Driving fasteners into concrete or steel can be painfully slow and difficult, but Toolmongers during WWII needed a fast way to attach a steel-plate patch to the steel hull of a damaged ship. So, Yankee ingenuity produced powder-actuated tools. A chemical propellant — like gunpowder — explodes inside the tool and drives the fastener, with action similar to a firearm.
Cable ties belong in the esteemed category of tools that includes gaffer’s tape, super glue, and locking pliers — they’re almost infinitely useful, and if you’ve got some, you’re halfway to fixing nearly anything. However, if you’ve ever spent time bundling up a bunch of cables just right, only to have to snip apart all your hard work when you notice what you did wrong, you owe yourself a big bag of releasable cable ties.
Teflon tape can take the place of a good thread sealant, but there are plenty of other alternatives. Occasionally you even hear stories about people confusing thread sealants with thread lubricants or, worse, thread lockers.
Worse still, you may someday be told not to use super glue on threads, and the admonishment could end with, “Ask me how I know.” Duct tape isn’t the only substance that holds the universe together.
I’ve always preferred Teflon tape, because that’s what my dad used. Do you choose Teflon tape over the alternatives? Why, or why not?
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Back about six years ago, when I used to fabricate and install granite countertops, we caulked with manual guns — the fancy electronic ones weren’t available yet. During an install, we’d set the granite countertop pieces on the cabinets, align ‘em to their final position, and then lift up the pieces to caulk underneath ‘em. And the guy doing the caulking had to race to squeeze out enough caulk before my arms gave out from the insane amount of weight.
It seems that a powered caulking gun would’ve been very useful to squeeze the caulk out faster, but I’ve never used one and don’t know anyone who has. So, I’m turning to you. Do you have a battery-powered caulking gun — or maybe a pneumatic? What brand is it? Does it lay down a seriously precise bead of caulk? Or is it a heavy, cumbersome waste of money? Let us know in comments.
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
UFO’s NailScrews combine the holding power of screws with the speed of a nail gun. These specially designed fasteners, that you shoot out of a nail gun, hold so well that they have to be removed with a screwdriver.
Bending over or working on your knees with your nail gun can be tough on your body, especially when you do it every day. Wouldn’t it be nice to drive nails while standing up? Sure Drive’s pneumatic Nail Gun Extension lets you operate almost any nail gun with a handle and a trigger from a standing position.
If a windstorm has ever scattered your deck furniture across the neighborhood, Deck-Tiedowns from Bishop Innovations could save you a lot of grief. They’re simple stainless steel rings with “T”-shaped ends — you just slip ‘em between your deck planks, and twist. They provide a secure anchor for grills, patio furniture, etc, when weather threatens to blow them away.
You can find Deck-Tiedowns in some hardware stores, but if your local store doesn’t carry ‘em, you can buy ‘em directly from the website. They’ll fit boards up to 1-1/2″ thick. A four-pack of tiedowns costs $6, and a 12-pack runs $15.
Deck-Tiedown [Official Site]
PDF Order Form [Decktiedown.com]
Pop rivets, blind rivets — whatever you want to call ‘em, they’re a great way to fasten all sorts of sheet materials together. The RiveDrill drill accessory uses the rotary action of your drill motor to set rivets. Their website claims that with the RiveDrill you can set 14 rivets in a minute, which they reckon is twice as fast as someone using a hand-powered riveter, and without the hand cramps!
We’re big advocates of using small brads to hold together glue joints in quick-build furniture. Sure, it’s not a method you’ll use on heirloom projects, but if you just need to throw together a quick-’n-cheap bookcase out of hardwood ply, they beat the crap out of clamping and waiting. This looks like an even better tool for the job: Bostitch’s 23-gauge headless pinner.
It’s time for another edition of Name This Tool here on Toolmonger. Photo pool member sheepslinky ran across this odd bolt, and he doesn’t know exactly what he’s got here. People have suggested it could be some sort of valve bolt or pin lock bolt, but it’s just guessing at this point — nothing definitive yet. We have to admit: we aren’t sure either.
So which one of you Toolmongers can school us in funky bolt identification? We’re looking for the name of the fastener and what it’s used for.
Any ideas?
Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]
Buildex’s new Tapcon line of anchors cut their own threads as you drive them into masonry. And unlike most other types of masonry anchors, they’re removable.
You especially appreciate ‘removable’ when you’ve driven a bunch of anchors into a wall, then decided to rearrange or adjust your setup. With most anchors, you’re, um, screwed. But with Tapcons you just pull out the screw, fill in the hole with concrete patch paste, paint it, and you’re good to go.
I just saw this 101-piece bit set in my local ‘Depot circular. It’s available in stores for just under $9, but even at $10 online it’s a pretty good buy — especially considering that my trusty ratcheting screwdriver has always been a go-to standby. Hell, the handy dandy case alone is probably worth $10.
Husky’s 101-Piece Ratcheting Screwdriver/Bit Set [Home Depot]
The next time you’re struggling to remove a screw with a damaged head, instead of reaching for a screw extractor, you might want to give EZ Grip Friction Drops a try. The manufacturer claims that one drop on the damaged screw head will increase the gripping force enough to remove the problem screw. Their secret? Thousands of hardened aluminum cubes suspended in a carrying agent give EZ Grip Friction Drops gripping power. The aluminum cubes “provide a temporary bridge between the tool and stressed fastener heads.”
In the most recent email from Harbor Freight, they offer a coupon for $2 off stainless steel cable ties. Since I’m a big fan of cable ties, the stainless steel version really piqued my interest. I tie a lot of my outdoor garden projects together with cable ties, but I have noticed that over a few years they can become brittle. I’m wondering if the stainless steel version fairs any better.
These are Storehouse brand, so I wouldn’t expect the best performance, but I’m wondering in general has anybody used stainless steel cable ties? If so, for what purpose did you use ‘em? Let us know in comments.
Stainless Steel Cable Ties [Harbor Freight]
You never be too rich or have too many clamps. Here’s another to add to your collection; it’s the love child of a squeeze trigger clamp and a traditional bar clamp. The result: bar clamp reach with one-handed trigger simplicity.
Ingersoll Rand is well known for their line of pro-level pneumatic tools. But they’ve made a name for themselves with impact drivers of all types. So when these guys come out with a line of cordless tools that includes high-powered wrenches and ratchets as well as drills and grinders – we noticed.
What do you get when you cross a pneumatic cap nailer with a hammer stapler? You get the Stinger Cap Hammer CH38, which drives caps into roofing felt (or Tyvek) without manual hammering or dragging out a compressor. Stinger’s tag line is “No hose, No Problem” — and they mean it.
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