The Lab Equipment Store has the Celestron 44302 Handheld Digital Microscope for $51.74, and it’s so sweet. The details are a bit thin as both the Lab Equipment and Amazon listings have an entirely different picture than the Celestron site, but it looks to be a fairly high-resolution (compared to the “toy” ones, anyway) digital microscope that has 10X, 40X and 150X magnification with a built-in illuminator.

Why do you need a microscope in the shop? Three reasons, really: I use several optical ones for finding and removing insanely painful and tiny metal splinters in my finger, checking the edge of tools when I sharpen them, and on a mount for aligning and inspecting work on my milling machine and lathe. A digital microscope would allow me to view objects on my laptop instead of through a tiny eyepiece. I’ve been looking around for a good digital one and this might be it.

Celestron 44302 Handheld Digital Microscope [scimedlabequip.com]

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]

Who doesn’t need more space in their garage?  Whether it’s that extra car that sits outside, all your lawn care equipment, snowmobiles, or ATV’s, there never seems to be enough room for it all.  With these four-post lifts from Dannmar you can recover that wasted space above your vehicles to store your stuff.  Hell, you could even set up your shop on the lift and raise it out of the way when you need to park your vehicle — how sweet would that be?

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If you just have a lawn mower, a Gas Caddy like the one pictured above might be a little overkill — but if you maintain a bunch of gas-powered equipment, you might appreciate this simple solution for transferring and storing all that fuel.

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A couple days ago Benjamen previewed the upcoming Tow-N-Stow trailer. However, the $2,500 price tag and the odd choice of pairing it with a stationary storage unit got some lukewarm responses from Toolmongers. In light of that, I’d like to see what y’all think of this new fold-up utility trailer from Craftsman.

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People keep telling you, “You don’t need a truck if you don’t haul stuff regularly.  Just get a trailer.”  I see some problems with that logic: for one thing, a trailer requires extra storage space that you might not have;  and also it requires that you plan ahead and pull the trailer every time you might need it.  The Tow-N-Stow may not help with your planning ability, but it definitely takes care of the problem of where to store the trailer.

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Reader Steve sent us this great example of what happens when fabricating goes wrong. Someone in Harrisburg apparently went into a “building frenzy” and decided that a Harley would look great with a Fiero grafted to the back of it. Just for good measure they added some spiffy wire-spoke wheels to complete the ensemble.

We totally applaud the imagination and forethought it takes to build something like this. In fact, it likely took quite a bit of time to hook everything together in a stable manner so the trike doesn’t wobble down the road. However, looking at the photo I might stress a little restraint on the next rig — if the idea is to sell it anyway.

Everyone’s tastes run different, and we’re sure someone’ll dig the Fiero Trike enough to take it home, though the 4k price tag on Craigslist is a little steep – all right, a lot steep.  At least it’s red.

Fiero Trike 3-Wheel Motorcyle [Craigslist]

While it may look like some prop key out of a bad treasure movie, this $12 cube-shaped tool from Lisle is actually for rotating the piston back into the caliper when replacing rear disc brake pads.

The tool features a different pin configuration on each of its six faces to fit most domestic vehicles and some imports.  Fit a 3/8″ ratchet with an extension into one of the cube’s square drive holes, then simply push and turn the tool to rotate the piston into the caliper.

Disc Brake Piston Tool [Lisle]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Hold the rubber tip of K-D Tools’ hand-held tachometer to the end of a rotating shaft, and its dial will tell you how fast the shaft is turning, no matter if it’s spinning clockwise or counter-clockwise.  The 2-3/4″ diameter and 4-1/4″ long  tachometer can measure rotational speeds between 100 and 4,000 RPM.

You can find this handy little tachometer selling for as little as $95.  K-D Tools also makes an extension shaft as well as extra flat and pointed tips.

Hand-Held Tachometer [K-D Tools]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

There’s nothing like a bilingual ODB II scanner to get your car or truck moving in the morning. I first saw an AutoXray product when it was featured on Shadetree Mechanic in the ’90s — it was a fairly priced scanner that would work well for any consumer.  Now AutoXray offers upper-end models like the TechScan 7000.

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The creator of the Hook-Um Dano ladder lock must have been a fan of Hawaii Five-O, but then, who isn’t? We’re not exactly sure how this product relates to a cop show set in Hawaii — what it does do is secure one or two extension or step ladders to your ladder or roof rack, quickly and without tools.

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Ah, the sweet smell of rebuilding carbs!  Many predicted that the advent of fuel injection would relegate this delicate task to the same fate the cranked automobile suffered;  not so.  Longtime reader Peter P. has rigged out his workbench with all the goodies you need to make life easier on you, including a handbook –- which, no matter what anyone tells you, you need.

I believe Peter’s rebuilding this monster for his Cobra Mustang.  I could be wrong, but that’s about the only vehicle I’ve seen in his stream that would require something this large.

Hats off and beers up to you once again, my friend. May your quarter-mile times be low, and may your tires last more than a season.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

You know those fake stake pockets that manufacturers put on trucks nowadays, the ones that’re maybe 3″ deep and pretty much useless for anything but those pop-up hooks?  Well, Master Lock has come up with a pretty cool use for one:  turning it into a U-lock for locking up your tools.

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Most belt-powered shop tools ship out with the cheapest belt that’ll keep the tool running — and thanks to lower manufacturing standards, these belts can cause excess vibration and noise.  Fenner offers a replacement V-belt option that’ll work not only with your shop tools but with any belt-driven device, to keep ‘em running smooth and quiet.

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Computers seem to be infesting new vehicles so fast, I can’t keep up with ‘em all — computers for emissions, engine management, braking, climate controls, and probably for the poser seats.  When it comes to maintaining all these systems, I can pull codes out of most vehicles, but then I usually end up researching the fault codes on my computer;  so why not use my PC as the scanner, with the AutoEnginuity Scan Tool?

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When someone says, “Let’s take the car for a spin,” you might not want to hop into the passenger seat so fast. The Roller Hoop auto body rotisserie allows professional and DIY restorers to more easily work on the underside of a stripped body.

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Eventually all Toolmongers will get weak in the knees and back — if it hasn’t happened to you yet, trust me, it will. Keeping yourself in a comfortable position in the shop becomes more and more important, especially when working on or near the ground.  The Racatac helps you move around the shop with ease.

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