In the recent post Tool Pr0n: Would You Pay $280 For A Brace?, reader PutnamEco mentioned Protool — a company that sells tools in Australia, but not in the U.S. Seems like our friends down-under see a lot of tools we don’t here in the states. One product they sell which you won’t see anytime soon is their unique ProJet mixing system which looks more like a modern art project than a mixer.

Supposedly the ProJet mixing rods use the same principle as jet engine turbines. Three cones create an intense flow without introducing air into the mixture, which allows you to quickly and completely mix most materials without foaming.

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If you’ve never tried putting a 5-1/2″ hole in a piece of 1/8″ stainless-steel, my advice is to avoid attempting something so mad. However, if you need to put big holes in tough materials, there’s no substitute for a set of carbide hole saws outside of a knee mill, water jet, or EDM, and none of those are easy to find in the average home shop.

Carbide is a machinist’s darling, and the material is superb for this set of 14 hole saws from MK Morse. $125 for the set is steep, but discounted thanks to Amazon’s usual excellent prices. Milwaukee makes a similar set of five hole saws, but a careful user can cut just about anything with a good, high-torque drill motor or drill press. The ability to tear a sizable, accurate hole in just about anything can be a bit of a tall order for standard bi-metal hole saws, but carbide is up to the task.

Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Now that I don’t have a basement, I miss the storage space — but I don’t miss the issues with water. Water can destroy appliances, furniture, carpet, drywall, and anything else in its path, and most repairs that require a contractor will run into the thousands of dollars. I found this Basement Waterproofing Kit in the back of a magazine and was wondering if it’s worth its salt.

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If you need to drill a big hole in concrete, you’re probably looking at a core drill.  Not only do they make nice round holes, but you can reuse the core to fill the hole when you’re done doing whatever you needed to do on the other side of the concrete.  If you’re in a business like mud-jacking where you drill many holes a day, you could do worse than the Manta III Core Drill from MK Diamond.

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Since I’m not lucky enough to have access to a concrete mixer, I used to mix concrete in a wheelbarrow, which was fine — except I’d often end up with some dry mix in there, and using a rake or concrete hoe was tiring, and I’d always get splashed with the stuff.  Then I discovered the CreteSheet.

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My 7″ water-cooled tile saw sprays more water on me and on the ground than it does on the cutting surface, so I’m eager to step up to Craftsman’s 18” Laser Tile Saw.  The laser helps guide your cuts through ceramic, marble, or granite tile, and the saw cuts over the project, like a radial arm saw, so it’s easy to see where you’re going.  It comes with an extra saw blade and a stand with legs that fold up so you can roll the unit to your next job site.

The Craftsman 18” Laser Tile Saw sells for $300.  You can always rent one, but if your projects run as long as mine — several weeks or more — it’s cheaper to buy.

Tile Saw [Sears]
Street Pricing [Google]

When an American bricklayer says “tuckpointing” he’s talking about repairing mortar between the bricks of an existing wall, which often includes removing existing mortar.  This tough and dusty job becomes even tougher in situations where you might want to save the bricks from damage in order to put them back.  So Bosch designed a grinder especially for that purpose.

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Marshalltown’s innovative trowels make bricklaying easier, thanks to their DURAdjust ergonomic handles — a dial changes the diameter of the handle to fit the user’s hand, and a soft rubber coating adds to the comfort.  Less hand fatigue means you, or your employees, can work longer and get more done.

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A professional drywall contractor probably won’t need Johnson Level’s Rockripper drywall scoring square, but the DIY’er that only occasionally hangs a few sheets of drywall might find it useful. Perforations every 1/16″ in the blade accept a utility knife point for scoring. This makes ripping drywall much easier and more accurate for those of us who haven’t mastered the skill.

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Using a wheel to measure distance on the ground is nothing new, but using a rolling device to measure distance on a wall seems a little strange at first. Why do we need another method when we already have steel tapes, lasers, and sonics? Straight-Line claims their rolling tape keeps the surface clean of marks, calculates total linear feet and evenly spaced points, and eliminates the clumsy steel tape.

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Mason’s levels take a beating, so they have to be ruggedly designed. They get banged, dropped, and covered in dirt and mortar. If this sounds like how you treat your level, you might be interested in Stabila’s line of mason levels.

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Core drills can put big, precise holes in concrete and stone, without the vibration of a hammer drill which could damage the area around the hole. This wet core drill from Flex also helps to contain the mess, provides cooling, and advances faster.

Street pricing starts at $785, so unless you need to drill a lot of holes in really pretty stone, you might want to rent — especially since bits, which come in sizes upwards of 10″, run $50 or more for the small ones.

Wet Core Drill BHW 812 VV [Flex]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

Dasco added this Target Guard to their mason chisel, concrete chisel, and brick set, to keep us from mashing our hands with large hammers.  Now, a professional probably isn’t going to miss the mark unless he’s got  a massive hangover, so I’m guessing they’re marketing this to the DIYers.  Street pricing starts at $10 for the concrete chisel.  It looks like a good idea to me, but it also looks bulky — the space and shape could be awkward.

Does anybody out there use one of these tools all the time? Is this a waste of space or a nice feature? Let us know in comments.

Mason’s Chisel With Target Guard [Lowe's]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

Automated machines, or robots, are starting to work with us on the jobsite. First they take on the dangerous jobs, where death, injury, and insurance put the capital “E” in Expensive. After the pioneering is done in those jobs, the robots will move on to the repetitive jobs next. Over time, bricklayers will become bricklayer-robot technicians, and other talented artisans will adapt in the same way.

The designer of the Mortar Machine is working on the cutting edge of the technology that could make such a future possible. For now, the Mortar Machine is barely half a bricklayer — it won’t actually lay the bricks, only the mortar. And someone will still have to lay the tracks it runs on, load it, fix it, and cuss at it when it doesn’t work. But consider how CNC technology is getting better and cheaper — and what is that but a stationary robot?

Toolmongers understand the unpredictable reality of the worksite, but it’s impossible to ignore that tools are progressing in complexity, quickly. How do you feel about working alongside a robot? Is this technological development hot or not? Let us know in comments.

Mortar Machine [ABC]
Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

Photo by tanakawho, posted on Flickr.

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.

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To ensure 90 degree corners and plumb walls, a contractor runs string lines between batter boards when laying out foundations, pools, or landscaping. Rousseau claims their reusable batter boards reduce labor costs by making setup faster and easier. You could also see long-term savings by using their batter boards instead of expensive wooden ones.

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Need a square hole in a brick wall? You can try to cut it with a circular saw, but what are you going to do about the corners — chip ‘em out? Why bother, when you can use the AS160 from Arbortech? The AS160 cuts so precisely, you can remove a single brick from a wall without damaging the surrounding bricks. If you find that hard to believe, watch their repetitive but informative video.

Moving in an orbital motion, two forward-facing blades provide a simultaneous hammering and cutting action, minimizing the danger of kickback. This arrangement also cuts cleaner, throwing no dust, so the work is more visible, and there’s less mess to clean up. Another advantage: The blades cut dry, so all you need is a standard vacuum to suck up the debris, and with an optional dust boot you can clean as you cut.

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