Following the more-is-better philosophy, the Bosch GPL5 uses five beams to project plumb, level, and square points. It also self-levels (up to 5°). Available for around $200, the 1 lb. unit is 4.125″ × 3.125″ × 1.625″, and can be secured using its 1/4-40 or 5/8-11 threaded mounts, or via straps or magnets with its multipurpose attachment. It can be easily re-calibrated in the field (and comes with a wrench for just that purpose). Its accuracy is ± ¼” @ 100′. Three AA batteries supply power.

If you’re not into multi-axis laser leveling, maybe you could modify the GPL5 for use as a garage/shop intruder alarm.

Bosch GPL5 [Manufacturer's Site]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Bosch GPL5 Via Amazon [What’s This?]

I usually delete spam from my inbox without reading it, but recently an email caught my eye, touting the new Pressurex Tactile Pressure Indicating Sensor Film. I looked up the website and it looks like a handy tool for determining whether two surfaces mate well. The film has tiny “microcapsules.” When you tighten or clamp two surfaces together with the film in between, it makes the microcapsules rupture and makes a permanent picture of the forces on the surface.

Here’s an article showing the applications in assessing disc brake contact with the rotor. It seems like it would be great for any automotive assembly where you want even pressure around a gasket. It’s also a good way to diagnose any adhesive bonding problems, especially when the members are clamped as the adhesive dries. The site says they’ll provide free samples, and free is a great price.

Pressurex [Website]

Necessary Numbers: An Everyday Guide to Sizes, Measures, and More by Mary Blocksma may not make you the “Cliff Clavin” of your local pub, but it will give you a broad overview of all types of numbers. An expanded version of her earlier book Reading the Numbers: A Survival Guide to the Measurements, Numbers, and Sizes Encountered in Everyday Life, this one covers a variety of diverse numbers including zip codes, highway route numbers, pencil leads, bar codes, SS numbers, clothing sizes, and — as the title says — “more.”

A new paperback costs $12, but you can find used copies for around $4, or “swap” for the earlier version.

Necessary Numbers [Barnes & Noble]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Reading The Numbers [PaperBackSwap]

The name of this is “Improved Video Inspection System.” Improved from what? The cordless driver they used the case to make this?

This feels overpriced to me. Like the gun-style form factor will make up for all the things that the Milwaukee already does that this can’t.

The Milwaukee has more modes and better attachments along with the bad-ass battery system. Save your cash if you need one and find one with the white lighting bolt on the side. Just say’n.

Improved Video Inspection System [Garrett Wade]

Malco’s “The Sider” helps you measure and mark pieces of vinyl siding quickly and accurately. Made from 18 gauge stainless steel, the Sider has precisely spaced holes staggered vertically every 1/8″. To draw or score perfect horizontal lines, stick a pencil or knife blade into a hole and slide the tool along the siding.

Malco sells five different varieties of the Sider to work with most siding styles: the 4″ double, the 5″ double, the 4-1/2″ Dutchlap, the 5″ Dutchlap, and the 3″ triple. Any of these versions of the Sider will run you somewhere between $11 and $21 before shipping or tax.

The Sider [Malco]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Sure, you can use a calculator or even your head to find the circumference of a round duct by measuring its diameter, but with the Cooper Tool Tinner’s Circumference Rule all you need to measure is the diameter — the ruler will read the circumference.

The tempered medium-weight steel rule measures in inches by 1/16″ on the top edge and circumference inches by 1/8″ on the bottom edge. The black markings are easy to read, and on the reverse side Cooper has printed relevant formulas and tables for easy reference.

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Here’s an oddball — a protractor designed for setting an aircraft propeller’s pitch angle. Apparently these large, high-precision protractors and levels are used for dialing in propeller settings. You set the hub to vertical, the blades (initially) to horizontal, then adjust until you reach the desired angle. Given how critical wheel balance is on a car, I can imagine you’d need a pretty special tool to dial in faster-spinning propellers. They’re not exactly a failure-tolerant par, and neither are control surfaces, which this device can also be used to adjust.

As evidence of how important propeller settings can be, there are versions of this tool available for as much as $1,470, though the swanky transparent body may have something to do with that. Warp Drive manufactures the plastic model above, and retails it for a much more reasonable $39 before shipping from Aircraft Spruce. It’s a niche tool, but probably a crappy thing to be stuck without.

Warp Drive Prop Protractor [Aircraft Spruce]
Warp Drive [Warp Drive Props]

Mortise and Tenon joints are a staple of the furniture building craft, the very foundation of strong, long-lasting woodworking projects. I don’t really use them because there are other ways to make joints, and building in Mortise and Tenons is a giant pain the rear. But the Footprint Rosewood Mortise and Marking Gauge from Woodcraft is a beautiful-looking way to make the argument that I should.

The gauge starts off with Rosewood construction on the block and slide track and features a single pin on one side and double pins on the other to help mark your material before sawing, chiseling, or cutting. It also sports a brass inlay, thumbscrew and slide to offset the Rosewood.

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Starrett designed the almost 4″ jaws and 3mm diameter tips of their new 5006BZ-14/350 electronic groove calipers to measure the width of internal and external grooves. The caliper will measure outside grooves from 0″ to 12.5″ and inside grooves from 1.654″ to 15″.

They manufacture the calipers from hardened stainless steel and the tips can be installed facing in or out or to measure either outside or inside grooves respectively. The calipers read with a resolution of .0005 of an inch or 0.01mm.

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Generally speaking, a machinist’s measuring tools receive the same level of protection and reverence as the Holy Grail. Every reader’s probably had his ears filled with endless tales of how the mechanisms of calipers and micrometers must be regularly oiled, protected from dust, and kept away from moisture. Not this set.

Mitutoyo’s model 500-752 is marketed as coolant-resistant, which is really something, considering that automotive coolant is a powerful oxidizer that quickly rusts any iron it touches. Not exactly stuff you want around your $150 (from Production Tool Supply) measuring instruments. Other features include inch/millimeter reading with 0.0005in/0.01mm resolution, auto-shutdown, and shatter-resistant (IP67 compatible) display. The waterproofing also makes the calipers dust-proof, and with a claimed three-year battery life, they’re not likely to suddenly crap out due to wear, abuse, or battery death.

A retailer called Reliable Paper is selling the set for $12 less than PTS, but they’re unrated according to Google’s product search.

500-752 [Mitutoyo]
Mitutoyo 500-752 [Production Tool Supply]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

While the name of M-Power’s Tri-Scribe may be from one of those we-like-hyphens-too-much marketing sessions, this seems to be a pretty clever little tool. I stumbled across it while browsing drafting implements and it’s an innovation I wish I’d had on hand in the past.

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The General No. 142 6-inch dial caliper does direct reading of .01″ (outer scale) and 1/64″ (inner scale) on its dial (plus mm readings on the bar scale, but — without getting into that whole metric thing — I don’t find this “feature” very convenient). It can do inside, outside, depth, and step measurements. Its fiberglass-reinforced plastic body makes it a good choice for damp/wet environments. You can pick one up for around $24.

There are many alternatives (TM has covered calipers a few times: in 2006 and 2007, for example) and some are less expensive (HF or the General 141), but I especially like this model for woodworking.

General Tools [Manufacturer's Site]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Here’s an interesting looking tool from Trend. The Multiscribe Pro has a rotating block that can be locked in at any angle with respect to the steel blade. The blade has markings in both 3/16″ and 1/4″ increments and comes to a point on one end. The block sports a pencil sharpener, a bubble vial, and two holes for sticking a pencil through, which is useful for scribing.

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Do it Best has the Stanley 10-788 for $10 online before the $5 mail-in rebate. A nice feature of the rebate — if you’re so inclined — is the ability to donate it directly to Habitat for Humanity. If you don’t want the utility knife, you can get $10 off the $20 online sale for a Stanley FatMax 1-1/4″×25′ tape, or $5 off the $10 online sale for a Stanley 16-oz. Fiberglass Rip Hammer, with the same option to donate the refund. The offer expires 10/3/09. Do it Best offers free shipping of online orders to a local store for “participating” locations.

Stanley 10-788 [Manufacturer's Site]
Do it Best [Website]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Roofers sometimes use a grid of lath under cedar shingles or slate tiles to allow airflow underneath the materials, especially in Nordic countries. It can be time-consuming to lay down because every grid is made to fit both the roof and the tile. To make the process faster and easier, Bahco created the LathKo template, which they claim cuts installation time up to 40%.

To use the lightweight aluminum tool, you adjust the stop to the desired grid spacing using the integrated scale. Then you adjust the jaws for the width of the lath and you’re ready to go. Simply grab a piece of lath in the jaws and butt the stop against the previous board.

The LathKo itself is priced reasonably at $33, but the only place we found selling it was ToolStop in the UK, where it’ll cost you $63 to ship it to the U.S. Anybody have another source for this tool?

LathKo [Bahco]
LathKo [ToolStop]

If you own a Checkpoint level with a Stubby or Magnum base or a 3D DMS Professional Level, their slope pins can give you exact slopes or grades with no painful calculations.

The neodymium magnets on the base of the mentioned levels hold the flat side of the slope pins precisely in the right position so you’ll get an accurate slope every time. For example, if you need a 3/8″ per foot rise, simply place the 3/8″ slope pin on either the (+) or (-) slope pin location marked on the base and position the horizontal bubble vial to read level.

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Who needs a tape measure? Just slap down a few rolls’ worth of Red Tape adhesive measuring tape on every surface in your shop and you won’t have to search for where you put the damn tape measure anymore.

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