Archive for the 'Crafts' Category

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Finds: A Cordless, Butane-Powered Hot Glue Gun

Wednesday, September 27th, 2006

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This is probably the ultimate craft accessory: a cordless, re-fuelable hot glue gun.  The next time you’re stuck (get it, stuck — hey, it’s late, OK?) in the middle of nowhere gluing 4,000 tiny beads on something, this is your tool.

Seriously, though, hot glue has all kinds of industrial and practical applications far beyond crafts — including positioning wires and making relatively strong, but breakable connections.  For example, we used hot glue to attach trim on a dart board surround we recently built.  It holds the trim on well, but not so well that you can’t break it off to repair the felt underneath if need be.  (And if you’ve seen us play darts, you know the need indeed be.)

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Posted in Power Tools, Crafts, Master Appliance | 4 Comments »

Finds: Art Deckle Rulers

Wednesday, September 13th, 2006
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As we’ve said before, picking up some basic framing equipment helps deliver custom framing from the hands of the rich to the hands of the poor (read: us).  Even if you don’t want to assemble your own frames, you can save a ton by cutting your own mattes and glass.

Besides a matte cutter, you should also have at least one art deckle ruller in your basic framing toolkit.  They help you make those great-looking torn (”deckled”) edges perfectly.

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Posted in Crafts, Household | 3 Comments »

Finds: Logan 301-S Compact Matte Cutter

Thursday, August 31st, 2006

loganmattecutter.jpgWanna know the difference between a professional looking framing job and what most people have hanging in their abode? Its all about the matting.

The problem is that at Toolmonger we were definitely born with the uber-cheap gene, and we refuse to pay $100 plus for a custom matte job.  That’s why we just placed an order for Logan’s 301-S compact matte cutter.  With the 301-S and just a little bit of practice, we’re gonna bring out the “inner masterpiece” in that $20 print of “dogs playing poker” we picked up at the flea market.  You can, too.

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Posted in Hand Tools, Crafts, Logan Graphic | 3 Comments »

Glue: Strength of the Gorilla

Monday, May 29th, 2006

Gorilla GlueVersatility and options are the difference between a good project and a pile of dusty scrap in the shop. Gorilla Glue is a solid versatile weapon in the fight against the dusty scrap outcome.  Gorilla glue bonds with wood, stone, metal, ceramics, Corian and styrofoam.  It’s also waterproof.

We’ve used Gorilla Glue in our household projects for the last year or so. While it doesn’t (in our experience) bond particularly well with all plastics, we can report that wood, metal, and stone do, when combined with Gorilla Glue, indeed dry to become a permenantly bonded pair.  It can also be washed off of your hands before they are glued together — ask us how we know — which is high on our list of what makes a glue product a good buy.

Gorilla Glue can be found at almost any hardware center for around $4.

Gorilla Glue Products [Gorilla Tough]

Posted in Crafts | No Comments »

The Ultimate Glue Gun?

Wednesday, May 24th, 2006

post-dremelgg.jpgWhen you think of craft tools, you can’t help but think of Dremel.  (And if you don’t already own one of their rotary tools, now’s the time.)  But were you aware that they make a glue gun?

Featuring dual temperature settings, a work light, an on-off switch (don’t laugh — look for one on your cheapie glue gun), LED indicator lights to indicate “on” and “ready” status, a soft-grip handle, a built-in kickstand, and a silicon tip (as opposed to metal in order to prevent accidental burns), Dremel’s glue gun may just be the most feature-laden glue gun on the market.

It starts at around $25 (street), so just think of it as the buying the Cadillac of glue guns for $15 more than the Yugo.

Glue Gun [Dremel]
Street Pricing [Froogle]

Posted in Power Tools, Dremel, Crafts | No Comments »

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