Reading a tape measure upside-down is a good way to make errors, so FastCap makes a tape measure in their ProCarpenter line that reads both left-to-right and right-to-left — you don’t have to twist your neck to read the scale.
A chisel is a useful hand tool or bench tool, but you don’t want to carry it around in your pocket. You risk cutting your pocket and yourself, unless you can keep track of the plastic caps that sometimes come with them. FastCap has come up with a solution in their new Pocket Chisel.
We’ve covered tools to help collect sawdust from your miter saw here, but this model from FastCap collapses for portability and easy storage. The ChopShop saw hood keeps your work area cleaner by catching the sawdust that sprays behind your saw. When working outside, the saw hood can also help protect your equipment from the elements.
Is it a jack that can clamp, or is it a clamp that can jack? That’s the question. FastCap’s Jack of All Trades functions as a jack, a clamp, and a spreader — it seems like an ideal tool for a kitchen remodeler. It can lift cabinets or heavy doors into place, pull together hardwood or laminate flooring, or hold two cabinets while screwing them together.
As a jack it can lift up to 70 lbs, up to 15-1/4″ high. The notched base allows the 1/8″ thick metal hook to rest directly on the floor, making it easy to maneuver the “Jack” under cabinets. As a spreader, it can spread up to 23″. And as a clamp, its 2-1/4″ deep jaws can open up to 13.3″. Like most quick-clamps, it features a quick-release lever.
“Never have torn pants from your tape measure again,” reads FastCap’s Speed Clip product page. Maybe I’m a bit insensitive to some men’s plight, but I’ve never ripped my pants grabbing my tape. Still, clipping and unclipping a tape measure to your pants can sometimes be a real pain in the ass. This heavy-duty clip secures to your pants or belt and accepts just about any tape measure, holding it at the ready.
Fastcap’s third hand support may not be the cheapest support pole on the market, but it’s hard to beat a company that actually gives you instructions on how to shorten their product with a hacksaw! It’s unclear whether they honor their lifetime guarantee and no charge replacement parts after that operation, though.
If you’ve ever had trouble drawing two pieces of countertop together in a butt joint, you know how frustrating it can be — and how hard it can be to get a level joint. FastCap’s patented Qwikdraw countertop connector system claims to help with that in two ways: it facilitates drawing the two sides together, and it then allows you to securely fasten them in position.
The AccuScribe Pro’s articulating arm (on the pencil-head side) maintains a consistent scribe offset and stays parallel to surfaces as you mark out your line, dramatically simplifying those tricky cabinet, splash guard, or tile cutting installations.
The other non-articulated arm keeps the AccuScribe flat against your marking surface, so you can position it behind or against a flat surface to scribe a line. A removable compass point makes also makes it easy to scribe circle patterns.
I do have one concern: I’m worried that the tightening knob on the pencil head might loosen and move in mid scribe. Of course, I haven’t tried one of these in person yet. But at $14, I might just pick one up to find out.
Accuscribe Pro [Fastcap]
Street Pricing [Google Product Search]
Via Amazon
Fastcaps are self-adhesive, PVC cover caps that you can stick on to cover unsightly screw heads in wood projects — just like the caps that come with cheap-ass IKEA furniture. Of course, to do the job right you should countersink the screw, form a plug made of identical wood, glue, fill, and sand. But for some projects you just don’t have that kind of time.
This “flatback” tape trades stand-out for the ability to bend around curves and offer a flat marking surface. (The curved nature of normal tapes allows you to extend them out a good distance before they “break over” — this is called “stand-out.”) Its tape is also rubber coated, and before you ask: yep, that’s a white board on the side.
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