I’m sorting through my excess handtools and found both a Sidewinder ratchet wrench and a Squeeze ratchet wrench that I clearly have never used. We covered the Squeeze wrench back in 2007 and reactions were mixed.

While I like the idea of these tools, the reality is that I never remember I have them when they might be useful, and I certainly can do well enough without them using standard ratchet wrenches and extensions. So the question is, are these gimmicky wrenches worth it or just another hunk of steel taking up space in your stuffed toolbox? Hot or Not?

Bonus question: Are there any other specialty ratchet wrenches that are invaluable to you?

A mechanic I know at a nearby full-service shop just purchased a pretty monstrous tool chest. It’s 53” wide, has sixteen drawers, and cost around $1900. Pretty standard fare, until you get to the part where it has a built-in refrigerator and a stereo compatible with an MP3 player. The asking price isn’t bad, but this blurs the line between tool box and lifestyle statement in this writer’s mind.

Call me old-fashioned, but I have trouble seeing the point of all this. My idea of a high-tech tool storage innovation is foam-lined drawers; speakers and a fridge make this box seem like some kind of social center rather than a storage system, but maybe that’s exactly the point. So, the question is, hot or not? Let us know in comments.

The Gilmour Traveling Sprinkler is a cast iron, green-and-yellow model of the classic John Deere tractor. It follows the path you lay out with the water hose, covering up to 13,500 sq. ft. of lawn, and the manufacturer says its adjustable spray arms water at a diameter ranging from 15 to 55 ft. Gilmour also says the 2-speed traveler will follow up to 200 feet of hose before the sprinkler’s shutoff ramp automatically stops it and turns off the water.

User reviews at Amazon and at DrillSpot are a toss-up between one-star (hate it) and five-star (love it). Some folks say the sprinkler works especially well for odd-shaped yards and that kids get a kick out of it. Others complain that the gears strip themselves and the plastic internal parts fall apart right away. Are the Deere design and the cool factor of a self-propelling sprinkler enough to part with $70 - 100? Let us know in comments.

Traveling Sprinkler [Gilmour]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Street Pricing [Google]

The industry standard for knockout punches, Greenlee screw- or hydraulic-actuated two-piece piloted dies are designed to make holes in sheet metal for conduit and instruments. But what about for the weekend warrior or the guy starting out in the trade? Harbor Freight has a set of four for only $15.99, about a tenth of the price of a set of Greenlee punches. You can of course find used Greenlee brand punches for much less, if you’re lucky.

The real question is whether the Harbor Freight set works well enough, actually makes clean holes, and can survive more than one or two uses. So we ask, Hot or Not?

The Drill Doctor has become an often-seen sharpening tool in many home workshops and commercial garages since its public release in 1997. The manufacturer claims the Drill Doctor can sharpen most bit sizes depending on the model of machine you are using, so the woodworking professional can save money by turning those rusted and dull bits into usable tools time and time again. Their website has this to say about the tool:

Since its introduction in 1997, the Drill Doctor® line has sold more than two million units. All major U.S. hardware retailers, as well as distributors in some 25 nations abroad, carry the Drill Doctor® brand.

Some of the retailers who carry the Drill Doctor® today are Sears, Home Depot, Lowes, TrueValue, Ace Hardware, Do It Best, Orchard Supply Hardware, Menard’s, and Amazon.com. They are also carried extensively by auto after market and industrial tool suppliers.

Warmer weather usually means spending more time in the shop — and sometimes noticing how crappy the ol’ floor has gotten over the years. One solution some folks turn to is an epoxy coating for the garage floor, which protects against stains, is (relatively) easy to clean, and reflects more light for those under-engine jobs. Also, it needs to be applied and aired out when the air temperature is around 65-80 degrees F, so now’s a good time for a lot of people to do this project.

Rust-Oleum’s Epoxyshield products include a garage floor coating that comes in gray or tan semi-gloss finish. (It’s completely optional whether you want to throw in the decorative paint chips.) The manufacturer says the coating “protects against gasoline, antifreeze, motor oil, salt and hot tire pick-up.” They also say it cleans with soap and water, though my own experience with epoxy-coated floors says some heavy mop scrubbing may be necessary for oil stains. Street pricing for the kit runs around $70.

My question about this is whether a kit is the best way to go — or if it’s better to buy parts separately, or just hire someone to do it (concrete etching can be kinda rough, and the coating has to be applied quickly within a specified time period). And is the quality of the coating comparable to a professional job? Post your thoughts in comments.

Garage Floor Coating [Rust-Oleum]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

We’ve heard a lot about portable grills that fold like briefcases or look like Crock Pots, beer kegs, woks, or UFOs.  Is the Tool Box Grill just another novelty, or is it a decent cooker?

The construction is mostly sheet metal with a porcelain grate and shield (the heated components). The manufacturer’s site says the 10,000 BTU stainless steel burner tube provides “even cooking heat,” though user reviews cast some doubt on this. The grill’s dimensions are 19.5″ x 8.75″ x 10.5″, or 173 sq. inches of cooking surface, which is a fine size for a portable grill.  Its design lets you store tools and propane inside the box and, at 19 lbs., you can carry the whole thing in one hand.

But while a portable grill should be lightweight, the flimsy construction might require some extra care. Also, we found conflicting information about the propane tank;  the manufacturer says the grill uses a standard 1lb. “camping” style canister, while a reviewer at About.com notes that it actually takes the 14 oz. disposable bottle found in most stores’ tool section.

At around $65, this grill could be a good grab for camping, picnics, and cookouts while traveling — if the griller treats it gently and doesn’t mind low heat.  Let us know what you think in comments.

The Tool Box Grill [Hans Plads]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Modular tool-storage systems have become more common in the past few years, and recently some companies have expanded this “modular” trend to the tools themselves, allowing customers to piece together large sets, all at once, with only the tools they need.

Many tool brands are trying out this marketing approach — Snap-on, Stanley, MAC, and Craftsman, to name a few — but they all seem to offer the same, pretty standard types of modules, sold individually so you’re only buying the tools you want.  Craftsman offers about 20 different modules like the ones pictured, including wrenches, sockets, impact sets, and brake kits, and they’re designed to fit into their portable tool boxes and stationary tool chests, making it easy to mix and match the sets as needed from job to job.

So is this new modular setup a faster, simpler, easier way to buy tools, or just another attempt to rope in the less intelligent consumer?  Let us know in comments.

Craftsman Modular Tool Sets [Sears]

In the decades since it began in the 1930s, Consumer Reports has established itself as the gold standard for product testing and recommendation. Millions subscribe to the monthly magazine, and many more consult the online resource center. But is Consumer Reports really the end-all source for product recommendations?

Flip through an issue of Consumer Reports and you’ll find product reviews and recommendations on everything from appliances to lawn equipment to power tools to paint. When putting their products through the obstacle course, they test for quality in many areas — for mowers they test evenness of cut and bagging capacity; for drills they test battery charge and ability to drive in larger nails.

While it’s always cool to see your new DeWalt drill show up as a “best buy,” Consumer Reports suffers one major flaw: It can’t test longevity. Past critics have pointed out that Consumer Reports will test an item for a week at most — long enough to rate many of its features, but nowhere near long enough to get a bead on its dependability and longevity, which are important factors when buying power tools.

So, is Consumer Reports a Hot resource, or does its inability to test longevity leave it in the Not category when it comes to buying tools? Let us know in comments.

Consumer Reports [Official Site]

Pulling the starter cord on a lawn mower is nobody’s favorite pastime, but have things really gotten so bad that we need to start our mowers with the turn of a key?

Over the past 10 years or so, we’ve seen a lot of companies expanding their lines of electric-start lawn mowers, and now you can find models by Toro, Honda, Craftsman, Lawn-Boy, and Snapper at all the major home improvement stores and even at lots of small independent dealers.

Most retailers market these easy-to-start mowers to the elderly and to people recovering from surgery or with recurring injuries.  But that begs the question:  Should a person who can’t muster enough strength to pull a cord really be put behind the controls of a 60lb gas engine with a rapidly spinning metal blade on the end of it?

Of course, the other point may well be that we’re just lazy and don’t want to pull the cord.

So, are electric-start mowers a hot solution, allowing everyone the freedom to mow their lawn despite physical limitations or injuries?  Or are they just one step further on the long path to a lazy American population not willing to pull a simple cord to get some work done?  Let us know in comments.

Street Pricing [Google]

For the very first time this weekend I had to return something to the local Home Depot.  I hate returning things to the store — the entire process depresses me.  First, for whatever reason, you realize that the item you spent precious time shopping for isn’t going to work.  Then you have to go all the way back to the same store you left not an hour ago.  And finally, after waiting for what seems like forever, you get to the cashier who interrogates you as if you’ve just smuggled something illegal into the country.  It’s a sad series of events most of the time;  however that wasn’t the case this weekend at the Depot.

Not only was there no line on a Saturday afternoon at the return counter, but I was not interrogated, and after the cashier verified that the box was indeed what it said it was, she popped a drawer, gave me my cash back, smiled, and sent me on my way.  I was shocked.  I had prepared for a battle — what I got was service.

It was like getting a scratch-off win:  You don’t really have any more money than you did five minutes ago, but you’re happy.  I’m curious if this was a fluke or a common occurrence for the tool-returning masses. What say you, consumers?  Is the Home Depot return counter a bastion of sanity, or did I just catch the rare upside of a normally Grinch-like system?  Let us know in comments.

Home Depot [Website]

About two years ago, we asked what you thought about manual reel mowers, and the response was a pretty solid Hot.  But back then we were only asking about non-powered reel mowers, and in the meantime we’ve been seeing a lot more gas-powered reel mowers on the market.  Naturally we wonder if these burly-engined counterparts are as hot as their manual cousins.

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The war rages on between Toolmongers who favor store-bought shop storage and benches and those who prefer to build it themselves.  In the Toolmonger shop we’ve always had some of each — we support the DIY ethos, but who really has time to build their rolling tool chests?   Still, we’re curious about store-bought systems, like Whirlpool’s Gladiator line, that try to address all your storage issues.

Storage systems like the Gladiator consist of benches, cabinets, wall components, and flooring, available in configurable chunks so you can create the setup you need and stay flexible.  But most folks point out first-thing that these store-bought systems don’t really handle everything, which is true — only custom-built rigs can.

The next comment is about price:  the store-bought gear is expensive.  For instance, the Gladiator 6’ modular bench with a steel frame and solid maple top will run you about $530.  A home-built bench that serves the same function might cost half that or less, and the cash you save could be put to good use buying tools and doing projects.

In many shops we find a mix of both:  buy what you can’t, or don’t want to, build and make the rest yourself.  In the end, getting the shop “just right” is far less important than what you do in it.  If you happen to wind up with a mash-up of gear, so be it — interior designers call that “character.”

So what do you think?  Let us know in comments.

Gladiator Garage System [GarageWorks]
6′ Modular Workbench [GarageWorks]

We’re hard-pressed to see why anybody would pay $75 for the Professional Bigslider Utility Mover.  It seems to be a beefed-up version of those roll-up slides that you hated when you were a kid.  In the interest of fairness we’ll give you the spiel before we ask your opinion.

You place the Bigslider underneath heavy objects up to 500lbs to slide them around on just about any surface including grass, concrete, carpet, and tile. The 2′ x 5′ x 1/16″ thick flexible plastic sheet weighs 3 pounds.  You can also roll the Bigslider into a cylinder and insert it into your trash bags to keep ‘em open while filling them.

Brush off and clean the Bigslider with water and mild soap as needed.  Obviously the Bigslider is easy to store — you can hang it, put it on a shelf, or place it behind the bench like you’d store that giant piece of cardboard you put under the car when changing the oil — but just don’t store it in direct sunlight.

So would you pay $75 for this product if you needed to slide around some heavy objects, or would you pass?  Is the Bigslider Hot or Not?  Let us know in the comments.

Professional Bigslider [Official Site]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Sometimes the answer seems so obvious once the question is asked.  The 4″x6″-capacity metal-cutting bandsaw is a ubiquitous import — you can get it from Harbor Freight, Grizzly, Northern Tool, and most other machine tool suppliers. The prices have risen over the years, but list prices hover around the $250 mark, and they’re often on sale.

While they do have some shortcomings, you can find a ton of information about modifications on the web — one of the best sites is Mini-Lathe.com.  The 4×6 saws also benefit from a quality blade, such as the Olson blades I use on mine.

In the Hot category I can only say that every project I work on begins on the bandsaw, and the ability of such a cheap tool to slog through a large piece of steel still amazes me.  In the Not category?  I can’t even come up with a good reason not to get one.

But what do you all think?  Hot or Not?  Let us know in comments.

After accidentally kicking the front access panel off the dryer, I noticed that it’s time to clean out all the lint buildup.  While I’m at it I figured I should probably clean the vent, too — in searching for an easy method to do this I found Harbor Freight’s vent cleaning brush.

Besides reducing the fire hazard, cleaning your vent supposedly improves the efficiency of your dryer — who wouldn’t want that?  The brush’s nylon bristles are mounted on a 10ft flexible steel shaft. The idea is you run the brush through a length of vent pipe, either by hand or chucked into your drill.  This loosens the lint stuck to the sides of the pipe.  Then you either blow the lint out the pipe or suck it out with a shop vac.

Is there any reason to splurge for more than the $3 Harbor Freight version, or is even that too much to pay because these type of brushes don’t really do much?  Is this tool hot or not?  Let us know in the comments.

Vent Brush [Harbor Freight]

I was reminded of Ben’s excellent post on vacuuming the ash in your fireplace when I was cleaning mine out a few days ago.  I’ve always just waited till the ash was cold, then I bust out a brush and dustpan.  With a price tag of over a hundred bucks, are ash vacuums really worth it?

I know that the regular old unmodified shop-vac will turn your living room into an ashen fallout zone, but can the specialized fireplace vac be used for other things?  That’s an awful lot of space taken up to just clean the fireplace.

Is the powered way just that much better, or does your name need to be Casanova before you actually run that many fires through your fireplace for this to become worthwhile?  Let us know in comments.

Cougar Ash Vacuum [Love-less Ash Company]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]