Besides looking cool, these hardened steel reamers from RIDGID have both an inner and outer cone so you can both ream and debur stainless steel, copper, steel, and aluminum with same tool.

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Home Depot is selling this Ridgid Top-Screw Bench Chain Vise for $93.  It’ll grip 1/8″ to 2-1/2″ diameter pipe for threading, as well as odd-profile workpieces.  The vise also features posts for bending pipe — it’s worth looking for on eBay and your other used tool sources.

Ridgid Top-Screw Bench Chain Vise [Home Depot]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Recently I was shopping for a drill press, and I probably could’ve gotten away with a benchtop model if it was just for woodworking, but I also do metal fabrication so I wanted a stationary model that stands on the floor. I wound up going with this Ridgid drill press.

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In setting up a woodshop, I always thought I’d end up with the standard Norm setup — a belt/disk sander combo and a separate oscillating spindle sander — but I’ve read that the motors on the lower-end spindle units can stall out when sanding, and I can’t afford the $1,000+ high-end shop sanders.  I read the reviews of this Ridgid oscillating edge belt/spindle sander and I had doubts about the belt sander part, but I figured at worst I’d end up with an affordable oscillating spindle sander.

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You use a chain wrench when a pipe won’t move and you want it to.  You use a chain vise to keep a pipe from moving when it wants to.  This portable chain vise and stand from RIDGID will help you thread, bend, or cut pipe when you’re away from the shop.

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Here we see our Ridgid twin-tank aluminum air compressor in its native environment — its central position right under the miter saw is no accident.  This compressor is a slightly dusty star of the show, and the shop wouldn’t be able to function correctly without it.

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ToolUp.com is selling the Ridgid model 102 lathe-type internal tubing cutter for $136.62.  Honestly, we didn’t even know this tool existed before we saw it here, but it sure looks like a problem-solver in situations when you need to cut pipe or tubing flush with a surface.

Internal Tubing Cutter [ToolUp.com]
Street Pricing [Google]

This market research poll on the Ridgid website seems to be a sign of the times — contractors and DIYers alike are so well-connected these days that companies are starting to cater to their mobile gadgets.  The iPhone and other micro-devices with Internet are getting good enough that they can display most websites correctly, but the small screens apparently make for some awkward formatting issues.  I haven’t entered the high-tech world yet and I’m wondering if the situation is as bad as it sounds.

The question then is twofold:  How much tool stuff do you do on a mobile device, and what percentage of your tool stuff isn’t “mobile-friendly?”  Let us know in comments.

Poll Results [Ridgid]

When you’re pulling up a hill and your truck needs more power, the transmission drops to a lower gear to compensate — a common occurrence for a vehicle, not so common for a drill.  But Ridgid’s AutoShift drill driver does just that.

When you pull the trigger, it starts in high speed. If it starts to bog down, the drill downshifts to low speed for more torque.  You can also lock out the AutoShift feature so the drill stays in high gear.

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A couple years ago we posted about Ridgid’s plastic nut basin wrench.  Ridgid has since updated the 2006 model of this tool to be a “multipurpose under-sink plumbing tool,” and they renamed it the Faucet and Sink Installer.  The notched ends of this tool still fit 2, 3, 4, and 6-tabbed plastic mounting nuts on faucets, sprayers, and ball cocks — but now the tool does so much more.

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This isn’t the work of some strong man — Ridgid intended its offset hex wrench to look like this.  They claim the odd-shaped jaws give you a secure grip on multiple sides of hex and square nuts, unions, and valve packing nuts.  Plus it opens from 1-1/8″ to 2-5/8″ wide, allowing you to fit it around tub and sink drain nuts.

The 9-1/2″ long wrench weighs just 1-1/2 pounds, with smooth thin jaws to slip into tight places.  Ridgid offers a lifetime warranty against defects in material or workmanship — not bad for a $30 to $40 pipe wrench.

Offset Hex Wrench [Ridgid]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

We just never get tired of the good ole’ Colonel-Mustard-in-the-library pipe wrench — it’s a classic. Check out any movie with construction work going down and you’ll see one lying around somewhere. If you don’t have one already sitting at the back of the toolbox, Toolup.com is selling the 12″ RIDGID pipe wrench for only $20.87, which seems like the best deal around.

You can get by with a cheap pipe wrench, but when you’re stuffed into a crawlspace with nails and spiders all around you, the last thing you want is a wrench that slips. One thing we noticed while searching for a good price: you can find replacement parts for RIDGID wrenches easily, to keep your tool working for generations.

12″ RIDGID Pipe Wrench [Toolup.com]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

Home Depot has dropped the price on this RIDGID 3/8″ drill to $79, through August 25, 2008. The cordless drill features a 24-position clutch, variable-speed 12V motor with High and Low settings, and the Rapid Max Charger which charges the battery in 20 minutes. The offer’s available online only, with shipping costs running around $7.

3/8″ Drill [Home Depot]
3/8″ Drill [RIDGID]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

Budgets are tight lately, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get some decent deals on tools if you’re willing to look. A quick glance at the Depot’s site led me to a section for reconditioned tools. Though this is a loaded topic on either side, the fact remains you can get tools for around forty percent off if you pull the trigger on the right deal.

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The Home Depot’s “Race For Savings” event is going down right now and for the next week. Among other discounted gear, the Ridgid 7-1/4” circ. saw that normally goes for around $100 is marked down to $80 plus free shipping.

It’s not a super steal, but it could mean the difference between being able to afford one and not. Check out the site for more details and the entire lineup of DeWalt and Ridgid gear that they’ve marked down. There are some good items on the list, especially if you were in the market anyway.

Race For Savings Sale [Home Depot]
7-1/4″ Circ. Saw [Ridgid]

Ridgid Tools starts the year off with an interesting promotion for cleaning your pipes — a “buy one, get one” deal with products at multiple price points. At the bottom end, when you buy a sink machine for around $300, you get a free toilet auger with a street price of around $50. If you’re in the trade, you might want to invest in some of the pricier items — buy a $4,000 water jetter and you get a free SeeSnake micro inspection camera, with a street price of around $200. With so many choices, your pipes will gleam in 2008.

2008 Spring Fling Drain Cleaning Promo [Ridgid]

Although bending stainless steel tubing can be a real pain, use the right tool to do it and it’s not that bad. RIDGID Tools offers stainless steel tubing benders for 3/8″ and 1/2″ tubing — they’ll bend a 180 degree bend, no problem. The handle’s two-stage design gives you extra leverage, which you’re certainly going to need.

500 Series HD Bender [RIDGID Tools]