We recently found something interesting at Brownells gunsmithing supply — they tested how well a number of substances prevented rust.  The results surprised us:  Plain old WD-40 was the most successful in keeping rust from forming on a mild steel surface, outperforming many other substances engineered specifically the job.

So what do you think, Hot or Not?  Let us know in comments.

Knowing the Limits of Rust Preventatives [Brownells]

A super-hot instant flame can help you out on tons of jobs, like cutting braided cable or carefully applying heat-shrink tubing.  On Harbor Freight’s site I came across this $7 micro torch which seems comparable to its “mainstream” counterparts — it’s self-starting and refillable, with a 35-minute run-time. But how does it really stack up? Is it a piece of junk, or do some of you actually work with one regularly and reliably?

I’m guessing that in comparison to other torches this thing probably flops, but I want to hear from you:  Hot or Not?  Let us know in comments.

Micro Torch [Harbor Freight]
Street Pricing [Google]

Chicago Electric makes this inexpensive chainsaw sharpener that sells for $35 at Harbor Freight.  Sure, the quality of tools purchased from Harbor Freight can be suspect, but how can you screw up a chainsaw sharpener?

The 0.5″ to 0.8″ capacity vice on this sharpener adjusts from 0-35° to the right or left.  The 115V, 0.75A ball bearing motor spins the 4-1/4″-diameter by 1/8″-thick grinding wheel at 4,200 RPM.  A safety guard covers most of the wheel, exposing only the section that comes into contact with the chain.  You can either hold the sharpener in a vise or mount it to your bench or garage wall.

The question before us today: Can buying this cheap chainsaw sharpener be a better deal than doing it the old-fashioned way with a guide and a file?  Or does doing it yourself even make sense when you can pay $10 for a professional to do it?  Let us know what you think in comments.

Chainsaw Sharpener [Harbor Freight]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

There are a few schools of thought on cleaning the grill.  Some think it’s the eighth deadly sin to clean it, that leaving the charred food and grease “seasons the grill”.  Others can be fanatical about keeping the grates sparkling clean.  Most of us probably fall somewhere in between.

If you lean towards cleaning the grill on a regular basis, these disposable grill wipes from Grate Chef clean and oil the grates at the same time. The absorbent wipes deliver a high-heat food-service grade oil to the grill which won’t burn off and keeps food from sticking to the grate.  The biodegradable wipes are also flame retardant and cling to the bristles of a rectangular grill brush.

Considering that a six-pack of disposable wipes will set you back a whole $3, are these wipes worth the money, or is the old grill brush good enough?  Let us know what you think in comments.

Grill Wipes [Grate Chef]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

We just noticed these while noodling around the ‘net — the Finger Grip Socket set.  Made in the USA but only available in a few places, these seem to be a solution to the often-vexing problem of holding a nut in a tiny space so you can thread a bolt into it.

So what do you guys think — a great solution to an old problem, or just another tool that’ll languish in the back of the toolbox?  Let us know in comments.

Finger Wrench [Official Site]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

The Optivisor is well-advertised in many catalogs as a helpful tool for close-up work — it gives hands-free binocular magnification in a variety of powers.

I’ve resisted getting one (my eyesight is pretty good, but as I get older…) for two reasons: 1) I don’t enjoy putting on any more cumbersome gear than I have to when working in the shop;  and 2) I worry that I’ll scratch the lenses as often as I scratch the lenses of my disposable safety glasses, adding yet another consumable expense (about $12+) to my shopwork.

So what do y’all think, Hot or Not?  Let us know in comments.

Optivisor [Donegan Optical Co.]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Many of us own one of these drill press vises with slides attached that allow positioning the workpiece under the drill press spindle in the X and Y axes.  But are they of much use for general shop work?

For the majority of my drilling tasks I stick with a standard drill press vise — it floats on the table, but it’s heavy enough to resist the rotational forces of the drill.  For heavier work I’ll align it and bolt it to the table.

At times when I’ve needed to precisely position the hole I’ve used a (better-quality) X/Y table, but most of the cheap import X/Y vises seem to lack the precision that would allow for such accurate positioning.

So what do you think:  a good idea that never approaches real-world utility, or something you can’t live without on your drill press?  Let us know in comments.

Harbor Freight’s 6″ digital caliper is so cheap, it must be a great deal, right?

Well, we’ve found that its battery life is incredibly short, so if you only use it occasionally you’ll often find it dead.  And the accuracy isn’t up to snuff for demanding jobs — testing it against some gage blocks showed some ranges with no error but others with an error upwards of .04″!

On the plus side, you don’t have to worry about dropping them as you would with one of the $100+ calipers from Mitutoyo.

Ultimately I prefer the Mitutoyo for regular use, but what do you think:  Hot or Not?  Let us know in comments.

Digital Caliper [Harbor Freight]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Traditionally cordless lawn tools have been relegated to second-line duty or smaller jobs, but in the last few years Black & Decker has been trying to change that.  They’ve made a good start with their hefty 36-volt cordless string trimmer, which has more grunt behind it than many battery-powered grass-tamers we’ve seen.

Not being big on the lawn arts ourselves, we can’t say for sure how this plays in real life, but we’re guessing it’s a game of how long the charge can hold out against the fullest, hardiest growth that summer can produce.

In our experience, even gas-powered trimmers can bind on the tough weeds and high grass. A battery-powered unit may be better as far as emissions go, but if it can’t cut through the nasty bits it’s less than useless.

Of course, we could be full of bull. Has anyone actually gotten their hands on one of these trimmers and given it the business? Let us know in comments.

36V String Trimmer [Black & Decker]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Sears is advertising their Winter Woodworking Event, which as far as we can tell is a no-interest incentive to load up your Sears card with more than $300 worth of gear, plus the added come-on of a 10%  cash-back rebate.  We’re wondering if financing tools like this is such a hot idea.

I can certainly see putting a tool on a card if you’ve got to have it to get the car running the next day — or if you just about have the money to buy that new hand tool set and want to pull the trigger a month early. But is loading up a balance a good idea, even with the promise of long repayment deals and discounts? Some folks might depend on this type of deal to get what they need, but I’m willing to bet they’re in the minority.

You tell us:  Is this a great plan or more of a budgetary sucker punch?  Let us know in comments.

Winter Woodworking Event [Sears]

We’ve always avoided 3-in-One oil because of reports that it gums up and is usually the incorrect oil for any given purpose.  Some people love it though, ranking it up there with duct tape and WD-40, and most everyone seems to have a can in the house no matter what they think of it.

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

3-IN-ONE [WD-40]

I attended the auction of Hewlett-Packard’s Corvallis “Model Shop” yesterday, and it got me wondering whether going to industrial auctions is worth it. This particular auction had sky-high bidding and although there were a few things that my buddy and I wanted, we ended up buying nothing. That said, I’ve found great deals and bought many of my tools at other auctions.

So, the Hot:  Sometimes you find great, pennies-on-the-dollar deals.  You meet many like-minded tool junkies and local shop owners, so it’s a good place to network.  You get to take a look inside a shop and see how the owner set up their tools, stored their tooling, etc.

The Not:  Depending on the local economy and the auctioneer you may end up with prices that are the inverse of pennies-on-the-dollar.  Auctions take a good deal of time, upwards of 6-10 hours in some cases.  You often find yourself standing on a cold concrete slab in a dirty building.  The amenities are often poor.

Possibly the worst thing:  You get some good deals on stuff you really don’t need, and your shop ends up cluttered with all these piles of weird crap that might be “useful” someday.  (This could also be seen as “Hot” if you have an understanding spouse.)

Let us know what you think in comments.

Thanks to killbox for the great CC-licensed photo.

J-B Weld makes for some pretty entertaining conversation. Without fail, some will insist on its inherent evil while others sing its praises. With something this elemental there’s no middle ground.

I’ve never used the stuff before, but since it falls into the epoxy/superglue category I’ll admit that I lean towards the pro-JB Weld crowd. It looks like pretty cool stuff.  I see pictures of its overuse, like with other epoxy resins, for everything but curing cancer — so I get the feeling it can’t be all bad.

How does the Toolmonger readership stand on the hotly debated J-B Weld issue? Is it goop from the heavens or just another way to do a project incorrectly? Let us know in comments.

J-B Weld [Website]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Tech schools often draw flak from people who don’t understand what they are and what kind of education they can offer a young person starting a new career. Watching the Speed channel will pepper you with ads for Lincoln Tech’s automotive and welding degrees, and I wonder if that isn’t a bad way to go nowadays.

Though it was for an entirely different field, I went to a vocational school myself, and the education isn’t bad. Most of these schools aim to give you what you need to get out the door and get a job in that area.  In any economy, having a marketable skill can’t be a negative — be it mechanics or cooking, at least you can do something other than sit on your ass.

What do you think? Is the vocational/tech school model still relevant to today’s workforce? Let us know in comments.

Lincoln Educational Services [Website]

Down here in Texas we don’t see a lot of rainfall, so something with this large of a footprint would be utterly ridiculous to maintain, but other parts of the world might be a different story. The idea is to save that rainwater and find other uses for it.

Systems like this range from the pretty simple to the absurd. Our big questions:  Does anybody do this, and how well does it work for you? Collecting rainwater from the gutter into a bucket with a spigot could be a spiffy way to get some clean water — or a fast way to gather some watered-down bird poop in a big tub. We’re not sure one way or the other.

Is this a gift from the environment or just another way to add a clunky collector to the side of the house? Let us know in comments.

Rainwater Collection [Fiskars]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

Utility knives like this MaxiKnife are so commonplace around the shop, you’ll find about as many different kinds as Baskin-Robbins has ice cream — the trick is finding which one works for you.  And it better be sturdy, ’cause once you single out a model to place in harm’s way, it’s in for quite a beating.

The lightweight MaxiKnife features a crooked handle like many knives on the market now.  Blade storage is in the handle, and the blade slide feels pretty solid.  However we haven’t put one through its paces in the shop, and anyone can tell you that’s where the action’s at.

We’re curious to see if anyone’s tried one of these.  Did the angled handle work out well in everyday shop work?  How did it hold up against being dropped?  If you haven’t gotten ahold of one yet, how do you think it’ll do?  Let us know in comments.

Street pricing starts around $8.

MaxiKnife [Redback Tools]

A funnel can help you put gas in your tank without spilling it all over the place — and if you’re using a funnel, why not one that filters the gas to get rid of contaminants?  That’s exactly what the fuel filters from Mr. Funnel do.

Mr. Funnel fuel filters combine a heavy-duty, fast-flow fuel filter with an anti-static, polypropylene funnel.  They designed the fluoropolymer-coated stainless steel fuel filter to remove water, dirt, and debris from gasoline, diesel, and kerosene.  The contaminants collect in the sump area for easy inspection and cleaning.

Mr. Funnel sells four different models of their fuel-filtering funnel.  The funnels range in price from $20 to $40 and support flow rates of 2.7gpm to 15gpm respectively.

We all want to take care of our gasoline-powered tools and toys as best we can, but is filtering the gas really necessary?  Is Mr. Funnel a useful tool, or is it just a gimmick?  If it is useful, what exactly are you doing to your fuel to contaminate it before you pour it in the tank?  Let us know in the comments.

Mr. Funnel [Corporate Site]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]