For all you Klein fans out there, Klein makes an insulated beverage holder inspired by their distinctive cushion grip. With its 24-oz capacity, it’ll hold about four cups of joe.
An alert Toolmonger is always on the prowl for good deals, wherever they might be. Reader Brad found his latest score at the local pawn shop for super cheap. He writes:
No need for bartering with this one though. Almost brand new, I paid $10, thats no typo, ten! Some pawn shop employees have no idea what tools are worth, this is the case with this tool.
Made by Ryobi and compared to the Ryobi scroll saw, it is the exact same. Motor, molded plastic, metal parts, all the exact same.
We have to admire Brad’s killer deal instincts. Not only did he make the score, but he managed to not start laughing until he got it to the truck. Now that’s style — our hats off to you, sir!
Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]
Think you could handle an old-fashioned barn-raising? Photo pool member Rembreto thought so, and it looks like he’s right. After sinking a few hefty posts in the ground, he and his crew of family and friends started the rim joints and roof of this monster.
The project’s obviously not finished yet, but it’s looking good so far. We can’t wait to see the final project — we hope Rembreto’ll keep us updated. Sweet build, man!
Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]
This massive power hammer comes to us courtesy of photo pool member tmib_seattle. Pictures like this one always put a smile on our face. This hammer’s the type of tool that gets a name in most shops — stuff like Mongo, Beast, or Thor. We’re also guessing that people the next block over can feel this thing crank up for action. The noise and power must be overwhelming — we must have one.
Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]
The other night while half-watching a Modern Marvels episode about the Pacific Coast Highway, I happened to look up and see a worker spraying molten zinc onto the underside of a concrete bridge. Two of my favorite things, liquid metal and high voltage, combined in a way I’d never considered before! It’s moments like this that let you know you’re a tool geek.
It’s always interesting to know how people who came before you created the tools they needed to go about their lives. What tools did they need? How did they construct them and for what purpose? The folks at Davistown Museum are interested in these questions as well. On their cool website you can check out really old-school tools, like the 18th century bill hook pictured here.
Imagine a world without wires. Konarka’s Power Plastic converts light energy into electricity for your portable devices, so you never have to plug them in to a wall socket. The light-weight plastic technology offers a cheaper alternative to the current silicon-based cells which currently dominate the solar energy market.
Forget those glass blocks! Don’t you wish you had a building material with the structural integrity of concrete and the light transmitting ability of glass? Litracon wins major cool points by putting fiber-optic strands in concrete blocks to achieve results like the ones above. Even cooler: Light can travel 20 meters through the fiber optics before losing brightness.
If you think a chain mortiser looks like a cross between a chainsaw and a drill press, you’ve just about pegged it. These tools speed up post and beam construction, and they look bad-ass.
Along with building and demolishing things with tools, one of our favorite things is power tool drag racing. The competitors build their cars out of power tools and other stuff — then they race ‘em down a plywood track. After looking at last year’s entries for the Silverline races, we’re seeing those old drills in the corner in a different light.
Check out the site for some sweet build tips and race pics. Be warned: it’s infectious. If you wind up tearing into the power saw you got for Christmas two years ago, don’t blame us.
Power Tool Drag Racing [Silverline]
Splitting logs will give you a workout, even if you use a machine. Most log splitters only do just that: split logs. You still have to lift the logs onto the splitter, pick up the pieces , and split those yourself. Timberwolf’s TW-7 log splitter picks up all three of those tasks, so you can knock out cords of wood in no time.
Unlike your average splitter, the TW-7’s special “box” splitting wedge sections the splits into uniform pieces. Instead of picking up the pieces, you just push them onto the splitter bed. With 28 tons of force the TW-7 splits logs up to 26” long, and with an optional hydraulic log lifter you won’t break your back getting them off the ground. A video on Timberwolf’s website shows the splitter in action.
Timberwolf TW-7 [Corporate Site]
When you’re trying to outrun the retched remains of humanity on your way to Bartertown you just can’t pack that much gear. The ATAX multi-purpose survival axe will likely give you the most bang for your survival buck. With this little wonder you can cut down a tree, shoot an arrow at a deer, skin that deer, tell time, and estimate distance, as well as single-handedly rebuild a just and noble human civilization.*
Badass survivalist Ron Wood, whose badassedness rivals that of even Chuck Norris himself, designed the ATAX. You can either use it as a knife or lash it to a stick and use it like an axe. The high-carbon steel main blade measures 4-1/2″ with the tool’s overall length coming in at 5-1/2″.
With the various metrics laser-etched on the blade, you can tell time (like with a sundial), measure angles, and judge distances. With some slingshot tubing, you can turn the ATAX into an arrow launcher for hunting game. The micarta handle conceals a small storage area for various survival items like matches and twine and MacGyver brand paper clips.
If you can’t remember all the uses, the ATAX actually comes with an instructional DVD to show you how to use it. As Mad Max can tell you, survival doesn’t come cheap — the ATAX runs about $150 to $200.
ATAX [Survival.com]
ATAX on sale [OsoGrandeKnives.com]
ATAX on sale [Hoods Woods]
*Your results may vary.
With the right attachment, Paratech’s Airgun 40SC can punch through concrete, smash locks, and cut through metal at a rate of 600 blows/minute. That’s pretty damn cool. But what’s even cooler? It’s portable – perfect for forced entry in firefighting.
Fallen trees provide a great source of cheap wood. I cruise the areas around my home looking for them in yards or chopped up in the garbage pile out front. You’d be surprised what can come from an ugly, old, dead tree. Toolmonger reader and Flickr pool member shelbymay posted this great pic of a new coffee table made in large part from a felled ash tree.
My first real furniture project. I cut the top out of a white ash tree that fell. I used a #3 or 4 hand plane to smooth out the top. It was quite rough from the chain saw. I left the bottom rough. Hand planing something this large takes a lot out of you.
Great job on the planing. The semi-rough nature of the top makes a great conversation piece, and we like being able to see what the other parts looked like before shelbymay applied some major TLC.
Toolmonger’s Photo Pool [Flickr]
While the folding draw knife was “new, novel, and selling rapidly” in the 1880s, draw knives have aided woodworkers since Noah noticed the clouds rolling in. Gripping both handles, the woodworker pulls the draw knife toward him (or pushes away, despite the name), peeling bark and wood from logs and leaving a unique hand-made look.
The bikahtagenigan, or crooked knife, was an essential tool used by Native Americans in creating birchbark canoes, paddles and poles, brown ash split baskets, snowshoes, and clubs. The crooked knife is a drawknife made with a bent handle; the carver grasps the knife fingers-up with the blade facing him and pulls it toward himself, slicing and shaving the wood to form smooth surfaces.
Native Americans made the earliest crooked knives in the American Northeast and Atlantic Canada from beaver or porcupine incisors hafted into a wooden handle. Contact with French, English, and Scandinavian settlers brought the technology of metal blades to the Maine Indians by the early 1700s. The knives were widely made and used until around 1930, when modern manufactured goods replaced many items that were traditionally carved.
Crooked knife handles are often elaborately designed, displaying items such as the carved heads of animals, horse hooves, hands with wedding rings, snake bodies, inlaid photographs, women’s legs, and traditional deer and dove images seen in beadwork of the Iroquois. The knife pictured above shows a playing card motif.
Today, Maine Indian basketmakers and canoe builders still create and use crooked knives, and you can find a number of knives online at antique woodworking sites. And if you’ve used one before, upload your pictures — we’d love to see this traditional tool in action.
Crooked Knife Online Exhibit [Hudson Museum]
Can’t afford a new aluminum racing jack? Maybe you can swing Craftsman’s $25 miniature version. It’s only 8-1/4″ long, but it’s a fully-functional model of Craftsman’s full-size version. And although this mini jack is only intended for display, we’ve heard of it crazy people employing it to lift various light objects like toy carts and desks.
But whether you set this on display or play with it until it breaks, this “collectible” is sure to stand out at home or in the workplace. Sporting a $25 pricetag, this would make a great late holiday gift — for yourself. Don’t forget that Sears has posted a $5 coupon to make the price a bit sweeter.
Mini Model Racing Jack [Sears]
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