Via Amazon [What’s This?]

You know that weird sensation in Back to the Future II when Marty sees himself thirty years in the future? That’s kind of what other people talking about Toolmonger feels like to me. We spend so much time trying to put out content and tell folks about what we do, it freaked me out a little to see the site show up on ChannelFlip.

Whenever you work with drywall, dust gets everywhere — ceiling, walls, and floor — and getting it off all those surfaces is a chore.  That’s where Wooster’s Drywall Dust Eater comes in.  It’s a triangular tool that looks like a mop but uses a specially-treated material that attracts and holds dust without water.

The 16″ Dust Eater head attaches to threaded extension poles with a 360° double-action pivot that keeps the head flat against whatever surface you use it on.  The triangular shape lets you clean large areas quickly and reaches all the way into corners.

You can pick one up for about $25.

Drywall Dust Eater [Wooster]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

The down low for GM is that the biggest of the big three will be cutting down to four brands — Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC — and cutting or selling the rest as well as ending some of the current rides in the GM stable for those four brands as well. Being the tool guys we are, our question is: what about the trucks?

We took a quick look and the site lists the Avalanche, Colorado, Equinox, Express, HHR/Panel/SS, Silverado 1500/HD/Hybrid, Suburban, Tahoe, Tahoe Hybrid and Traverse as all being available for the 2010 year lineup, and that’s just the Chevy brand. The GMC branding is almost if not more plentiful than that with the Acadia, Canyon, Savana, Sierra 1500/Denali, Sierra HD, Sierra Hybrid, Terrain and almost all models of the Yukon.

After seeing that, our next question is: how many will stick around after the next year is up? Most of these models were most likely in production already and were going to be around for sale anyway. When the lines stop for the 2010 year we are most curious to learn how many of that very long list will see a 2011 model year, and how many models will just phase into GM history.

We suppose only time will tell, but at any rate it’s fun to look at the online 2010 GM Product Guide and see what’s going on for the upcoming year.

2010 GM Product Guide [GM]

Edward G. Hoffman’s Jig and Fixture Design is a great introductory text on the principles and practice of designing jigs and fixtures for parts machining. While oriented towards the machine shop, the book is handy for those making other sorts of fixtures for woodworking, welding, etc. While you rarely need a jig or fixture for making a single item, when making multiples of a given part, a jig or fixture often reduces the amount of setup time and ensures consistency from part to part.

The book is insanely expensive new, but you can find used copies of the current edition for a manageable sum, and earlier editions are often available for next to nothing. I paid $5.50 for my copy of the third edition at a local book shop.

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

(TV Tonight, Monday, June 29th, 2009) A exciting new Swamp Loggers where they move to a new, opportunity-filled swamp.

All times are central

• Cool Tools: Multi-Task (DIY, 5:00 pm)
• Trains & Locomotives (RFD-TV, 5:00 pm)
• This Old House: New Orleans Project (DIY, 5:30 pm)
• How It’s Made: Cine Cameras, Glass Christmas Ornaments, Giant Tires (Discovery, 6:00 pm)
• Ask This Old House: Pruning, Hot Water Heating (DIY, 6:30 pm)
• How It’s Made: Hot Rods, Decorative Eggs, Fire Hose Nozzles, Baseballs (Discovery, 6:30 pm)
• Top Gear: Season 12 Ep. 3 (BBC America, 7:00 pm)
• Dirty Jobs: 200 Jobs Look-Back (Discovery, 7:00 pm)
• Top Gear: Season 12 Ep. 2 (BBC America, 8:00 pm)
• Swamp Loggers: Logging for Steak (Discovery, 8:00 pm)
• King of Dirt: Replacing a Beloved Tree (DIY, 8:30 pm)
• Rock Solid: Blue Marble Patio (DIY, 9:00 pm)
• Swamp Loggers: Tough Times Ahead (Discovery, 9:00 pm) NEW
• How It’s Made: Remix: By the Seat of Your Pants (Science, 9:00 pm)

(TV Tonight, Sunday, June 28th, 2009) A new Ice Road Truckers tonight, plus Jesse James is a Dead Man.

All times are central

• Celebrity Rides: Hollywood’s Speeding Bullitt Special (DIY, 6:00 pm)
• Ice Road Truckers: Canadian Invasion (History, 6:00 pm)
• Ice Road Truckers: Blinding Whiteout (History, 7:00 pm)
• Ice Road Truckers: Accident Alley (History, 8:00 pm) NEW
• Jesse James Is a Dead Man: Figure 8 World Championships (Spike, 9:00 pm) NEW
• Successful Farming Machinery Show (RFD-TV, 9:00 pm)
• Wrecked: Odd Jobs (Speed, 10:00 pm)
• Wrecked: Thanksgiving (Speed, 10:30 pm)