Is it a jack that can clamp, or is it a clamp that can jack? That’s the question. FastCap’s Jack of All Trades functions as a jack, a clamp, and a spreader — it seems like an ideal tool for a kitchen remodeler. It can lift cabinets or heavy doors into place, pull together hardwood or laminate flooring, or hold two cabinets while screwing them together.

As a jack it can lift up to 70 lbs, up to 15-1/4″ high. The notched base allows the 1/8″ thick metal hook to rest directly on the floor, making it easy to maneuver the “Jack” under cabinets. As a spreader, it can spread up to 23″. And as a clamp, its 2-1/4″ deep jaws can open up to 13.3″. Like most quick-clamps, it features a quick-release lever.

(more…)

If you’re in the market for a cheap portable workbench, you can pick up this Denali benchtop work stand over at Amazon for $20. The bench’s steel frame and strong bamboo top will hold a hefty 60 lbs, and the whole unit weighs a reasonable 7-1/2 lbs. You can secure the workstation to most smooth surfaces with four heavy-duty suction cups.

The worktop features a protractor and ruler, in both SAE and metric units. You can insert the four included pegs into 18 available slots. You’ll have to throw another $5 worth of merch into your cart to qualify for the free shipping, which is a better value than paying the standard shipping rate.

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

Measuring miters got you on edge? This miter hook from Veritas can take the pain out of accurately measuring mitered trim. It hooks onto the miter and provides a reference point exactly even with the miter on either the inside or outside corners.

(more…)

Conventional feather boards exert downward force at the point where the bit removes material. This results in the tendency of the panel to tip towards the bit. Bench Dog’s Panel-Loc solves this problem by moving the hold-down pressure two inches away from the fence, where the table fully supports the panel.

The Panel-Loc isn’t just useful for panels — it works well for most router operations on wider boards. The hold-down strip won’t mar the workpiece surface because it’s made from a low-friction, ultra-high molecular weight plastic. The Panel-Loc also makes cutting panels safer, since the wide hold-down doubles as a guard to protect your digits from large bits.

The Panel-Loc comes with a 20″ T-Loc track which mounts to most fences, including all Bench Dog router tables and fences. Expect to pay about $60 for the Panel-Loc.

Panel-Loc [Bench Dog]
Panel-Loc [Rockler]

Steve Good from the Scrollsaw Workshop put together these videos for people looking to buy a scroll saw. He runs through some of the features he thinks are important to look for when deciding which saw to purchase. So what’s his number one feature to look for? The scroll saw should have a quick blade-changing mechanism, preferably tool-less.

Scrollsaw Workshop [Blogspot]
What To Look For In A Scroll Saw Part One [YouTube]
Selecting A Scroll Saw Part Two [YouTube]

We’ve mentioned pint-sized dust collectors on Toolmonger before, but here’s an even tinier one. The Razaire Dust Management System measures a minute 11″ x 11″ x 6″ and weighs only 7-1/4 lbs — your first laptop computer was probably bigger than this. Razertip Industries even built in a carrying handle.  They obviously meant for this dust collector to be portable.

What this little guy lacks in size, it makes up for in flow. With its variable speed fan it can achieve a flow rate up to 530 CFM in free air, and it does so quietly. While that’s impressive, its performance under load really tells the tale. The impeller will move air all the way up to 1-1/2″ static pressure. The best description of the Razaire 530’s power comes from this blurb at Chipping Away — “at high settings it can pull very fine dust particles right through the filter!”

(more…)

Your average grinder comes with small platforms to hold your work on while you let the sparks fly. If you use your grinder to sharpen chisels, carving tools, or turning tools, you sometimes have to freehand your grinding to get the right edge. The Wolverine jig by Oneway helps you get the right edge on your tools with ease.

Before you start grinding, you have to mount two holders, included with the Wolverine jig, under your grinding wheels. These holders can accept a variety of different jigs. The basic setup comes with two jigs — a platform jig and a vee arm. You can easily adjust the height and pitch of the 3″ by 5″ platform jig. The vee arm can hold long chisels and gouges, allowing you to get a consistent grind by simply moving the tool from side to side. You can move and adjust both jigs with just a turn of a cam handle.

(more…)

So you twisted the head off a brass wood screw — bummer. If you try to back out the remaining screw with a reverse-thread screw extractor, you may just deform the soft brass rather than remove it.  And if you grab the broken screw with pliers, you could end up doing more damage. It might be time to try these broken screw extractors from WoodCraft.

(more…)

Next time you really want to remove some material, pick up a rotary chisel from Creative Technologies. They claim these high-speed rotary chisels “will remove material faster and cleaner than anything currently available.” Besides chucking them into your dremel you also can use the cutters in rotary woodcarving tools and high-speed die grinders.

(more…)

Conventional rollers work just fine for some operations, but positioned incorrectly as table saw out-feed supports, they can push your workpiece to one side or another. A better option, ball bearing rollers allow smooth movement in any direction — so a misaligned out-feed support won’t skew the workpiece.

(more…)

You have to replace shop vacuum bags frequently to keep the vacuum working at peak efficiency. And different tasks require different filters, e.g. a paper filter for drywall dust and a foam filter for cleaning up after a leaky drain. CleanStream offers a reusable shop vacuum filter that can be used wet or dry. You can remove dirt and dust with a few firm taps on a hard surface (outside!), or you can clean it more thoroughly by rinsing the filter out under the tap.

(more…)

Our shop? Totally full of sawdust/metal chips/mess. We like the idea of a shop that’s full of tools you actually use. Toolmonger’s own Nick Carter sent in this fine example of his work space a few days ago. Though it’s not clean and shiny — there are enough metal shavings lying around to make you itch for a week — Nick obviously loves to work in his shop. You can’t ask for more than that.

We dig the bins and storage spaces under the lathe. This shop sees a lot of projects get completed — a solid reminder that it’s not what the shop looks like but what you can build in it that counts.

Toolmonger’s Photo Pool [Flickr]

Transmission jacks don’t come cheap — they usually start around $500 — so it doesn’t make sense to buy one for that rare occasion when you have to tear out the tranny on your ‘87 dually. Eastwood offers a more affordable solution: a transmission jack adapter that fits any jack with a 1-1/8″ post-style saddle. Just pull off the stock cup, put this unit in its place, and get to jackin’. Pricing is $85.

Transmission Jack Adapter [Eastwood]

Grizzly sells a jig that lets you turn blanks up to 24″ long in any drill press with a hole through the table. It’s a great low-cost alternative to a lathe — especially if you don’t do enough turning to justify the expense of a dedicated tool.

(more…)

Ever nicked your hand changing the blade in your table saw? The Saw-Jaw may be just the safety accessory for you. Changing a table saw blade involves using wrenches around a sharp blade — one slip and either you put a wrench into the brittle carbide teeth or, worse, your hand. Even though the blade isn’t spinning, it can still do a number on unprotected flesh. The Saw-Jaw encloses and protects the blade (and your hands) so you can complete the job safely.

(more…)

A small workbench is where most projects in the home shop start. Even if you’ve built yourself a beautiful big bench, smaller foldable units like the Black and Decker Workmate are often extremely handy to have around. The problem with most of the old orange-and-black standbys is that they’re heavy and a pain in the ass to unfold and setup. The X Frame model Workmate from Black and Decker aims to ease some of that pain.

The X Frame is smaller and lighter than a standard workmate and boasts a 350 pound weight capacity — but that isn’t the good part. The X Frame opens like a TV tray for easy setup and tear down. We dig that.

The question, though: is the trade off of sturdy vs. light-and-easy really what you need in the shop? Let us know what you think in comments.

Street pricing starts at $30.

X Frame [Black and Decker]
Street pricing [Google Product Search]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Fastcap’s third hand support may not be the cheapest support pole on the market, but it’s hard to beat a company that actually gives you instructions on how to shorten their product with a hacksaw! It’s unclear whether they honor their lifetime guarantee and no charge replacement parts after that operation, though.

(more…)