We like to discover tools from around the world and to try and figure out what they’re used for — even common items like a wrench might look different somewhere else.  Reader Noel found this Lithuanian spanner on eBay.  Even though we’re not sure exactly what it was designed for, a spanner is a spanner no matter where in the world it comes from.

The maker’s mark is in Russian, so unless someone can read it or recognizes the brand, Noel may never know its origin.  He says it swings to adjust to the proper size, then stays tight as you use it, which makes sense since we don’t see any other mechanism.

Nice find, Noel — we’re always suckers for strange, old tools ourselves.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

Few people, when asked, “What did you do this weekend, man?” can truthfully answer, “Completely refurbed a boat, from the keel up.”  Reader Tmib_seattle, one of those proud few, brought his rickety old boat home and completely transformed it from old-busted to new-hotness.

Check out the pictures in the pool to see the vessel before and after.  Tmib reworked and patched all the glasswork, ripped off and replaced the wood trim, and added a set of wheels to help move the little boat around — not to mention the spongy paintwork that now adorns the hull.

We’re guessing the only thing left is the sink-or-swim test.  We wish you luck, sir –- and well done!  Be sure to check out the rest of Tmib’s sweet project shots in the photo pool.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

We dig reader Beano_t’s work because of pictures like this.  He doesn’t star in his own high-buck TV show; he just makes things better around the house –- a lot.  His latest project involved a little sanding in the dining room.

The large drum sander pictured on the left helped out with the mammoth task of taking the oak floor down to a refinishable state — Beano obviously had the system down pretty well to get a nice, uniform-looking floor. I’ve always been rather terrified of creating a hill-laden mess. I hear from others that the giant sanders aren’t really that hard to use once you get used to ‘em, but I’d say the jury’s still out on that if it’s me behind the drum.

The only thing left now is to seal/stain it, so we wonder if Beano is going dark or light in his treatment.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

I’ve always had the greatest respect for the guys who drive the trash truck.  They often get a raw deal when it comes to public opinion;  much of their work goes unnoticed because people are busy doing other things and they take it for granted that trash pickup just happens.  At Toolmonger we know it doesn’t “just happen” — many dedicated men and women get up at the crack of dawn and bust ass to make it seem that way.

Reader Fredboness posted up this great video of the modern trash truck. Two of these trucks come around every week –- one for trash and the other for recycling.  The days of guys hanging off the back snatching cans may be numbered, but the giant, can-grabbing arm has got to be fun to play with. The funny part is that everyone who happens to catch a glimpse of them doing their thing will always watch the arm in action at least once.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

In this great action shot, reader Vincent Ma cuts some stone for his latest backyard project and shows off his hard-won work clothes.

Using an angle grinder from Canadian Tire, and a Norton diamond blade, I can score grooves in the brick in order to snap the “wings” off the Celtik wall unit. This way I can make beveled units for curved sections of the wall.

My work pants are nearing their end. Here a giant rip opened up and all I can do is duct-tape it to prevent my underwear from showing. Yes, I do know how to sew, but I don’t wanna bother with it.

Never feel bad about working so hard that your work clothes can’t take the strain. The only idiots who’ll make fun of you for that are the same people who’d hire out the project you just did with your bare hands. The duct tape just means you value one type of work over another this weekend — nothing wrong with that.  Also, the stones look great.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

For some reason I get sentimental about old machines put out to pasture this way.  I don’t know why it’s here or even who made it — it’s just on old stamping machine that outlived its time.  Reader Goblirschrolf posted it up to the photo pool recently, and I’ve gone back to look at it several times.

I’m sure it has a story — at one time or another it was the pride of the shop, tirelessly punching out little bits of something that made the world a fraction better.  And now here it sits, its story pretty much forgotten, and about all that’s in the future for it now is to be melted down or stripped for parts.

Of course, if you’re the dog trolling the scrap yards and you happen to come upon a sweet motor and gears like these, then I suppose you could argue that it’s a new life for it, of sorts.  Either way, it’s a great shot of a thoroughly interesting old rig.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

Reader Jey_lux posted this pic of his shop setup, which shows the benefits of mixing store-bought and home-built storage — his bins and future shelves seem to work well with the prefab units.  And we have to award some style points for the traffic light, one of our old-school favorites.

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Without a doubt, our favorite projects around the homestead are the ones that both solve a constant problem and are cheap to do -– with bonus points awarded if the resulting concoction happens to look good.  Reader Ethernectar built this garden bench this weekend to solve his outdoor storage issues, and he achieved all three goals.

It’s a simple bench with plenty of room for potting or other garden-type activities, and it didn’t cost a bunch.  Add in the fact that the entire project, including a trip to the big box, took less than a day from start to finish, and you’ve got a win all the way around.  Well done, Ethernectar!

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

Reader Simple Simon’s sweet photo of this industrial-looking Canadian Buffalo drill press piqued my interest and inspired me to find out more about it. The key word here is industrial, and as it turns out, though the Canadian Buffalo brand is new to me, the company is old –- very old.

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Noel Hankamer has built up a badass collection of wrenches, and it seems the Alvin Historical Museum agrees — they’ve put a portion of Noel’s collection on display for the next few months.

Just looking at the pics he loaded up is impressive, and we encourage anyone in the Houston area to go check out the exhibit.  From what we can tell, the large case holds dozens of monkey, pipe, bicycle, and alligator wrenches.

All of ‘em look pretty old but well taken care of.  Hats off to Noel for collecting these treasures, which the uninformed might incorrectly call “junk,” and for being gracious enough to loan them out to the Alvin Historical Museum, who had the good sense to put them on display.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]
Alvin Historical Museum [Blog]

Reader Simple Simon posted up this image of a Beijing hardware boutique shop.  It’s funny — I’ve never been to China, and the layout is obviously a little different than what I’m used to, but this storefront still feels familiar.  I guess no matter where it is or what language it’s in, construction supplies are construction supplies.

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Reader Whiteforge had a great week. Not only did he attend a blacksmith conference but he walked away with the sweetest raffle prize of the event.

I won this in a raffle at the Southeastern Blacksmith Conference in Madison, Ga. this week in. A well spent $20.00. This was built by John Wayne Taylor at Dogwood Forge in Al.

That is about the coolest raffle prize I have ever seen sir. Of course it helps that it was a room full of folks that are good at building gear and working with metal. What else would you offer a bunch so skilled with the forge but tools?

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

The art of finding deals is very simple — start looking in places where people go to get rid of things.  The quintessential place to do that here in the states is at flea markets, those mythical places where proof of bargains can be neither confirmed or denied.  However, reader Jey_lux offers up proof and posts up his latest score from what turned out to be a profitable trip to his local flea market.

He bought this sweet vintage vise, 40 lbs. of solid American iron, for the tender sum of $10, and he was offered five times what he paid for it before he could even lug its mass off the grounds.  Now it’s sitting pretty in his shop, ready to do what it was designed for –- to hold stuff and last forever.  Nice find.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

It seems reader Beano_t is always busy, and this weekend was no exception.  The old plastic hose reel at his place wasn’t getting the job done, so Beano built one himself.  It’s not glorious work and probably won’t win him any praise — but to those of us with our hoses falling off of cracking plastic, it looks great.

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After seeing his how-to on Instructables, I’ve been saying, “Eggman, the Noisemaker,” Mentos-style, all morning.  I can see many places in everyday life where this thing and a hearty rebel yell would be appropriate:  office meetings, standing in line at the bank — you know, somber occasions that need a little livening up.

Joking aside, reader Eggman is the man.  I love this thing, and I might have to build one myself, but I’ll make mine a little bigger and more obnoxious –- just for the hell of it.  We tip our hats to you, sir, for a finely crafted piece of fun.

And remember, noisemakers don’t annoy people — people annoy people.

Wooden Ratchet Noisemaker [Instructables]
Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

This photo shows how reader 787b can work on his babies even when it’s been raining for a week.  He’s out there when the sun’s shining, too — the only difference is that now the garage door is closed.

This basement doubles as 787b’s garage and shop, and from what we can tell, it’s more than up to the task. Overlooking the generous space for a moment, 787 is also sporting air tools, a makeshift transmission dolly, and enough hand tools to strip his rides down and refit them.

Looks like a great setup to us.  We’ll perform a similar operation on our bruised-up shop truck in the next few weeks.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

Reader Goblirschrolf wanted a gunstock mount for his Minolta Maxxum 9000 and 400mm tele lens, but he  didn’t want to spend a lot of cash for it.  Camera gunstocks used to be pretty big twenty or thirty years ago but can be a touch hard to find now.  A little time in the shop and a foot or two of electrical tape later Goblirschrolf wound up with this rig.

Some might ask, “Can’t you just go buy one?”  Yes, yes you can, but that’s missing the point.  This stock is custom-fit for its purpose, and Goblirschrolf probably had a lot of fun fashioning it.  Plus he can freak out old people if he flashes it real fast and looks suspicious — that makes it all worthwhile.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]