Sometimes a product comes along that captures the spirit of innovation so head-on it becomes an instant classic. Toolmonger readers, I present to you — the Bottle Opener Hammer.

Yes, nothing quite says, “I plan to go out there and do the bare minimum” like the Bottle Opener Hammer. Try as you like, this piece of out-of-the-box thinking is something you just won’t find anywhere else. Purpose built for not hammering nails — no joke, there’s a warning saying not to hammer with it — this hand tool goes above and beyond the call of thirsty workers everywhere.

The good news is that you to can own this vital piece of shop gear for the get-them-while-you-can price of $2.87 from Harbor Freight. ‘Nuff said.

Hammer With Bottle Opener [Harbor Freight]

Think you’ve seen everything the airlines could throw at you lately? How about this gem from reader Jeffrey Immer? We’re betting there was a discussion going down somewhere after this one got back to the gate.

This is what happens after a failed take off going full speed down the runway. The pilot had to slam on the brakes and they over heated, we were told not to worry the fire department was causally following us down the runway. Then, when we parked, we were told to exit the plane. At first calmly and orderly, then “get the @#*% of the plane now!!”

No one was harmed, with the exception of the tires. What we’re curious about is how they got the plane jacked up to change the tires.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

Mortise and Tenon joints are a staple of the furniture building craft, the very foundation of strong, long-lasting woodworking projects. I don’t really use them because there are other ways to make joints, and building in Mortise and Tenons is a giant pain the rear. But the Footprint Rosewood Mortise and Marking Gauge from Woodcraft is a beautiful-looking way to make the argument that I should.

The gauge starts off with Rosewood construction on the block and slide track and features a single pin on one side and double pins on the other to help mark your material before sawing, chiseling, or cutting. It also sports a brass inlay, thumbscrew and slide to offset the Rosewood.

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We’ve covered lighted pickup tools here and here, but you may not want a magnetic head sticking to every metal surface as you fish it. If you just need to shed some light on a hard-to-see place, a single purpose tool like Steelman’s 16″ Bend-A-Light might work a little better. It’s simply a high-intensity bulb with a flexible brass shaft connecting it to the battery case.

The Bend-A-Light ships with 2AA batteries and a protective cover that doubles as an extension handle.  It’ll run you about $17, but if you need a replacement bulb you’ll shell out at least another $7.

Bend-A-Light [Steelman]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Fein added an interesting feature to some of the angle grinders in their WS 14 line; they replaced the switch with four touch pads — two in the front and two in the rear.

You start the grinder by touching one of the font pads and one of the rear pads. The grinder will continue to operate as long as you touch one of the four pads and will slow to a stop when you release it. Just so you don’t accidentally start it, you can lock the grinder off.

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We often receive a good natured ear-boxing for one reason or another here at Toolmonger. One such letter came from reader J Stevens who brought to our attention the passing of woodworker and furniture builder Sam Maloof.

Though we never met him personally, we are familiar with his work and philosophy of building furniture. Mr. Maloof built all manner of furniture (including his house) by hand and from scratch. His pieces are both well-constructed and intensely valued by many collectors — but it was his attitude towards his fellow craftsmen that we find the most valued in his legacy. Sam Maloof wasn’t a keeper of secrets of the trade; he shared with anyone willing to listen.

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Last August I posted a Dealmonger for the Osborne Revolving Leather Punch at $16.48 — now Amazon has the punch for the incredible price of $10.45 and it’s eligible for “Super Saver” shipping if you’re buying a bunch of stuff.

At that price you really can’t pass it up, even compared to cheap imports, if you need a punch for leather, rubber or other soft materials. In the last year I’ve used mine many times, and nothing works better for punching small holes.

C.S. Osborne 223 Revolving Leather Hole Punch Via Amazon [What’s This?]

(TV Tonight, Wednesday, September 30th, 2009) Another Wednesday without new Mythbusters.

All times are central

• Ask This Old House: Cast-iron Closet Flange for a Toilet, Cracked Plaster wall, Digging Holes (DIY, 5:30 pm)
• Cool Tools: Paint (DIY, 6:00 pm)
• MythBusters: Lead Balloon (Discovery, 6:00 pm)
• World s Toughest Fixes: Atom Smasher (National Geographic, 6:00 pm)
• MythBusters: Exploding Pants (Discovery, 7:00 pm)
• MythBusters: Myths Revisited (Discovery, 8:00 pm)
• Wrecked: Joe, Terminal Manager (Speed, 9:00 pm)
• Wrecked: Rookies (Speed, 9:30 pm)

King Arthur’s Tools claims that being able to see what you’re sanding means you’ll work faster because you don’t have to keep removing the tool to see your progress. With their Holey Galahad carving discs, you can actually see through the disc to the surface you’re cutting. The discs can be used on wood, fiberglass, plastic, foam core, soapstone, and other materials.

Made in the USA, the discs will fit most 4-1/2″ and 125mm angle grinders — just be sure to keep the speed under 14,000RPM. The 4″ diameter steel discs have sharp conical tungsten carbide teeth bonded over the cutting surface and can be used on both the face and the edge

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Not many people are going to need a stainless steel pipe polisher, but the tool just looks really cool.  You can use Fein’s RS 12-70 to grind pipe welds, sand pipes to a satin finish, or polish pipes to a mirror finish and anywhere in between.

The variable-speed sander can drive the belt to speeds up to 22 m/s.  The belts rides on what I’m assuming are spring-loaded arms that allow the belt to flex around the pipe so you can surface all 360° of the pipe in only two passes.

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I could have been a little more specific and called these quick-release pins, but how often do you get to start every word in a title with the same letter? Pegasus Racing pushbutton quick-release pins are handy little devices for critical, frequently-serviced assemblies. What makes them remarkable when compared with stainless marine versions or mild-steel hardware store parts is their strength. How does an 8,200-pound breaking strength when mounted in double shear sound? And that’s for the smallest of the lot, with only a 1/4″ diameter. Larger sizes (5/16″ and 3/8″) are also available and ratings increase accordingly, topping out at 18,400 pounds for the heaviest 3/8″ version.

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A casual glance will tell you these are not standard slip joint pliers or cutters. What’s a little more rare is the person who can tell you they are Grozing pliers. Whittemore-Durgin Glass Co. has this pair of Inland brand Grozing pliers on sale for $5.92. 

Grozing pliers are used for nibbling glass and tile as well as breaking glass along the score line left by a glass cutter. The jaws are smooth and ground such that they have clearance for different thicknesses of glass, unlike regular pliers that won’t grip thick work properly. They’re a must-have for glass work, and there are other times having a pair of smooth jawed pliers just comes in handy, such as for bending small pieces of metal.

Inland Grozing Pliers [whittemoredurgin.com]

General Motors’ recent financial problems have really rocked the boat for U.S. industries and financial institutions, to say nothing of everyday households. However, the court-ordered sale of many of GM’s assets has created a windfall of high-quality machinery on the open market, and much of it is being auctioned by industrial liquidation specialist Maynard’s.

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OK, so it may not strictly be a tool — although it is done using a computer, which is a tool we use for reading TM — but it is a lot of fun. The site offers other options including building, gas station, and highway signs. You can also do computer error messages:

Atom Smasher [Manufacturer's Site]

Rockler has a small autoloader screwdriver (see TM 2006 and 2007) for $10 as an online-only special. The unit comes with 6 bits (Phillips #0, #00, #000; slotted 3/32″, 1/8″, 5/32″; all bits are 5/32″ × 1″) that are accessed by pulling back on the handle, twisting to select the desired bit, and then pushing the handle forward. A large autoloader with 6 bits (Phillips #1, #2, #3; slotted 1/8″, 3/16″, 1/4″; all bits are 1/4″ × 1″), is also on sale for $15 (online-only). Free shipping with promo code V9789. This online sale ends this Wednesday, September 30.

Small Autoloader Screwdriver [Rockler]
Large Autoloader Screwdriver [Rockler]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

(TV Tonight, Tuesday, September 29th, 2009) Such a boring Tuesday night, they can’t even be bothered to even make new info-mercial episodes of Cool Tools. 

All times are central

• Machinery of the Past (RFD-TV, 5:00 pm)
• Ask This Old House: Squares for general carpentry, patio with concrete paving-bricks (DIY, 5:30 pm)
• Cool Tools: Better Basics (DIY, 6:00 pm)
• World’s Toughest Fixes: Solar Power Plant (National Geographic, 6:00 pm)
• Cool Tools: Yardwork (DIY, 9:00 pm)

Starrett designed the almost 4″ jaws and 3mm diameter tips of their new 5006BZ-14/350 electronic groove calipers to measure the width of internal and external grooves. The caliper will measure outside grooves from 0″ to 12.5″ and inside grooves from 1.654″ to 15″.

They manufacture the calipers from hardened stainless steel and the tips can be installed facing in or out or to measure either outside or inside grooves respectively. The calipers read with a resolution of .0005 of an inch or 0.01mm.

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