Humping old tires all day can wear a Toolmonger out.  But the Wheelfloat can make tire maintenance jobs easier than ever;  it’ll handle singles or dual tires with a weight of up to 130 pounds.  Too bad it won’t work with those loaded tractor tires — the last time one of mine fell over, I ended up using an engine hoist to upright it.

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With the Spectrum 625 X-treme, Miller is rapidly approaching what would’ve been considered science fiction about twelve years ago.  We can forgive the overused “X-treme” moniker because this 40-amp plasma cutter is literally smaller than a shoebox.

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If you’ve been bleeding your brake fluid or other hydraulic fluids with a hand-powered vacuum pump, the Vacula DX 2.5 pump can make the job easier, especially if you’re doing it by yourself.  Connect the DX 2.5 to your shop’s air compressor and it’ll bleed up to 2-1/2 liters of fluid from that hydraulic system — then flip a switch and it’ll empty the waste fluid through the same bleed hose.

The DX 2.5 is equipped with two overpressure valves to protect the operator, and it sells for about $190.

DX 2.5 [Vacula]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Like a lot of people, I often forget to drain my air compressor.  It’s not a big enough problem that I’m gonna shell out for a high-tech, high-dollar automatic compressor drain, but I’m willing to give this low-buck Harbor Freight version a look.

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If you’re looking for a lift, the MaxJax two-post auto lift looks like an economical and space-saving option.  It can lift 6,000 pounds up to 45” in the air in about 30 seconds using regular household voltage of 110 or 120 volts — and when you’re finished with it, you can store the MaxJax in a space a little larger than a standard tool chest.

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Delta’s Unisaw has been kicking around longer than most tool guys out there today.  Over the years they’ve changed it to fit the times and added a few things here and there that make it a little more pleasant to deal with — this March, Delta’s launching the latest incarnation of this famous saw system, and they’ll be accepting pre-orders in a matter of days.

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With this Craftsman Master Rethreader Set you can easily recondition those dirty, gummed, nicked, and just-plain-nasty old fasteners. The rethreader works slowly down the threads and cleans them, and it’ll also help correct those crossed threads, but it won’t cut new threads — you’ll need a regular cutting tap and die set for that.

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Snap-on’s new specialty funnel, for certain Honda, Acura, Nissan, Dodge Cummins, and Ford Diesel vehicles, features threads so you can screw it into the oil filler inlet.   They advertise the funnel as one you “fill with oil and walk away from” — if you’re willing to pay through the nose for it.

The Snap-on funnel sells for $30, so you’d need to perform quite a few oil changes to make this one pay for itself.  As a shadetree mechanic I can just wait the 30 seconds.

Threaded Oil Filler (PDF) [Snap-on]

If you’re not a professional transmission shop and don’t have the money for a full-time transmission jack, you might appreciate this more economical solution, Harbor Freight’s Transmission Adapter.  The adapter is meant to work with a Harbor Freight jack with a 1-1/4″ saddle, but mine fit on my Craftsman two-and-a-half-ton floor jack — and no parallel universes opened when the two tools met.

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This photo by reader and Flickr pool member Gareth.ky caught our eye — we’re not sure why, but there seems to be something in the middle of the shot that makes us smile. What could that be? We can almost put our finger on it.

Kidding aside, shameless flaunting of our Tool Talk podcast at least deserves a wink and a nod. Not only is Gareth demonstrating excellent taste, he’s also observing our “stereo in the shop” rule, the importance of which can’t be overstated.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

How many times have you taken a ride on that trusty old creeper only to get hung up on a cord, some gravel, or a grate? The Bone series of creepers will handle these obstacles and many more.

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If you’re looking to tune your table saw, referencing from a blade isn’t the most precise way — the blade could be warped or dirty, and those sharp teeth can get in the way.  To combat this problem and give you the most precise alignment possible MasterGage sells their MasterPlate, a solid 6″ by 10″ by 3/8″ aluminum plate that replaces the blade while you tune your saw.

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Choose from three different models of the Nifty Clip to keep your pencils, pens, nail sets, or center punches in the right place.  The Hat Clip model attaches to the band of your hat, and the Adhesive Clip model attaches to nearly any hard surface. The Golf Clip version attaches to your hat like the regular Hat Clip but also features a magnet so it can hold a ball marker.

All three models could serve any Toolmonger very well. Either hat clip model will provide a vehicle to transport pens and pencils, but the magnetic model could hold a small fastener in place of the golf ball marker. The adhesive model can attach to a vehicle, hard hat, stationary tool, or tool chest.

Street pricing starts at about $1 for a single clip.

Nifty Clip [Corporate Site]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

A few years ago, before we’d figured out how the shop would actually work, we would experience a curious phenomenon which Chuck half-jokingly referred to as “Tool Explosion” — tools would be everywhere, out of order and difficult to find on cue, especially when I was working an automotive project.  Then, thankfully, the tool cart came into play.

This simple Harbor Freight cart has helped contain tool explosion so much, it’s become the central hub of the shop.  If you want to know which tools we prefer over any other, look in the cart — we don’t put away our favorites.

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BernzOmatic recently announced the addition of Max Power Propylene fuel to their environmentally-friendly Fat Boy fuel cylinder line.  Though it’s not earth-shattering by any stretch, it tells us that someone’s home at BernzOmatic.

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Create fine dovetail joinery on your small box projects with Rockler’s miniature dovetail template.  This 3/8″-thick template mounts on Rockler’s own dovetail jig and allows you to create 1/4″ through-dovetails with either 1/2″ or 5/8″ spacing.  The template will work on panels up to 5-1/2″ wide and on stock from 1/8″ to 1/4″ thick.

Rockler includes the template, template guide, 1/4″ dovetail bit, 1/8″ straight bit, and a 1/4″ to 1/8″ collet reducer in their $60 kit.  To fit through the template guide, the included bits have 1/8″ shanks, which is why they include the collet reducer.  Of course, you need to already own the Rockler dovetail jig to use this kit.

Mini Dovetail Template [Rockler]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

For holding miters together while gluing, reader fred recommended the Clam Clamp as an alternative to spring miter clamps.   The Clam Clamp holds the work pieces together so securely that you can pick them up and carry them around while the glue is still wet.

Chestnut Tool designed the Clam Clamp specifically to make the assembly of door and window casings faster and simpler.  With one half-turn of the handle the unique cam design secures the miter joint.  But how does it stay in place, you ask?  Little nickle-plated alloy pins perpendicular to the jaw bite into the wood to keep it in place.  It does leave a few easily filled dimples in the edge of the wood, but so would spring clamps or nails.

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