Archive for the 'Manufacturers' Category

Swiss Army Knife — With Laser!

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

While it’s not the elusive laser-guided screwdriver or hammer, the Victorinox Presentation Master does have a laser pointer, and 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB of USB flash drive storage, and a Bluetooth® remote control, not to mention a blade, nail file with screwdriver, scissors, and key ring. For those of you trying to get through airport security, Victorinox also makes a bladeless version, the Presentation Master Flight.

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Wiha Stubby 6-In-1 Sets

Monday, March 8th, 2010

TM has covered stubby* drivers before (e.g., 2/10/07, 7/10/09, and 7/14/09), and their usefulness when just nothing else will fit. Now Wiha has five new stubby 6-In-1 bit sets. The bits are stored in the “Ergo Soft Grip” handle and the overall length, with a bit inserted in the ¼” SS holder, is just 2.5″. Bit sets include Torx model 38045 (T8, T10, T15, T20, T25, and T30), security Torx model 38047 (same sizes), ball hex model 38056 (1/8″, 9/64″, 5/32″, 3/16″, 7/32″, and 1/4″), slotted/Phillips/square model 38048 (4.5, 6.5, P#1, P#2, square #1, and square #2), and, pictured above, slotted/Phillips/pozi model 38043 (4.5, 6.5, P#1, P#2, pozi #1, and pozi #2).

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The Penta Square

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Besides just measuring 45° and 90° like a combination square, the Penta Square also measures 22.5° and 60°.  But, that’s only four measurements; penta is a prefix for five. Either they’re considering 180° a measurement, or else they’re call it that because of the irregular pentagon-shaped body.

Kapro etches the 12″ stainless-steel blade in both Inch and Metric graduations. The bubble vial rotates within the body to check level and plumb in “all” positions. Absent is the thumb screw locking mechanism of a normal combination square. They’ve replaced it with their EasyLock mechanism, which they neglect to show in the literature.

Depending on where you look, the Penta Square could cost you as little as $6.

Penta Square [Kapro]
Penta Square [Woodworker's Supply]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Scotch Tough Duct Tapes

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

Scotch® has six new Tough Duct Tapes, pictured above. The Extreme Hold version has a double-thick adhesive layer (sounds like Gorilla Tape), and a temperature range up to 200° F. The Heavy Duty All-Weather has UV resistance and a waterproof backing. The Outdoor Painter’s Clean Removal claims you can take it off cleanly for up to 14 days after application on “most opaque surfaces.” The indoor/outdoor No Residue can be removed without residue after as long as six months, and is designed for securing cords, hanging signage, bundling, and labeling. The Poly Hanging & Tarps has high tensile strength good for general repairs, hanging poly, and securing or repairing tarps. The Transparent is “ideal for discreet repairs,” or for bundling, reinforcing, and securing lightweight loads.

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Combo Square With A Magnetic Lock

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Can you spot something missing on Kapro’s Combination Square? Actually two things are missing.  Notice there’s no channel running the length of the rule; it’s smooth and flat. You don’t need a channel because this square doesn’t have the usual thumb screw locking mechanism. Instead six rare-earth magnets hold the body where you position it.

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Ace To Sell Craftsman Tools

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

According to the folks at Craftsman, approximately 100 Ace stores will begin selling Craftsman tools this May. That includes portable power tools, compressors, wet/dry vacs, and storage products — but most importantly, it includes hand tools. Later this summer Ace plans to extend the extend the offer to carry Craftsman products to all of its 4,500 stores.

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Milwaukee Updates The Classic Sawzall

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Every so often, a manufacturer releases a product that’s so on-point that their brand name becomes synonymous with the tool itself. Here in the South, lots of people call any soda a Coke. But all around the U.S., people call their reciprocating saw a Sawzall.

The Sawzall name belongs to Milwaukee, however, and they recently announced their latest update to the classic multi-purpose saw in the form of two new versions: one with a 3/4″ stroke for cutting in tight spaces and another with a 1-1/8″ stroke for heavy demolition.

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GunSlinger Stapler Belt Holder

Monday, March 1st, 2010

You can buy tool belt accessories to carry tape measures, hammers, and drills, but where do you stow your staple gun? If you had Arrow’s Gunslinger, you could hang it from your belt, too. It works with most of Arrow’s and many other brands of staple guns.

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Veritas Detail Rabbet Planes

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

It’s not exactly a Dealmonger, but Lee Valley does have an introductory price on their Veritas® Detail Rabbet Planes. These patented, made-in-Canada planes come in five widths (1/4″, 5/16″ (8mm), 3/8″, 6mm, and 10mm). The one piece ductile cast iron body has a 3″-long sole, and a 15° bed angle. When the O1 tool steel lapped blade with its 30° bevel is inserted, the plane provides a 45° cutting angle.

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Dealmonger: Porter-Cable Pin Nailer for $70

Friday, February 19th, 2010

Looking for a 23-gauge pin nailer to speed up trim work at home? Tool King currently offers Porter-Cable’s PIN100 — albeit in factory-reconditioned fashion — for just $70. If you’re willing to cough up another $20-$30, you can find ‘em new starting around $95. But unless you’re planning on using the thing day in and day out, that $20 might be better spent on nails. Or trim paint. Or on other tools.

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Rubbermaid’s Tool Tower

Friday, February 19th, 2010

Looking for a place to store the handled items in your shop — you know, like your broom, shovel, rake, etc.? Rubbermaid’s Tool Tower fits into a corner and holds up to 30 long-handled tools. And unlike cheap wall-mounts, it won’t eventually rip off the wall — generally when you least want to take the time to re-install it — leaving ugly holes.

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Hot or Not: Porter-Cable 18V Cordless Drill/Driver Kit

Friday, February 19th, 2010

We’ve seen quite a few drill/drivers around the Toolmonger shop, but never a Porter-Cable. While we hear nothing but positives about their routers — lots of pro shops use only Porter-Cable — I don’t think I’ve ever run across anyone with a P-C drill. If you have one (or even if you just have an opinion) would you dish?

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New(?) Lenox Site Commander Contest

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

I don’t know if this is the same contest that TM noted in 2008 (TM 10/27/08), another episode because they made three of these trucks for a national tour, or some glitch due to the economy — if it’s a continuation of the earlier one, they’re taking forever to pick a winner, or maybe this is turning into a perpetual contest.

In any case, if you’re “a professional contractor or skilled trade worker in construction and currently employed in the construction industry,” you can enter the Lenox Site Commander Sweepstakes before 5/1/2010, and you could win a pimped-out work truck. The basic truck is a 2008 Dodge Ram quad-cab, four-wheel-drive 5500 HD with a 6.7L Cummins turbo diesel engine, a 6-speed automatic transmission, and a Reading Spacemaster Classic II service body.

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Dealmonger: Gerber 3-Blade Stag Stockman for $20

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

If you’re looking for a nice, daily-carry Stockman, you might enjoy this Gerber. And Amazon’s currently offering it for just $20.10 — about $5 to $10 less than we find it normally priced elsewhere. Like virtually all Stockman-pattern knives, this one includes a large clip-point blade, plus a smaller drop-point and sheepsfoot. Unusually, this Stockman includes a lock-back, though we suspect only the clip point locks. (If you own one and know for sure, drop us a line.)

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Who Buys An $18 Bent Piece Of Wire?

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

When you get some weeds stuck in your tiller’s tines or axle, do you go out and purchase an $18 specially bent piece of wire or do you make one yourself out of some scrap wire? If you’re not a Toolmonger, you might go buy Mantis’ tiller tine detangler.

Mantis fashions their 10-3/4″ detangler out of what they call strong, solid steel and then they dip it in some sort of plastic. Rather than spend the $18 for this overpriced piece of wire, drop $10 for a wire bender like we’ve posted before, and with the leftover cash you save you can pick up some Plasti-dip to coat the handle.

Tiller Tine Detangler [Mantis]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Ever Wonder What Others Buy From Garrett Wade?

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

So did we, until we noticed the feature on their front page that allows one to view all the products in the catalog which customers rated five stars. (OK, we’re assuming that if they rate the product five stars they bought one.) The items — and their prices — were, well, quite surprising.

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The Buck Redpoint

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

Check out the interesting lock mechanism on this Buck knife: A spring-loaded tab fits into a slot on the black rotary piece, making it dead simple to open and close. (Buck calls it the SafeSpin deployment.) Plus, I love the utility knife vibe. It’s almost as though it’s a utility knife for people who use it more on boxes and other stuff than on carpet or shingles.

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