Benjamen’s recent post about swivel connectors for compressed air lines brought to mind a little sanity saver. This Dynabrade swivel connector has a similar mission but adds a degree of freedom. It can rotate about the male 1/4 in. NPT connection, and the two composite sections can twist relative to one another. When I used this it was with a very light self-coiling hose, and even that was enough to pull the connector straight downwards. When you’re working above something, that can be a problem, but getting the hose out of the way is a simple matter of throwing it over your shoulder. In nearly every other situation, leaving the hose free to rotate is a boon.

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I don’t know if it’s a regional, cultural, generational, or whatever thing, but when I was growing up there was always one drawer in the kitchen that had tools in it — things like a small hammer, regular pliers, a screwdriver or two, a tape measure, and a random collection of fasteners including nails, screws, and rubber bands. The kitchen tool drawer in my grandmother’s house had this neat little hammer with a handle that unscrewed to reveal a set of nested screwdrivers (still available here). I don’t know how useful it was, but it sure piqued my early Toolmonger brain.

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In the recent post Tool Pr0n: Would You Pay $280 For A Brace?, reader PutnamEco mentioned Protool — a company that sells tools in Australia, but not in the U.S. Seems like our friends down-under see a lot of tools we don’t here in the states. One product they sell which you won’t see anytime soon is their unique ProJet mixing system which looks more like a modern art project than a mixer.

Supposedly the ProJet mixing rods use the same principle as jet engine turbines. Three cones create an intense flow without introducing air into the mixture, which allows you to quickly and completely mix most materials without foaming.

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So admittedly Toolmonger’s own Sean O’Hara isn’t exactly recognized as a world-class sartorialist, despite the fact that he owns more than one suit and that most TM staffers agree that he “cleans up pretty well.” But savor this rare moment: GQ — yes, that GQ — agrees with something he’s been banging our ears off about for years. On page 64 of the November issue — the first page of their GQ winter survival guide — they recommend “Start from the bottom: lace up in a classic American work boot.”

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While leafing through my “Ideas for TM Posts” file, I found a page I had cut from the Feb. 2009 issue of Popular Mechanics that mentioned the Klenk DA86450 Select-A-Bit™. It’s a ratcheting screwdriver with a 4:1 gearing produced by holding the nose piece (which causes the bit to turn four times for each single turn of the handle). The 4:1 option is for driving screws and nuts in low-torque applications; the 1:1 ratio is recommended for higher-torque.

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Many of Bridge City Tool Work’s tools make it into our Tool Pr0n category, but their limited edition CT-16 palm brace has got to be one of the most frivolous offerings since the $100 plumb bob.

Bridge City Tool Works crafts the brace from steel, stainless-steel, and aluminum and then chromes the outer chuck, swing handle, and knob in black, a look which they call “stunningly beautiful.”  The handle of the 8-1/2″ inch long brace swings in a 4-1/2″ circle around the bit and accepts 1/4″ hex shank bits in its chuck.

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The latest issue of Milwaukee’s Heavy Duty News alerted us to their upcoming LED replacement bulb.   Not only will this bulb upgrade your M12, M18, and V28 lights to LED, it should be able to upgrade most other flashlights that use similar sized bulbs running on 9.6V to 28V.

Milwaukee claims the bulb will give you 3X the run time and last 50,000 hours over the standard bulbs.  Being solid state it, has the added bonus that if your flash light can survive a fall, the bulb should too.

No wording on the price yet or when the bulbs will be available.

LED Upgrade 49-81-0090 [Milwaukee]

You may not see news like this on Reuters or CNN, but we love reading about the latest tool releases — like these new ratchets from Stanley Proto. In 1/4″, 3/8″, and 1/2″ sizes, these ratchets are narrower than Proto’s previous offerings so you can cram ‘em into tighter spaces. They’re also quick release; just push the button on the back to free the socket.

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In a world where cordless seems to capture all the headlines, it’s always nice to see some love directed towards corded lines as well, like this new 3/8″ corded tradesman’s drill from Milwaukee. With an all-metal gear case and chuck, a whopping eight amp motor, and 0-2800 RPM variable speed, this sucker should really tear through wood and metal.

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Following the more-is-better philosophy, the Bosch GPL5 uses five beams to project plumb, level, and square points. It also self-levels (up to 5°). Available for around $200, the 1 lb. unit is 4.125″ × 3.125″ × 1.625″, and can be secured using its 1/4-40 or 5/8-11 threaded mounts, or via straps or magnets with its multipurpose attachment. It can be easily re-calibrated in the field (and comes with a wrench for just that purpose). Its accuracy is ± ¼” @ 100′. Three AA batteries supply power.

If you’re not into multi-axis laser leveling, maybe you could modify the GPL5 for use as a garage/shop intruder alarm.

Bosch GPL5 [Manufacturer's Site]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Bosch GPL5 Via Amazon [What’s This?]

I mentioned a bit of a problem with my Shop Smith band saw that sprang up this weekend. The rubber tires that hold the blade on the wheels basically disintegrated after about 20 years or so, and the bottom one popped off the saw.

I called Shop Smith and was impressed with the service which was both prompt and knowledgeable. The very nice lady on the other end identified the model number of my saw and told me how I could save some cash by ordering a little differently and sent me on my way.

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Judging solely from what I can gather from the serial number on the headstock, my father’s Shopsmith — now pulling duty in my shop — was built in August of 1984. Almost exactly twenty-five years later it’s still going strong.

I mentioned a while back that my dad’s Shopsmith Mark V came to live with me on super-extended loan from the old man. Read: he’ll have to pry it out from under me to get it back. I left it be for a little while and started to read manuals and figure out what everything did.

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Leatherman multi-tools and accessories have been a popular topic on TM (3/4/08, 5/22/08, 3/18/09, 7/7/09 and 7/24/09 to list a few). Well, their “original super-duty Leatherman is back.” The Super Tool® 300, 4.5″ long (closed) and weighing in at 9.6 oz. with stainless steel handles and body has 19 tools “for the working man.” The 300’s tools include “larger” regular and needle-nose pliers — which are really just different sections on the same jaws, but I guess you have to count everything to get up to 19 tools — file, saw, straight-edge knife, serrated knife, bottle opener, can opener, awl, and wire cutter for both regular and hard wires (the small notch at the base of the wire-cutting area is the hard-wire cutter). The wire cutters are removable so you can sharpen, perhaps with the 300’s own file, or replace it if needed. (more…)

All-Spec is having a 50% off sale on over 30 different Bucket Boss® tool organizers (tool bags, tool rolls, aprons, etc.). Three examples are pictured above: (from left to right) the Bucket Boss 56-pocket tool organizer for $14.43; the Pro GateMouth Jr. tool bag for $14.59; and the 22-pocket duckwear tool roll for $7.35. I suppose it has to be noted: the tools, buckets, etc. shown in the pictures are not included in the sale — tool organizers only.

Prices are good until December 31, 2009, so this might be a good opportunity to pick up some Christmas gifts, or drop some hints for your wish list.

50% Off Bucket Boss [All-Spec]
Bucket Boss [Manufacturer's Site]
Pro GateMouth Jr. Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Everyone needs a flashlight. Seriously. If it’s dark, you need light to see. And we see tons of flashlights here in the Toolmonger offices, lights in almost every flavor ranging from candy coated (gimmicky) to chicken (simple and useful for everything). Over the last year or so we’ve discovered a few favorites and thought we’d share. Here’s our fourth favorite: the four-cell Maglite.

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Spline wrenches are cool because you can turn a variety of different fastener heads such as hex, partially rounded hex, 12pt, square, external Torx, and yes, even spline heads, with one wrench.  If you’re willing to give up the ratcheting feature in the Stanley Proto and SK spline wrenches, you can get a set of seven Craftsman combo open end/box spline wrenches from Sears for under $20.

Craftsman angles the wrench heads by 15° to save your knuckles and they reinforce the open end so the wrench doesn’t deform under high torque, rounding the head. The set normally includes 5/16″, 3/8″, 7/16″, 1/2″, 9/16″, and 11/16″ wrenches, but to be nice Sears is throwing in a 5/8″ wrench and a storage tray.

Universal Wrench Set [Sears]

Sean previously covered the Veritas twin screw vise with a chain drive here at TM. Evidently Lie-Nielsen thought it was such a good idea they produced their own chain drive vise. The concept behind both vises is simple: make sure the large jaw closes parallel by turning both screws the same amount.

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