Do you ever feel like your carpenter’s square isn’t the precision instrument it could be? It won’t work well on materials with profiled edges, and sometimes you feel like you need three hands to use it. The Veritas square fence can solve these problems. You can attach it to either leg of your carpenter’s square, and now, because the square is resting on the workpiece, it doesn’t need to be supported.
If you haven’t been hiding under a rock, you should know that Magneto is the mutant foe of the X-Men who has the power to control magnetism. A similarly named tool uses the power of magnetism to hold your tape measure to your belt — making it easier to remove and replace than the standard tape measure clip.
If you’re like me — always losing your pencil in the midst of a project — this deal won’t help you stop losing them, but it will make it easier and more cost-efficient to reach for a new pencil. Contractor Tools is offering this 72-pack of Keson industrial-grade, carpenter-grade pencils for $33, about 45 cents a pencil.
The pencils measure 5/8″ by 7″ with a hard #3 lead. Since they’re flat, they won’t roll away — and they’ll fit behind your ear.
Keson [Corporate Site]
Keson 72-Pack [Contractor Tools]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon
While doing some research on the deck I’m going to build next summer, I ran across these Bolt-Rite anchor templates over at Awesome Tools. You can get ‘em in a variety of sizes to suit your project/job. This 9″x9″ adjustable template takes anchor bolts up to 7/8″, and you can run conduit through the 2-1/8″ center hole.
Their aluminum construction makes them lightweight and reusable. You can adjust the templates for multiple applications. Center-line marks on the templates help with transit layout and stringlines. Normally $15 apiece, the price drops to $14 apiece when you buy a 10-pack.
Bolt-Rite [Corporate Site]
9″x9″ Four-Bolt Anchor Template [Awesome Tools]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Though it may just look like an odd level, Bosch’s Miter Finder calculates angles within 0.05 degrees. And once you’ve measured an angle within a gnat’s whisker, it tells you what angle to cut for trim installation. That’s not hard with flat molding, but if you want to cut compound angles while keeping the trim flat on the saw, the Miter Finder will do that, too. That means you won’t have to fiddle with crown jigs on your miter saw, and you’ll still get a good fit.
If you do any kind of machining or part-making, you need to check your accuracy on an absolutely flat surface, like this 24″x24″ black granite surface plate from Grizzly. For only $110 you get a grade B, non-magnetic, abrasive-resistant, corrosion- and warp-resistant, easy to clean surface with a +/- tolerance of .00015 inches. The plate weighs 234 lbs, so you’ll pay around $100 for shipping — but even for $210 it’s a sweet deal.
24″ x 24″ Granite Plate [Grizzly]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
I recently found this useful little slide chart (close cousin to the slide rule) that converts metric to US units on the fly, and vice versa. It converts back and forth between feet and meters, pounds and kilos, gallons and liters, as well as a few other common units. If you don’t want to fill your head with conversion factors, this will save you the trouble.
There are two identical items under the Skill Tech and Empire Level brands — that means it’s likely manufactured by some third party company. Does anyone know know who made them? They each cost about five bucks.
Street Price [Google Products]
I don’t usually need to make measurements beyond 10′ when I’m wood-working, but recently I started a project that sent me to the local big box in search of a 12′ tape. Most of the 12’ tapes I wanted couldn’t be bought stand-alone, and a lot of the others I wouldn’t dare try out in the shop because they’re so crappy. But one tape stood out from the rest - the Komelon Self Lock.
The Self Lock gets its name from the self locking action on the tape itself. Just pull out to the desired length and the tape stays out until you press the button located on top of the unit. I found only one drawback: when you wind the tape back in from more than nine feet, the end of it will whip back and slap your hand if you’re not careful.
Aside from that, it makes a sturdy addition to the workforce. Lightweight and compact, the 12′ model serves well for smaller measurements; the Self Lock also comes in 16’ and 25’ lengths.
Street pricing starts at $4 for the 12′ and goes up to $8 for the 25′.
Self Lock Tape [Komelon]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
A thing of beauty is a joy forever, and these beautiful levels are guaranteed to be accurate within .015 of an inch for three years. Handmade from quality hardwood stock in Ben Wheeler, Texas, Crick’s levels cost about twice as much as the standard offering from other manufacturers. Of course, they’re also better looking than most.
While 40′ probably doesn’t sound “short” to you (or me!), most framers call any self-wind tape like this one a “short tape” — distinguishing it from the soft, hand-cranked types that extend 100′ or more. In the past, short tapes have been 25′ long, or maybe 30′ for some of the newer ones. But with taller-peaked roofs becoming ever more popular in today’s McMansions, some runs now exceed 30′. That’s why Stanley’s now offering a whopping 40-footer.
Looking for an easy “starter set” gift for relatives who’re just starting to get their hands dirty? Stanley’s making it easy by combining their products into quite functional tool kits. Pictured above, for example, is their FatMax Xtreme kit, which includes a 25′ tape, a marker, a utility knife, a rip claw hammer, a box beam level, a chalk box, a FuBar, a demolition driver set, and an auto trigger clamp — all in a handy open-mouth tool bag — for $250. Other sets range lower and higher in price.
“Never have torn pants from your tape measure again,” reads FastCap’s Speed Clip product page. Maybe I’m a bit insensitive to some men’s plight, but I’ve never ripped my pants grabbing my tape. Still, clipping and unclipping a tape measure to your pants can sometimes be a real pain in the ass. This heavy-duty clip secures to your pants or belt and accepts just about any tape measure, holding it at the ready.
Cheap-ass Dealmongers, start your engines! Our friend Mike from ReadyMade sent in this “Bargin of the Month” promotion from True Value Hardware. If you’re willing to suffer through a mail-in rebate — and they don’t run out of stock — you can snag the following tools for free:
These promotions are available in-store only so the cost to you is your time and a stamp — and some serious patience.
Bargin of the Month [True Value]
25-Foot LeverLock Tape Measure [Stanley]
ProTouch Utility Knife [Irwin]
77-Piece Drill and Screwdriver Accessory set [Black & Decker]
Just like a Transformer, the BDSL30 level is “more than meets the eye.” Black and Decker’s new 24″ 3-in-1 “Gecko Grip” level crams power and speed into a compact little offering. The fun part: it’s basically a normal 24” level with a torpedo level that slides into one end.
When you’re working with scaled drawings, converting the dimensions from drawing to real world isn’t always easy. A new option — transparent scale ruler overlays — offers a handy DIY alternative that promises to make the job easier.
For a limited time, Rockler has several All-In-One clamp lengths on sale. To refresh your memory, an All-In-One can be used as a clamp, a fence, and edge guide, or an adjustable T-track. All-In-Ones are accurate, reliable, and can endure a fair amount of abuse.
And at $26.24, the 50″ clamp gives you the most bang for for your hard-earned buck. But bigger isn’t always better. Personally, I prefer the 36″ clamp – on sale for just $24.50 – since it can be used with greater ease on small tables and mobile project centers. Of course, if you’ve got some excess scratch, you could always buy both.
All-In-One Clamps [Rockler]
All-In-One Clamps [E. Emerson Tool Co.]
This pocket book is a great resource for anyone working in a shop. It’s designed for metal workers and machinists, but the information contained within comes in handy in lots of situations. Best of all, it’s durable enough to survive in a shop environment, and every page is coated in a glare-free laminate that resists tearing and won’t get all filthy.
www.flickr.com
|
