We clean up after a project, not just because it’s good shop ettiquette, but for safety’s sake, too. You can accidentally slip and fall on spilt oil, set fire to sawdust, or cut yourself on metal shavings. Though most shops contain a wet/dry vacuum and probably a broom, I prefer a whisk broom, or a masonry brush.
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Before “cordless power tools” we just burned gasoline to get the job done, and gas is still the easiest power source for remote locations where you need to draw heavy power. For instance, a big, gas-powered wet/dry vacuum can prove indispensable for lots of applications, like prospecting, archaeology, and prairie dog eviction — but I couldn’t find a gas-powered vacuum easily! However, I did find this DIY plan for one.
You start with a gas blower and a five-gallon bucket, and you end up with a big vacuum that recharges at the pump. With gas prices going up you might prefer a cheaper alternative — but if you really need the right tool for the job there may not be a substitute.
GasVac [Minin' Gold]
Giant Sucking Sound [CNN]
If you’re going golfing after work, take along this little specialty tool from Dremel to keep your balls clubs clean; even if clean clubs don’t improve your game, at least they won’t make that slice any worse. Spinning at either 7,000 or 14,000 RPM, this rotary tool could drastically increase the number of golf-related eye injuries if people don’t wear protective gear! Toolmongers, of course, know better than to skip safety glasses when wielding a rotary tool — Sean says to wear a frackin’ face shield — but we have a responsibility to our fellow man. Get out there and spread the word, or that one-eyed golfer in your life may soon have company!
Street pricing is about $20. If you think you might get one for Father’s Day, ask for goggles, too.
Golf Cleaning Kit [Dremel]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?] [What's This?]
I traded in my gas-powered leaf muncher for this Toro garden vacuum last year, and I couldn’t be happier with its performance — what I’m not happy about is that I didn’t get it for $50 at Home Depot. The Toro Rake and Vacuum, a 3-in-1 blower, vacuum, and leaf mulcher, easily moves debris and wet leaves, with two speed settings and a top air speed of 210 MPH. You can attach the vacuum, blower, and leaf-bag attachments without any tools, and it comes with a two-year warranty.
Rake and Vac [Toro]
Rake and Vac [Home Depot]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
The Steam Stripper makes heavy-duty restoration work easier, by harnessing this basic principle: heat and wet make things softer. At first I didn’t buy the idea of steam working on oil or latex paint; I generally think of these as waterproof. But as I studied the website, it started making sense. Tiny imperfections in the paint allow steam to get under the surface — and with old paint, you’re even more likely to find imperfections in the coat, whether from age or accidents. Window Restoration Systems claims that their Steam Stripper actually works better with more layers of paint.
Some tools don’t lend themselves very well to dust collection — you have to manhandle the dust-collection hose with complicated twists and turns to get it into position. Rockler’s new FlexForm hoses can help.
The 12″ FlexForm hoses can expand to three times their compressed length, and the segmented design maintains its shape no matter how you position it. Rockler makes the hoses from polypropylene plastic in both 2-1/2″ and 4″ diameters.
The 2-1/2″ FlexForm hose retails for $13, and the 4″ FlexForm runs $15.
FlexForm Hose [Rockler]
In the past few years, the price of ultrasonic cleaning technology has dropped so low that a cleaner costs less than most power tools. Nowadays, you can buy an ultrasonic cleaner like the Sonic Wave CD-2800 for just $20 — and while it’s billed as a jewelery cleaner, you could just as easily clean small parts with it. Just drop the parts in the one-pint stainless steel tank; the Sonic Wave’ll blast ‘em for three minutes with 42kHz waves, then automatically shut off.
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Your shop-vac may not be the most efficient dust collector, but you can turn it into a two-stage dust-collection system with the Mini Cyclone Separator from Woodstock International. You’ll change the bag or clean the filter less often, because larger chips will drop out into the attached five-gallon bucket.
Woodstock molds their Mini Cyclone Separator from ABS. It sits on top of a standard five-gallon bucket, where it accepts two 2-1/2″ hoses. To empty the bucket, simply lift off the separator.
Look to pay anywhere from $17 to $24 for the Mini Cyclone Separator. You’ll have to supply your own five-gallon pail. If you have 2-1/4″ hoses, you can get a reducer for about $5.
Mini Cyclone Separator [Woodstock International]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon(B0000223XZ) [What’s This?] [What's This?]
Our illustrious leader Chuck Cage wrote about his hands-on experience with the iRobot Dirt Dog back in December 2006 — yet how many of us are still working in a shop with a dirty floor? Both my hands are up. Now Fry’s is selling the Dirt Dog for just $100, so there’s no excuse for a dirty floor. iRobot designed the Dirt Dog for workshops and basements, with specially designed counter-rotating brushes that spin at almost 1,000 RPM to pick up dirt and debris that clings to rough surfaces. The Dirt Dog comes with a 14.4V rechargeable NiMH battery and a power supply.
Dirt Dog [iRobot]
Dirt Dog [Fry's]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
I’ll admit that most of what I know about chimney sweeping I learned from Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins. Dick wielded a series of flexible rods and brushes, the basic tools of the chimneysweep’s trade. Though these basic tools are still in use today, they can’t always handle modern fireplaces, with their smaller chimneys and sharper bends. Tools like the Viper GFX exist to deal with these modern chimneys.
Sanding drywall has got to rank up there as one of the messiest construction jobs. Even if you’re only sanding a small patch, you create a dust cloud that eventually leaves a layer of dust on everything in the area. Now USG sells Sheetrock lightweight joint compound with dust control. Sanding the dust-control joint compound creates “heavy dust” that falls straight to the floor. It stays put and doesn’t enter the air. Our only question is: why the hell didn’t somebody think of this sooner?!
Nick’s post and the discussion on the scratching capabilities of Scotch-Brite pads made me think of what I use for scratch removal. Novus has been making polish for acrylics for over 25 years — their three-part system can handle almost all but the most severe scratches. I’ve used it to polish museum display cases, and even some glass, with excellent results.
I wish most trades people would carry this tool in their kit — cleaning up the aftermath never seems be part of the job or in the quote. Toolup is selling this DeWalt heavy-duty, 18V, cordless, wet/dry, portable vacuum for $130.
This wet and dry vacuum is a lightweight at 7.4 lbs, and with a 1/2 gallon tank it won’t require constant emptying. The dual clean-up feature allows use of either the front nozzle or an extendable rubber hose.
The washable HEPA filter traps dust as tiny as 0.3 microns, so it’s good for most job functions. The vacuum runs on an 18V DeWalt battery with a one hour charge time. And the best part: you can clean up as you work.
Wet/Dry Vac [DeWalt]
DeWalt DC515K [Toolup]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
As as strange as it sounds, ScrapeRite manufactures plastic razor blades. Why on earth would you want a plastic razor blade? Designed for the automotive detailing industry, these blades can remove most stuck-on paints, adhesives, or other muck without damaging the surface like harder steel razor blades.
Ridgid Tools starts the year off with an interesting promotion for cleaning your pipes — a “buy one, get one” deal with products at multiple price points. At the bottom end, when you buy a sink machine for around $300, you get a free toilet auger with a street price of around $50. If you’re in the trade, you might want to invest in some of the pricier items — buy a $4,000 water jetter and you get a free SeeSnake micro inspection camera, with a street price of around $200. With so many choices, your pipes will gleam in 2008.
You have to replace shop vacuum bags frequently to keep the vacuum working at peak efficiency. And different tasks require different filters, e.g. a paper filter for drywall dust and a foam filter for cleaning up after a leaky drain. CleanStream offers a reusable shop vacuum filter that can be used wet or dry. You can remove dirt and dust with a few firm taps on a hard surface (outside!), or you can clean it more thoroughly by rinsing the filter out under the tap.
Whenever you wash your car, truck, or motorcycle, you’re taking a chance at damaging its finish. Some of the dirt washed off the vehicle inevitably ends up in the bottom of the bucket just waiting to scratch your paint. The Grit Guard keeps your wash mitt or brush grit-free by allowing dirt to settle to the bottom while the mitt stays elevated.
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