Here’s another tool guaranteed to help holiday shoppers please their gadget-loving friends and family: Skil’s new li-ion Power Wrench. Based on Skil’s proven 7.2V li-ion batteries, the power wrench can maintain its charge even when stashed away for up to 18 months. And with a reversible 1/4″ square drive, the Power Wrench can do just about everything that a socket wrench can do, only quicker and easier.
Home theaters can be as simple as hooking up a few components or as complex as building a new addition on the house. But one thing’s a given: if you’re still watching a tiny screen and listening through two speakers, you’re missing out. HomeTime.com offers a pretty basic introduction to the technology options out there, and if you add a little creative Toolmongering to the information they provide, you can pretty easily upgrade your football-watching and movie-renting experience without too much pain.
And don’t forget to check out the Toolmonger photo pool for some great pictures of reader’s projects along these lines. There’s a great set in there of a plasma TV install — look ma, no wires!
DIY Home Theater [HomeTime.com]
There’s nothing wrong with ripping out the whole bathroom and re-designing it. But if you’re on a lesser budget — of both time and cash — the folks over at NewHomeOwnerGuide.com assembled a handy set of tips on how to personalize and fix-up your bathroom for under $100. Besides the scratch, they say you’ll need “a basic knowledge of painting, wallpapering, and light woodworking.”
(Thanks, daxiang stef, for the great cc-licensed photo.)
No problem, right?
Bathroom Makeover [NewHomeOwnerGuide.com]
Bics are reliable fire-starters, and they don’t leak in your pocket and leave little square burns on you if you forget to sit ‘em out overnight before carrying ‘em after refilling ‘em. But how can you be cool flipping open a Bic? Answer: you can’t. Now you can have butane reliability and Zippo cool with the new Zippo BLU line.
(Ed. Note: I don’t smoke, but I often carry a lighter. How else will you finish the tip of cut nylon rope or activate heat-shrink tubing on the go? My point: lighters a great for non-smokers, too.)
The Shoulder Dolly supposedly helps you move heavy objects by supporting them on your shoulders, taking the stress off your back. One possible downside: if your partners slips going down the stairs, you, him, and that refrigerator are all going down together.
Amazon is currently listing this three-speed Air King blower for $37.23 with free super saver shipping. It features three blower speeds, a 1/16 HP motor, a pivoting head that offers airflow in three direction, a 10′ power cord, and two grounded outlets on the side to power other tools. It looks perfect for, say, drying out a basement or offering some ventilation in a closed workspace.
Utility Blower [AirKing]
Via Amazon
Street Pricing [Google Products]
This holiday season marks the entry of lithium-ion power into the lower-priced market, and Black & Decker clearly aims to be a big player with brand-spankin’-new VPX tool series. Centered around an interchangeable 7V li-ion battery and focusing on lightweight, compact designs, the VPX series looks quite promising. Best of all, we understand that the current B&D will continue to expand the VPX line throughout next year.
At first glance, the cleaner called “Simple Green” just doesn’t inspire confidence; you’re trying to get rid of green crap, not add it. But the fact remains: it’s one of the most effective cleaner/degreasers out there that’s readily available, non-toxic, biodegradable, non-abrasive, non-flammable, and affordable.
While we’ve seen (and owned) dozens of dome-style tap lights , Sylvania’s DOT-its are among the best. Featuring a repositionable adhesive backing, three bright LEDs, long battery life, and a reliable tap switch, the DOT-it leaves generic copycat products in the shadows.
The Pro Top is a non-conductive molded work tray with a V-notch that caps a select few of Louisville’s extension ladders. Its wider design provides a larger contact area than a normal extension ladder, giving you more stability when leaning it against flat surfaces. The V-notch provides additional stability when you rest the ladder on corners, poles, or trees.
This kit was designed for those in earthquake prone areas who find that after even the most minimal tremor, their wall-mounted picture and poster frames are in need of some re-alignment. (Hell, I’m always straightening out my collection of prints, and I don’t even live in California.) With the kit’s magnetic insertion tool, you attach tiny double-ended nails to the back of the frame. Then you press the nailed frame into the wall once it’s level. This holds the frame in place – even during an earthquake.
My family often travels abroad for the summer and leaves me in charge of their houseplants. Needless to say, after three or more months away they often come back to find more than a few casualties. Cactus – they’re usually good. But anything else, not so much.
Then I found this cheap-ass drip irrigation kit at Harbor Freight. The concept is simple: you leave a faucet on with the kit attached, and this maintains enough pressure in the kit’s hose to force water out drip nozzles attached to the pots of your favorite houseplants. It slowly waters your plants without over watering.
If you still don’t own a grill — or maybe you’re thinking of replacing your old one — just head to your local big box this weekend and select your beef-charring favorite. Home Depot and Lowe’s are both running Labor Day sales for the next three days offering up to 30% savings on grills (and some small appliances).
As I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago, keep your eyes peeled for other clearance items, too. This is one of the top-five sale weekends of the year, so get thee to the store to check out a few deals. It’s worth your time — unless I beat you there first.
Home Depot [Official Website]
Lowe’s [Official Website]
The name says it all: it’s a driver set that looks like a tank. Sold as a promotional item primarily, the Tank Tool is pretty functional, too. The tank’s turret and cannon make up a detachable screwdriver handle, and the treads pull double duty as socket and bit storage. There’s even a tray built into the center body of the tank to hold loose screws and other fasteners –plus a mini screwdriver. Hell, this “tank” is better equipped than some household “tool kits.”
Need some parts to finish up fixin’ a busted washer or dryer? Wonder if dryer coil really runs $150 like the repair guy says? Try ApplianceHelp.com. Sure, they want to sell you parts. But their search engine is excellent — and available even if you’re not in a buying mood.
Though I’ve never had the occasion to try it, many of my friends have saved a ton by laying their own tile. Ray, my blacksmith friend who joined us in Tool Talk Podcast #3, for example, finished out most of an extension to his house in tile, all of which he installed himself. If you’d like to give it a shot, check out this how-to from DoItYourself.com which leads you through the whole process with animations.
How To Lay Tile [DoItYourself.com]
If you’re planning on doing any of your own drywall work — or you’re just interested in how the process works — you’ll definitely want to check out this great how- to over on HowStuffWorks.com. The article walks you through the whole deal from planning to installation and finishing with lots of great drawings and diagrams like the one above.
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