Ok, so it’s not meant to be deadly, but it sure looks that way to us. This drill employs microwaves to drill through concrete, stone – and even glass without breaking it. And it produces no dust or noise, either. Of course, stray microwaves can effectively cook your internal organs if you’re not paying attention, so, um, pay attention.
Here’s another tool for breaking s#@! from the firefighters’ playbook. It’s called the Rabbit Tool by most, although it’s officially the Hydra-Ram. Whereas many of the other fire and rescue tools we’ve featured require some pretty violent swinging force — or a powerful pneumatic or hydraulic power source — to get the job done, the Rabbit Tool just needs one guy squeezing the handle and the tool together.
Thanks to MSA Safety Works and their line of NFL hard hats, you can now break s#!$, support for your favorite football team, and protect your melon all at the same time! These hard hats meet industry standards and (most importantly) feature bright, colorful logos that you can proudly wear in public. Not only do they look good, but these hats are said to be comfortable enough to wear through an entire game project.
Dubbed the KATool by manufacturer Council, its “KA” supposedly stands for Kwik Access — but it could just as easily be Kick Ass. We hear that firefighters love this tool because it’s a classic fast attack tool, allowing you to tear up a wall quickly to check for fire extension, cut wires, clear doors, etc. And we hear they particularly like like the fact that it’s light enough to carry into a fire along with all their other gear.
This video of the Calder cooling towers falling down looks so similar to the nuclear plant in the Simpson’s home town of Springfield that I kept waiting to hear Homer’s voice over the crowd — “DOH!”
Still, this is some seriously cool breaking s#!$.
It’s a pry bar. It’s a nail puller. It’s a hammer. It’s a pick. It’s yet another demolition multi-tool with a kick-ass name: the Demo Dawg. Designed by a remodeler to simplify many of his back-breaking tasks, the Demo Dawg helps remove drywall, tear up flooring and roofing, tear out cabinets, and even relocate a landscape planting.
Don’t let getting hit in the head by flying debris stop your demolition fun — especially when you can pick up this hard hat is from Mfasco for under $4. Is it the best hard hat around? We doubt it. But every bit of damage this cheap-ass hat soaks up is damage you won’t take to the head.
The Radians #300 Safety Hard Hat features a snap adjustment and meets ANSI Z89.1-1997, Type 1, Class E g and C standards for helmets. And it rings up at $3.92 — which means you have no excuse for not owning one.
Plus, if nothing else you could wear it with a suit and be Max Zorin for halloween.
Radian 300 Hard Hat [Mfasco]
Street Pricing [Google Product]
Often cordless tools serve as the “little brothers” of their more powerful corded siblings. But recent advances in battery technology have enabled tools that break that mold — like Ridgid’s MaxSelect reciprocating saw. Though it accepts the older Ridgid 18V NiCd batteries (use ‘em if you got ‘em), slapping in the latest 24V lithium-ion pack makes it really shine. Read on past the jump to see if the Ridgid can stand up to some major demolition testing.
The AMPCO 7920 German-type sledge hammer will run you $900 on Amazon. Believe it or not, this 23.79 pound — when you pay almost $40 a pound you want to be accurate – German-type sledge serves a practical purpose. Its non-sparking, non-magnetic, corrosion-resistant, beryllium free head meets OSHA and NFPA requirements for use in hazardous, flammable, or combustible environment. So you can break s#!$ just about anywhere.
If that isn’t enough to make you run out and buy one right now, AMPCO’s offers a lifetime warranty. (They don’t specify whether that lifetime is the tools or yours, though. We hear toxic waste can sting.)
Don’t forget to read the reviews on Amazon as you rush to purchase this sledge — they’re quite amusing.
AMPCO 7920 [Manufacturer]
Via Amazon
TM reader and Flickr pool member donaldsquire posted this photo of him and his helper in the demolition phase of remodeling their kitchen. From what we can see, this room is in pretty good — if ungloved — hands.
It just goes to show that you’re never to young to help Dad rip stuff up. I know it would have ranked tops with me when I was his age.
And yes, we’re sending two pairs of gloves, even though one pair might take a while to grow into.
Toolmonger’s Photo Pool [Flickr]
Like Stephen said in a recent Dealmonger post, firefighters are the kings of breaking s#!$. Here’s another tool from their get-through-the-wall-fast-or-die arsenal: the T-N-T tool. It’s a true five-in-one multi-tool — an axe, a sledge hammer, a pry bar, a ram, and a D-handled pull hook.
And by “fix” we mean “reduce to a smoking hole and a puddle of molten metal.” Thermite is a mixture of powdered aluminum and a metallic oxide like iron oxide (rust) or copper oxide. Igniting the powder at about 1,400 degrees F triggers an aluminothermic reaction in which the oxygen that’s bound to the iron oxidizes the aluminum dust. The result: pure iron, aluminum oxide, and a ridiculous amount of heat, topping out around 4,500 degrees F.
Ever wonder how firefighters bust through interior walls so quickly to save kids hiding in the closet? Watch and learn: at Maker Faire Austin last weekend we held a competition to see who could get through three interior walls first armed with nothing but Stanley’s on-shelves-in-January FuBar III.
Our competitors: Megan Miller (of PopSci Future Girl fame) and her PopSci cohort Nick Mann.
The rules: tear through the three identical interior walls as quickly as possible with nothing but the FuBar III. Remove all studs. To stop the clock and claim victory, smash and shatter a pumpkin frozen in liquid nitrogen by Theo Gray, PopSci’s resident Mr. Wizard and author of their monthly Gray Matter column.
The victor? Watch the video to find out!
Anyone who’s seen The Terminator knows that robots are out to get us. Need further proof that Skynet is nigh? The Swedish company Brokk offers a line of compact demo-bots for all sorts of dangerous demolition jobs. They’re popular in the nuclear power industry where radioactive contamination is an, um, issue. These particular models are remotely operated via a wired or wireless control box – to limit the operator’s exposure to dangerous environments and to prevent fatigue from vibration — but it’s just a short step to sending them out to do your demo work all by themselves.
Ingersoll-Rand’s workhorse rock drill is mean. It can drill a 2″ wide hole up to 18” deep into solid rock — perfect for when the s#!$ you need to break is made of stone. And just think how cool you’ll look weilding it!
“Better get the Jaws of Life,” is not a phrase that you want to hear after you wreck your car. But thankfully for you, your local emergency crews have the foresight to own Hurst’s Jaws of Life — which has snatched people from the jaws of death for over three decades. Now Hurst is introducing an improved combination spreader/cutter version: the X-Tractor C.
The ultimate way to break s$#! is to blow it up, and the folks over at Gerber offer a multi-tool designed especially for the trained demolition techicians whose job we all covet. The Gerber Multi-Plier 600 Demolition Explosive Technician Tool is the only multi-tool certified for explosive ordinance disposal units and follows U.S. miltary specifications.
The tool includes a non-reflective black coating, a blasting cap crimper, and a universal saw coupler with remGritT saw. You also get a standard cross point screwdriver, large, meduim, and small flat- blade screwdrivers, a file, a bottle opener, a lanyard, and a nice ballistic nylon sheath.
And right now you can pick one up from Snapberry for just $79.05 with $8 shipping.
G7400 DET Tool [Gerber Tools]
Gerber G7400 DET [Snapberry]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
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