Mechanized square dancing: when I picture it in my head there’s the kind of image that I can’t scrub out later. So that we’re all running on the same level here, check out the video of just such an event.

Let’s be clear — I’m not judging my Southern brethren. It took a long time to learn the “steps” of the tractor dance. In fact, the whole two-minute dance was very well timed and everyone watching seemed to enjoy it. However, I think it might fall in the “don’t tell anyone you go to tractor square dancing parties” category.

Best Ever,Tractor Square Dance [YouTube]

This life-sized Gundam is just under 60 feet tall and completely kick-ass. The giant golem celebrates the 30th anniversary of the first anime series in the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, and I can’t think of a better tribute than constructing a real-life replica.

Working with tools, bringing to life a beloved giant protector of humanity and giant-scale modeling — that’s a trifecta as far as we can tell. The attention to detail looks amazing, and the fact that a group of folks were committed enough to put that much effort into something many might scoff at is definitely worthy of note.

In July the statue will be on display for two months at the Shiokaze Park on Tokyo’s Odaiba island. Suddenly the bar for building giant robot tributes just went up.

18-Meter ‘Life-size’ Gundam Statue Nears Completion [Anime News Network]

I’ve seen a lot of different tools that do a lot of different things, but I can’t say I’ve ever seen a pair of pliers that looks like these. I found ‘em on eBay, and judging by the seller’s comments, he doesn’t know what they are either.

It seems to be some sort of retaining ring plier or a tool for getting into an assembly to remove a ring pin or valve cover. The only identifying marks on the tool are “Blue Point” and “Made in USA.” I think Blue Point might’ve been a Snap-on brand at one point, but I’m not sure.

The thing just looks odd — you’ll find more pictures on the eBay listing. Is anyone familiar with this type of plier? If so, what wondrous function was it designed to accomplish? Let us know in comments.

Unidentified Plier Listing [eBay]

You can buy an H2Glow for the safety of the little ones — though in the fine print of their installation PDF, Sector Labs points out that the H2Glow is not a safety device — or just because it looks really cool.  It makes your water glow as it flows out of the tap, blue if it’s safe to touch and red if it gets too hot.

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DIY Network is hosting a national competition for enterprising inventors of cool new tools.  The winner of the competition will receive $10,000, and their tool invention will get a featured spot on Cool Tools with Chris Grundy.

You can submit your invention by posting a photo or video of the tool in action and describing what it does and how it works.   And if you’re not entering the contest, you can still view the gallery of awesome homemade tools on the DIY Network page. The one that intrigues me the most so far is the “Zip Pic” zip tie remover — it allows you to remove zip ties without cutting them.

Take a look around, or perhaps pull out that tool you invented years ago and submit it.

Cool Tools Submission Gallery [DIY Network]

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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We like this image because, unless someone tells you what this machine does or you’ve actually seen one fully loaded, you wouldn’t have any idea what the hell it is.  When we saw it in the photo pool, we had to click on it just to find out.

Where we live, in a landlocked part of Texas, we don’t have much need for what turns out to be a boat-launching crawler — but we’re glad reader Fredboness posted this up so we can live vicariously through the folks up in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

We’re guessing wherever they keep it must be close to the water;  negotiating traffic in this rig must be horrifying for both the crawler operator and other drivers.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

My love for tracked vehicles is complete and without limit, so I could spend hours at the Overvalwagen site;  it features a ton of great info about WWII-era tracked vehicles from Germany and Belgium.  You may not be familiar with the Belgian offerings of the period, because when Germany rolled over Belgium in WWII they took over most of the Belgian factories and a lot of their prewar gear.  The gem pictured here is the ex-KNIL Vickers Utility Tractor –- and it is awesome.

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While looking into the Shopsmith band saw question the other day, I happened upon this awesome image from Life magazine — it has to be from the forties or fifties, when the unit was new.  This family of four, with the help of what certainly looks like the ShopSmith 10ER (the one sold in Montgomery Wards), are getting a few “projects” done.

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Most Toolmongers probably just grab any oil that’s close at hand while drilling into metal, but if I actually bought cutting oil, I have to admit that I’d probably buy Bad Dog Drool cutting lubricant — not because I’m sold on how well it works, but because I couldn’t resist the awesome name.  Just imagine the look on your buddy’s face when you ask him to fetch some Bad Dog Drool.

Use Bad Dog Drool to keep cutters cool and minimize wear when boring through metal.  This “thick and juicy” cutting lubricant — Bad Dog Tools likens it to St. Bernard drool — stays in place even on inclined surfaces.

On their website, an 8oz bottle of Bad Dog Drool will run you about $10 plus $5 shipping.

Bad Dog Drool [Bad Dog Tools]

This is a great illustration of how far we’ve come in the last fifty years or so. We’re not exactly sure how old this rig is, but judging from the trash can-chic construction we’re guessing it came out sometime before the TV.

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The Gator Guard, from Bird-X the makers of Irri-Tape, imitates an alligator floating around in your pond or pool to keep geese and other waterfowl from crapping in your yard.  Hell, even if you didn’t have a bird problem, having a fake gator head floating in your pool would still look cool.

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If I were any good with a cutting torch I’d create stuff like this for my house. The Defendius Labyrinth security lock is an awesome take on the ole’ chain lock system that you might have on your door right now.

This actual product available through Think Geek will run you around $50 should you care to partake in its laser-cut-maze-of-security fun. If I was to attempt something like this, I’d go for a lock more along the lines of the Gringots bank in Harry Potter — but since I’m broke and don’t know magic, this is a sweet-looking way to go.

Of course, should you ever need to get out that door during a fire, you might be in trouble — it’s still funny though.

Defendius Labyrinth Security Lock [Think Geek]
Defendius Labyrinth Security Lock Article [TechEBlog]

This guy is melting a brick using a piece of plastic no thicker than 1/16″, scrounged from an old projection TV. It’s a Fresnel lens, and this particular one can focus about four square feet of sunlight onto a spot smaller than a square inch — pennies melt within seconds, pieces of wood instantly burn, and water flash-boils.

Also found on lighthouses and aircraft carriers, these lenses have some serious energy-production potential — they remind me of that huge array of mirrors out in the desert that superheats oil. The video’s a little dry, so you might want to skip around to get to the good stuff.

Intense Solar Power [YouTube]

Imagine walking into someone’s house cold and seeing a wall like this. If you’re a metal or forge worker you’d probably think you were in good company. If not, you’d most likely be snooping around each corner looking for the undead zombie in a hockey mask.  Either way, this is a sweet collection of tongs and grabbers.

It’s just a guess but we’re thinking it’s a gallery or museum exhibit, judging from the clean floors and the shiny floor lamps.  Or it might be reader Hmboo’s immaculately cared-for living room, in which case we raise a glass to him and toast his décor.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

I could hear the Jetsons theme playing in my head while I wrote this — the future is here.  In a video on his website, Jay Leno demos a consumer-level 3D scanner, showing how it can be used in real-world applications such as automotive restoration.  He scans a broken steam valve and sends the data to a 3D printer for mock-up and to his CNC machine to mill the final part.

I was amazed that the 3D printer can even make models with moving parts.  Jay shows a wrench that was printed with perfectly moving parts already in place, just like the original metal one!

3D Printing [Jay Leno's Garage] via Fabbaloo