At what point do you throw in the towel with your car? As a card-carrying stubborn gearhead, I haven’t found the line yet. A few months ago I refreshed the top end of my 1990 Oldsmobile — a terrible old slushbucket — to fix a coolant leak from the cylinder head. The transmission no longer moves the car, even though it shifts, and this is after I did two wheel bearings and replaced a broken climate-control computer. Considering that the car has about 240,000 miles on it (I’m not sure because I replaced the cluster to fix a broken speedometer a while back), and has a Kelly Blue Book retail value of less than $700, why exactly did I bother? Because as long as I’m around, it’s not dead yet.

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This was an interesting problem I came up against the other week. I needed to determine the angle of some tiny dovetails used to secure the front sight of an air rifle. I used two methods: one, a graphical solution that leveraged the power of my CAD program, the other a purely mathematical one. (more…)

Almost like training wheels for hooking up trailers, the Couple Mate helps guide your trailer hitch over the ball as you back up, so you don’t have to constantly get out and check.

Made from steel and double-dipped in zinc to help withstand the rigors of use, the Couple Mate fits most receiver hitch and ball combos. Slide the base over your trailer hitch and then install the ball through it and the hitch to hold it in place. The wings then slip into the base when you want to hook up the trailer and slip out again after you’re done, so nobody need ever know.

You’ll pay about $50 for the Couple Mate after shipping.  If you visit the homepage, watch out for the annoying self-starting video.

Couple Mate [Corporate Site]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

In case you slipped and that new chisel cut your duodenum, you’ll be glad to know there’s now a glue for that. It doesn’t work too well for lung tissue, though. In the pictures above, the surgical glue is shown in green. A smooth interface with the tissue is desirable, so the duodenum connection is best, and the lung connection is worst.

Of course Sean told us long ago about the joys of gluing yourself back together. Now it seems modern science has caught up with him. We’re pretty sure he’s never tried gluing his internal organs up, but the night is young.

Surgical Glues [MIT News]

$5 for a two-pack is a lot to pay for what amounts to some six-sided sand paper, but for special jobs, these could be just the trick. Ever tried to prepare the inside of a turned wooden bowl for lacquer or stain? T-minus two minutes to cramped fingers, unless you have a few of these in your tool chest. Home Depot and Lowe’s both carry a variety of grits and dimensions.

Sanding Sponge Pack [Gator Grit]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

Need a new or backup small digital camera to document your tools, workshop masterpieces, or family gatherings? The Nikon P60 might be the way to go, especially since they’re currently $100 at OfficeMax™ (a $100 savings according to OfficeMax™). The P60 has 8.1 effective megapixels, 5× optical zoom, a 2.5″ LCD monitor, and VR optical image stabilization. It uses standard AA-size batteries and SD memory cards.

Here’s the good news. It’s cheap enough you don’t really care about getting dust or any other manner of shop gunk on it, but it still interfaces with computers from this century — even if your tools don’t. They even survive a drop off the bench a time or two — although I wouldn’t go for three.

Nikon P60 [Manufacturer's Site]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Nikon P60 at OfficeMax™
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

(TV Tonight, Wednesday, July 29th, 2009) A new Extreme Logging tonight, bringing us that much closer to something other than Extreme Logging episodes on Wednesday night.

All times are central

• Ice Road Truckers: Accident Alley (History, 5:00 pm)
• This Old House: East Boston Project (DIY, 5:30 pm)
• How It’s Made: CCD semiconductors, airline meals, paper cups, trumpets (Discovery, 6:00 pm)
• Factory Floor With Marshall Brain: Toilet Paper, Chocolate, Batteries, Bike (National Geographic, 6:00 pm)
• Ask This Old House: Replacing Cracked Flagstone, Replacing Electric Stove (DIY, 6:30 pm)
• How It’s Made: Technical glass, washing machines, playing cards, crossbows (Discovery, 6:30 pm)
• Extreme Loggers: Ice Logging: Night Shift (Discovery, 7:00 pm)
• Extreme Loggers: Ice Logging: The Final Push (Discovery, 8:00 pm) NEW
• Ice Road Truckers: Turn and Burn (History, 9:00 pm)
• Wrecked: Stuck in the Mud (Speed, 9:00 pm)
• Wrecked: Marci’s the Boss (Speed, 9:30 pm)
• Extreme Trains: Ice Cold Express (History, 10:00 pm)

If your miter saw doesn’t have a digital readout, there’s no need upgrade to a newer saw. iGaging’s digital miter saw gauge fits in the blade slot and rests against the fence to let you set your angles to an accuracy of ±0.1°. Of course, it isn’t as convenient as a built-in gauge since you have to remove it before you can use the saw.

The digital display has a resolution of 0.05°, a range of ±50°, and a hold function. The body is made from solid aluminum and has an adjustable locking device to fit blade slots from 5/16″ to 7/8″.

A 2″ engineer square and a 3V battery are included with the gauge. Eagle America — the only place we could find it — regularly sells it for $50, but it’s on sale for $40 and $9 shipping if you use their cheapest option.

iGaging [Corporate Site]
Digital Miter Saw Gauge [Eagle America]

Do you have trouble trying to wrap molding around bullnose corners?  Bench Dog has a new product that can help. Designed to work with 3/4″ radius rounded corners, this trim gauge slips over the bullnose and indicates where each joint needs to land to get a professional-looking three-piece corner.

You can also nail Bench Dog’s bullnose trim guide in place and use it to hold the tip of the tape measure — which could come in handy if you’re trying to compile a cut list by yourself. Made from hard plastic, the gauge comes with complete instructions for use and costs $12 before shipping.

Bench Dog [Corporate Site]
Bullnose Trim Gauge [Rockler]

Sometimes the answer to the famous “What is this thing?” shop question is as fruitful as it was for reader ghb624 who was cleaning out some old hand-me-down gear and came across this piece of tool history. As it turns out, some folks tracked it down for him.

This was among the items in a box of odds & ends which I inherited. It came to me along with an old Goodell Pratt lathe which had been in the family for 60-some years. I have no idea what it is used for, and am going to post a query on an appropriate discussion forum to see what I can find out.

I found a downloadable copy of the Goodell Pratt catalog for 1926, and here is the exact item:

All right: that is officially cool. Not only does he know what it is now, but it’s pretty clear that this is where it came from. For some reason seeing a direct link to the past like this always puts a smile on our faces.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

If you need a portable or temporary ramp but don’t have the room to store it, maybe you should check out the Roll-A-Ramp, a lightweight and portable ramp system made from 6061 Anodized Aluminum that can be used in many applications. When you’re done with it you can just roll it up for easy storage.

Roll-A-Ramps come in 36″, 30″, and 26″ widths or in 12″ wide pairs. Each section or link connects to the next section with two bolts so you can add or subtract links to get the perfect-sized ramp. Depending on the configuration and how the weight is distributed they can support from 1,000 to 2,000 lbs. Special end links are tapered to make it easy to roll on and off the ramp, and all ramps have a built-in safety rail.

The fixed length ramps listed on Amazon and Northern Tool sites run somewhere between $500 and $1,600 depending on the width and length. You can also purchase custom-length ramps from a local dealer.

Roll-A-Ramp [Corporate Site]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

“Christmas tree” plastic rivets are the bane of a mechanic’s sanity. They grip like mad, their edges are nearly flush with the part they retain, and the heads tend to pop off when you pull on them. Fortunately, Snap-On’s A161B is the bane of Christmas tree rivets. It’s pretty versatile for removing any kind of plastic fastener, and does general interior work pretty well — much gentler than a big flat-head screwdriver.

Snap-On makes a bunch of different versions for specific applications. A161B is designed for GM cars and most imports, making it the most widely-applicable model. Unfortunately, this is Snap-On, so the price of this convenience is about $29.

A161B Trim Remover [Snap-On]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

Nothing like the smell of WD-40 in the morning. And now you can have it from the WD-40 Trigger Pro, which is a non-aerosol can that looks like a spray bottle including spray or stream settings. You could always just buy the WD-40 Spray Applicator tube for a regular can, but then you’d miss out on paying an extra three bucks for the squeeze spray — and where’s the fun in that?

Perhaps, because it’s a plastic bottle, it’s less durable than the Trigger Pro? It would be nice if it were refillable, but it’s not; however they tout its easy disposability and “recyclable steel packaging.” Is this marketing trying to grab another few dollars from you? You bet it is. The new form factor does give you another WD-40 option in addition to the Smart Straw and No-Mess Pen previously seen on Toolmonger.

Side note: John S. Barry, an executive who helped popularize WD-40, died recently (July 3) at the age of 84.

WD-40 Trigger Pro [Manufacturer's Site]
John S. Barry [New York Times]

Wholesale Tool has a 1/3 HP Mini Wood Lathe for $119. It features a variable speed motor, 6″ swing (diameter that can be turned) and 12″ between centers, and the spindle thread is 3/4″-16 tpi which allows it to use common accessories. It’s not top of the line, but damn handy if you’ve got nothing to start with.

Lathes of this design are basically knockoffs of the venerable old Carbatec design, which is now (or so we have been led to believe from discussions over the years) a knockoff of itself… but that’s beside the point. It’s a simple mini lathe for pen turning and other small projects at a good price.

1/3hp Mini Wood Lathe [wttool.com]

(TV Tonight, Tuesday, July 28th, 2009)  We get new episodes of Restorer Guy and Deconstruction tonight — as everyone knows Minor league games are more entertaining than the Majors anyway, so enjoy these underpromoted yet informational shows. Ok, a bit of a metaphorical stretch…

All times are central

• Machinery of the Past (RFD-TV, 5:00 pm)
• This Old House: East Boston Project (DIY, 5:30 pm)
• Restorer Guy: Grace Street Mansion; 36th Front Room (TLC, 6:00 pm) NEW
• Ultimate Factories: John Deere (National Geographic, 6:00 pm)
• Ask This Old House: Handling Storm-Water Runoff; Refinishing Hardwood Floors (DIY, 6:30 pm)
• Cool Tools: On the Surface (DIY, 9:00 pm)
• Deconstruction: Down the Drain (DIY, 9:30 pm) NEW

Michael over at Oakland Ballistics wrote us with a question that we’re just going to have to forward on to you readers for the simple reason that they build things that throw heavy objects long distances — and we support that.

I am looking to make a tripod made out of 4×4’s and about 12′ tall. I am trying to find a bracket to bolt the 4×4’s into and just have it work. Do you know of anything?

Well, Toolmongers, we leave it to you. We don’t know of anything off the top of our heads, but we thought you might. It is in the interest of “science,” after all.

Oakland Ballistics [Web Site]

The CSPC announced a recall today of about 94,000 Sevylor tow behind tubing kits. It seems the “quick hitch” connector that connects the tube to the boat can snap, “posing serious hazard to users.” Not only may you come unattached from the boat at an inopportune moment, the CSPC notes that the manufacturer “has received one report of an occupant of a boat being struck by a piece of the ‘quick hitch’ still attached to the tow rope.” Doh!

The gear involved in the recall was manufactured between 2005 and 2009, and was sold at retail and department stores around the US. The list is pretty long, so check the link below to the full list and CSPC release if you suspect you might own one.

And watch your head.

Sevylor Tow Behind Recall [CSPC]