July 4th — the firebug’s holiday — is coming, so I’m bringing up fire safety again. At the Toolmonger shop, we take safety very seriously, and although we’re not the final authority on fire safety, we run into some good information and try to get opinions from experts when we can. Whether you’re following our advice or someone else’s, make sure you’re as prepared for a fire as you can be — it could be your shop, or even a life on the line.

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Remember old-school Toolmonger that was all young, dumb and full of… vigor? So do we. Check out what we were discussing a year ago this week:

• This time last year we gave away an Imperial crap-ton of RIDGID Fuego compact framing saws. One’s still floating around the TM shop, and we still like it.
• We wrote about one of our first reader-found homemade tools, a welded-up wrench designed to help remove the 22mm banjo bolt on the BMW M5’s power steering hose.
• A reader wrote in to tell us of his great experience with Redwing boots. Apparently they’re still popular among the Toolmonger crowd.
• If you’re as sick of rusty shirts as we are, you might check out Duluth Trading’s shop apron.
• Surprise! Readers recommended the mechanic-dreaded fix-all J-B Weld. Despite the negativity you’ll hear about this product — mostly caused by massive misuse — it’s still quite useful and something you should keep in the shop.
• Need to cut a smooth hole in sheet metal? You need a Rotabroach.
• Some poor guy tried to eBay his Plow Cycle.
• Though pooh-poohed by most hard core toolies, low-buck battery boosters can still save your ass in wintertime.
• Our friend Phillip Torrone over at MAKE posted a link last year about this time to a crazy-ass method of re-conditioning NiCd batteries with a freakin’ welder. Seriously — attempt this at your own risk. Or better yet, don’t.
• If you’re looking for a last-minute low-budget Chrismas gift, check out these solid aluminum scales. Sure, they probably won’t see much use. But they’re cool as hell.
• For those of you with questionable performance mods and $3,000 burning a hole in your pocket, we posted regarding Snap-on’s portable 5-gas analyzer kit, which provides instant DIY emissions testing.
• We want a home auto lift for Christmas this year just as bad as last. Alas, our desire will again go un-met.

Of course, you don’t have to wait for us to call out these great old posts. Try plugging your areas of interest into TM’s search engine to turn up hours of old-school TM fun. See you next week.

Remember old-school Toolmonger that was all young, dumb and full of… vigor? So do we. Check out what we were discussing a year ago this week:

• We touted GearWrench’s cushion-grip ratchets, released at least year’s SEMA show. TM readers still seem to be split in their love of cushioned grips. 
• We previewed Bosch’s 36V drill/driver, a monster that we’ve had in long-term test for a year now. Look for a massive not-to-be-missed hands-on soon. A preview of the hands-on: this is a bad-ass drill that’ll take one hell of a beating. Ours has blood on it. Really.
• Audra reviewed W.R. Case & Sons’ self-published corporate biography, which she found interesting, but lacking in detail on knives, focusing more on the corporate elite.
• We saw pix of Eli with his Toolmonger-won Ridgid tools. Damn, we need to do another giveaway soon, don’t we?
• We posted about Stanley’s FatMax Xtreme 16′ short tape, which we still love. In fact, I’m using a thirty-footer right now.
• Looking for a nice stand for your T-handled hex/Torx wrenches? Snap-on makes one, and it’s actually pretty reasonably priced.
• I still want a Miller Passport — a suitcase-sized MIG welder. How cool is that?
• And we carried Case’s Red CV pocket knives for a month and reported our findings. In short: they’re nice knives.

Of course, you don’t have to wait for us to call out these great old posts. Try plugging your areas of interest into TM’s search engine to turn up hours of old-school TM fun. See you next week.

Remember old-school Toolmonger that was all young, dumb and full of… vigor? So do we. Check out what we were discussing a year ago this week:

• We previewed GearWrench’s Double-X pliers, though we have yet to try ‘em out in person. Have you? 
• I hate how car dealers add crappy pinstriping just so they can (try and fail to) upcharge for it — leaving the new buyer stuck with the stripes. If you hate ‘em as bad as I do, you might give this decal removal wheel a try.
• Sean found a sweet snow thrower cab that keeps you from getting covered with freezing snow every time you break out the walk-behind to clear the driveway. Thankfully we don’t need these down South.
• If you’re planning on trying your hand at pinstriping — the real kind, not the crappy dealer upcharge stripes — you’ll need a brush set.
• Everybody needs a collection of pointy sticks.
• We laid hands on MAC Tools’ Foose Special Edition tool and box set, and pronounced it cool. Yes, it’s made overseas. No, it doesn’t cost $3,000. Yes, it makes a kick-ass Christmas present. (And yes, you can lambast us some more in comments about the fact that it’s foreign made. We like it anyway, and we have dragon hide. Flame away.)
• We posted a hero shot of GearWrench’s then-new screwdrivers. Yep, we’re tool geeks.
• We also posted an article about what we should’ve used to protect ourselves against spoiled-fuel fumes when we removed the gas tank from an old bike, but as readers confirmed, we missed the mark. We followed up with a better solution.
• And we re-installed the engine in our Project Yukon.

Of course, you don’t have to wait for us to call out these great old posts. Try plugging your areas of interest into TM’s search engine to turn up hours of old-school TM fun. See you next week.

Remember old-school Toolmonger that was all young, dumb and full of… vigor? So do we. Check out what we were discussing a year ago this week:

• We did a round-up of fun Halloween Projects from MAKE. Guess what? Most of these projects would kick-ass this year, too.
• Sean ran across some universal-joints designed for impact tools — great for those hard-to-reach-and-stuck-on-like-hell bolts.
• Husky loaned us one of their portable AC/DC power supplies to check out, and the results were pretty positive.
• Need to drill a hole in tile, porcelain, or even glass? You need a diamond grit core bit, like these from Hitachi. (Bonus: you can tell your friends “I have a diamond grit core bit.” Rock.)
• If you plan on soldering on-the-go, we still hear good things about Weller’s Portasol line a year later.
• We asked TM reader what they thought of Harbor Freight. Guess what? They love/hate it! Check out the comments, and don’t be afraid to add your own. This post is still popular in search engines.
• Though the manufacturer never made good on their promise to let Sean play with test drive one of these, we still think it’s cool.
• Even if you don’t like these Uvex “Strategy” safety goggles for shop use — I do! — these would make a sweet addition to your mad-scientist costume this year. (Is Uvex becoming the D&G of safety equipment? Damn, all their gear seems to look hot.)

Of course, you don’t have to wait for us to call out these great old posts. Try plugging your areas of interest into TM’s search engine to turn up hours of old-school TM fun. See you next week.

Remember old-school Toolmonger that was all young, dumb and full of… vigor? So do we. Check out what we were discussing a year ago this week:

• We got our mitts on an early version of Stanley’s then-new FatMax trigger clamps, and pronounced ‘em good. We still use this one in the shop. 
• Tired of hacking at cable casings with your nice pocket knife? Use the right tool for the job: a hacking knife.
• We first saw Dremel’s EZ-Lock system about this time last year. Now it’s a fixture in our Dremel rigs.
• For years contractors working in remote areas have known about Ramset’s gas-powered nailers. But we didn’t discover ‘em until a year ago.
• Any post that leads off with “Listen up all you Little House on the Prarie freaks” is worth a read in my humble opinion.
• It’s a year later and Eastmen Industries still hasn’t brought the hovermower to US shelves. What the hell’s wrong with them? You know we’d all buy one — even if it doesn’t work worth a damn. I mean, c’mon! It’s a freakin’ hovermower.
• Save your thumb. Really. Though you could probably save your wallet by making one of these yourself.
• And lastly, let’s hope the ‘Depot puts grills on sale again this year. Mine’s getting a little worse for wear.

Of course, you don’t have to wait for us to call out these great old posts. Try plugging your areas of interest into TM’s search engine to turn up hours of old-school TM fun. See you next week.

Remember old-school Toolmonger that was all young, dumb and full of… vigor? So do we. Check out what we were discussing a year ago this week:

• We wrote about Dremel’s cordless pumpkin carving kit, a cool (and cheap) addition to the upcoming Boo-day fun.
• We also noticed Ryobi’s radio for the One+ kit. Man, that One+ line has everything.
• Kreg’s “universal bench clamp” still looks like a cool solution if you’re willing to mod your bench.
• We gushed about the only Snap-on tool I can afford. (PS: I’ll send a pair of gloves to the first person — who doesn’t write for TM — who guesses correctly in comments which project I bought it for.)
• Crafting on the go? We found a cool butane-powered hot glue gun.
• And after testing GearWrench’s serpantine belt tool we pronounced it freakin’ awesome. I still wonder how we lived without one.

Of course, you don’t have to wait for us to call out these great old posts. Try plugging your areas of interest into TM’s search engine to turn up hours of old-school TM fun. See you next week.

Remember old-school Toolmonger that was all young, dumb and full of… vigor? So do we. Check out what we were discussing a year ago this week:

• A friend of ours owned up to once conceiving the brilliant idea of cleaning his pilot-light-equipped cooktop with WD-40. Doh!
• We suggested that you buy an ice scraper for your car now instead of waiting ’till the first freeze hits and you suffer the wrath of Ace Hardware’s patented old guys when you stop in to get one of their specially-marked-up (and sold-out) specials. And for the record, credit cards are for buying an ice scraper, not using as one.
• We showed you how to install standard-style rear-exit handles in your GM truck. They’re way better than the near-the-corner factory models, and it’s not that difficult an install.
• I pined over my dad’s Troy-Bilt Horse. Guess what? I have it now, and I live on a postage stamp-sized lot. Live in Texas and wanna buy it? Contact me.
• And we laid hands on GearWrench’s XL Pass-Thru ratchet set, which quickly became one of our favorites. It still is. We just can’t put it away.

Of course, you don’t have to wait for us to call out these great old posts. Try plugging your areas of interest into TM’s search engine to turn up hours of old-school TM fun. See you next week.

Remember old-school Toolmonger that was all young, dumb and full of… vigor? So do we. Check out what we were discussing a year ago this week:

• I shared a great story about wrecking my dad’s Camaro, leading up to telling readers how this inflatable dent remover might have saved my teenage life.
• We dropped an anvil on Sean’s foot.
• We put 946-and-a-half pounds on Husky’s X-Workhorse portable work stand, but couldn’t manage to break it. (Check out the great picture of Sean standing by our handiwork.)
• A reader tipped us off to the Swench manual impact wrench, some models of which can deliver over 1,000 ft-lbs of torque. He used it on a nuclear aircraft carrier, so it should fit right in around your garage.
• Shuttle astronauts broke an “articulating socket” while installing a new 17-1/2 ton solar panel on the International Space Station, and we felt their pain. The closest Home Depot was at least 150 miles below. NASA kindly sent over some photos of their killer tool box.
• Reader PeterP wrote in to show us himself hamming it up with the V18 combo kit he won right here on Toolmonger.
• We loved GearWrench’s then-new X-Beam wrenches. They’re still a favorite.
• I dished on why you should own a set of good files.
• And we tried out Hobart’s awesome welding gloves. They’re absolutely sweet, and, um, Hobart? We promise we’ll get ‘em back to you sometime. Maybe.

Of course, you don’t have to wait for us to call out these great old posts. Try plugging your areas of interest into TM’s search engine to turn up hours of old-school TM fun. See you next week.

Remember old-school Toolmonger that was all young, dumb and full of… vigor?  So do we.  Check out what we were discussing a year ago this week: 

• We ran across Bosch’s “Dimpler,” a drywall screw setter that attaches to pretty much any power driver, leaving screws at their perfect depth every time.
• We posted an early “Doh!” in which a reader tells us he ran over his dog with a belt sander.  Thankfully, the dog was OK — but doesn’t hang around the shop any more.  Maybe we should bring back “Doh!” posts; if you have any funny shop stories, drop us a line.  We’ll change the names to protect the foolish — we promise.
• We showed you how to build a dart board surround to save your wall/apartment deposit/marriage.  Sean’s step-by-step instructions with lots of pictures make this a cheap and easy solution.
• Festool’s odd-shaped, yet popular C12 cordless drill caught our attention.  Maybe we’ll be able to actually try one out now that Rockler’s carrying Festool.
• Readers cracked on our recommendation to use soaker hoses to prevent foundation cracks in dry weather, but having seen the results personally here in Texas, we stand by the tip.
• Everyone loved USAG’s uber-rolling-cabinet, though we’ve yet to see it offered for a reasonable price in the US a year later.
• We drooled on Snap-on’s adjustable crowfoot wrenches — exactly the kind of specialty tool for which even hobbyists would trek to the truck.
• Starting the Christmas season early, we mentioned a tree stand based on locking pliers.
• And we touted a great way to fix damaged radiator fins: a fin straightener.

Of course, you don’t have to wait for us to call out these great old posts.  Try plugging your areas of interest into TM’s search engine to turn up hours of old-school TM fun.  See you next week.

Remember old-school Toolmonger that was all young, dumb and full of… vigor?  So do we.  Check out what we were discussing a year ago this week: 

• We broke our first AutoWrench, and much to Black & Decker’s marketing department’s pleasure, it failed exactly at the torque they said it would.  Check out the hands-on post (complete with video), and don’t miss our recent interview with the AutoWrench’s inventor where he dishes on the decade-plus-long story of bringing the ‘Wrench to market.
• We previewed Skil’s 10.8V li-ion drill, which never really got the attention it deserved.  You can find ‘em in the bargain bins now at a hell of a value.
• Sean rounded up a “leash for cabinets” — perfect for keeping cabinets standing upright and off your back.
• Readers dropped some great comments, like these.
• Don’t want to shell out $750 for a sweet dust collection system?  We found an electrical accessory that turns your shop vacuum on with any power tool for a lot less.
• LOX screws — the ones with the funky drive recess — really do work, as we proved last year.  We drove and pulled one of these literally ’till we got tired of doing it — we had to wear welding gloves to hold the screw — with almost no visible cam-out.
• Matting a picture before you frame it can make a cheap-ass frame look expensive, and it’s a cheap process if you own your own matte cutter.
• And Sean drew his first (and only, so far) Toolmonger comic, lambasting the (still going strong) power tool laser craze.  Drop him a comment and tell him how great it is so he’ll do more of them.

Of course, you don’t have to wait for us to call out these great old posts.  Try plugging your areas of interest into TM’s search engine to turn up hours of old-school TM fun.  See you next week.

Remember old-school Toolmonger that was all young, dumb and full of… vigor?  So do we.  Check out what we were discussing a year ago this week: 

• Working on a German car?  First of all, we feel sorry for you.  Second, you’ll need a set of extreme-offset wrenches.  By “extreme offset” we mean “approaching zero degrees” since some pulley bolts and such are buried deep in tight spaces.  On a related subject: I still have a 944S2 for sale.  If you’re interested, use the contact form to drop me a note.
• Last year at this time we posted our first bit about “SawStop vs. ‘The Industry’” which is still attracting attention.  The gist (as we understand it): SawStop makes a saws that protects hotdogs your fingers if you acceidentally get them into the blade.  SawStop want’s a crapton of cash to license the technology and is at the same time lobbying to make the tech mandatory on saws.  Everyone’s screaming that the other guy doesn’t care about safety.
• We went one-on-one with Black & Decker’s HandiSaw, a cool little mini-recip that accepts jigsaw blades.  The verdict: it’s a cool little bugger for $40.
• Ryobi launched yet another circ saw with more lasers.
• We also tried out Dremel’s stylus, which you should already own.  If you don’t, get thee to the store.  It rocks.
• We toured Unique Performance’s body shop — the heart of their Gone-In-60-Seconds-clone Mustang assembly line.  Take a look at more Bondo then you’ve ever seen in one place, and some pretty cool Mustangs, too.

Of course, you don’t have to wait for us to call out these great old posts.  Try plugging your areas of interest into TM’s search engine to turn up hours of old-school TM fun.  See you next week.

Remember old-school Toolmonger that was all young, dumb and full of… vigor?  So do we.  Check out what we were discussing a year ago this week: 

• We touted ProVision’s “Eagle” fiber optic scope as a great way to look inside that engine for just $225 — a lot cheaper than a tear down.  Now Ridgid makes some of these, too.  Sadly, I still don’t own one.  Maybe this Christmas…
• We reviewed another great book from Industrial Press: Welding Fabrication & Repair: Questions and Answers.  If you’re doing any welding, you should own this book.  It’s not very pretty, but it’s loaded with real information you’ll need to get the (welding) job done.
• As we continued down the Project Yukon path, we wrote about Sunex’s slide-hammer puller set.  It’s amazing how many things you have to pull to swap an engine, and this tool helps.
• This week last year we also wrote our (in)famous “A Quick Comment on the Craftsman Lifetime Warranty” post.  Note: It’s not quick, but it is full of what I still feel is an honest take on how to read Craftsman’s (in)famous warranty and how to use it effectively.  The discussion still rages in comments a year later, so don’t be afraid to throw out your own $0.02.
• Still don’t have a set of thumbwheel ratchets?  Doh!  Get thee to the store.
• Speaking of Project Yukon, we dropped out part two in the series where we worked with GM’s Performance Parts division to find the perfect crate motor for the swap.  It was harder than it sounds because we wanted to keep the stock injection system.  We did!
• We went hands-on with the Worx Revolver Assault recip saw and Irwin’s fast-release locking pliers.  They both rocked.
• And finally, we made TM’s first mention of Stanley’s then-new FatMax Xtreme demolition drivers.  Though we didn’t know it until we did a hands-on later, they rocked, too.

Of course, you don’t have to wait for us to call out these great old posts.  Try plugging your areas of interest into TM’s search engine to turn up hours of old-school TM fun.  See you next week.

Remember old-school Toolmonger that was all young, dumb and full of… vigor? So do we. Check out what we were discussing a year ago this week:

• We wrote a hands-on about a tool that’s still a TM shop favorite a year later: Irwin’s ProTouch retractable-blade utility knife. There’s just something really cool about how this knife feels in your hand — something that keeps us picking it up over the other dozen+ models we have at our disposal.
• We also looked at Stanley’s FatMax Xtreme box beam level, another favorite. After testing one from Stanley, I bought one for myself — and another for Sean at Christmas time. These are great levels. They’re easy to read at a distance and quite durable.
• As we dug into Project Yukon, we began writing about a number of tools that aided in our journey, including a harmonic balancer puller and one of the most handy tools you can own: a flexible grabber tool.
• Milwaukee coughed up a V18 combo kit for our first ever random comment giveaway. There’ve been many since, and we’ve got more to come.
• And last (but not least) we showed you a number of code readers in the $100 range that let you see exactly why that check engine light is on — and turn it off once you know. No real shadetree mechanic would pass on owning one.

Of course, you don’t have to wait for us to call out these great old posts. Try plugging your areas of interest into TM’s search engine to turn up hours of old-school TM fun. See you next week.

Remember old-school Toolmonger that was all young, dumb and full of… vigor?  So do we.  Check out what we were discussing a year ago this week: 

• We did our first hands-on with Bosch’s PS20 “Pocket” driver — a tool that forever changed how we look at small drivers.  The box said, “Drives 100+ 3″ wood screws.  “BS!” we thought.  Wrong.  It did fine.  We got 85 our of our first test, and after adjusting the speed, we’ve since driving well over 100.  I bought one not long after the test, and I’ve bought them for friends and relatives, too. 
• We wrote about our first “topside” oil changer, which we discovered via Kevin Kelly’s Cool Tools site.  Since then we’ve covered others, and they always receive a good response from readers — including at least one comment reminding us that this is how Mercedes dealers swap lube.
• Check out this Monday night lineup: World Biker Build-Off, Biker Build-Off, American Hot Rod, American Chopper, Mythbusters, Unique Whips, Building the Ultimate, and How It’s Made.  Et tu, Discovery?
• We tried out a new-breed “cordless screwdriver:” Black & Decker’s Smartdriver.  It’s no PS20, but it’s a great ‘driver for $40.
• We reviewed “Welding Essentials,” a great Q & A-format book from Industrial Press that answers all those questions you’re afraid to ask about welding.  It also explains how to fix just about every major welding screwup you can make.
• This is still a good tip: label your A/C filter with the date when you replace it.  Really.
• But my favorite part of this week last year was that we started the Project Yukon engine swap.  This was a lot of fun — and successful, as you can see from our other Project Yukon posts.

Of course, you don’t have to wait for us to call out these great old posts.  Try plugging your areas of interest into TM’s search engine to turn up hours of old-school TM fun.  See you next week.

Remember old-school Toolmonger that was all young, dumb and full of… vigor?  So do we.  Check out what we were discussing a year ago this week: 

• We were still chowin’ down on multiple episodes of Pimp My Ride and Overhaulin’.  While Overhaulin’ never seems to get old, some of the bling has rubbed off ‘Ride over the years.  Plenty of love to Mad Mike and crew, but it’s the truth.
• Sean directed our attention to a tile installation combo kit he found for $80 at the ‘Depot.  With a portable tile saw and a number of layout tools in the same box, it looked like an easy way to jumpstart a home tile project.
• We laid our hands on Skil’s iXO, the predecessor to their identical-looking but much improved iXO2.
• A reader tipped us off to a sweet (and free!) online pipe joint template creator, which we’ve used a few times since.
• Who doesn’t like Bissemeyer’s table saw fences?  We found one for your “contractor” saw, too.
• What’s better than the original Biker Build-Off?  A ‘Build-Off where the competitors are forced to actually ride the bikes to the event.  Sean lauded sponsor S-K’s decision to make the builders suffer their own creations, kidding about the concept of Billy Lane on the side of the road with a toolkit like the rest of us.  Guess what?  It happened only a few weeks later — with fire, no less!

There’s a lot more in the TM archives, gems waiting for you to dig them up.  Need to kill some time at work?  Try our search engine.  Or you can always wait for next week’s “look back” installment.

Remember old-school Toolmonger that was all young, dumb and full of… vigor?  So do we.  Check out what we were discussing a year ago this week: 

• Sean wrote up a sprinkler repair kit — the same one he used earlier that week to fix his own system when it broke open and pissed all over his driveway.  Hint: fixing sprinkers is much easier than you’d guess.  Don’t hire someone — fix it yourself!
• Discovery aired (and we plugged) an early re-run of Black Sky, their documentary on every DIYer’s hero Burt Rutan’s two-flight X-Prize win.  If by some miracle you haven’t seen this yet, buy it or rent it right now.  From a kid building model airplanes to creater the world’s first commercial space ship — that’s some serious inspiration.
• We wrote about our favorite — and sadly discontinued — everyday pocket knife, the Mini-Buck.  We continue to beg, and our please continue to fall on deaf ears.  When will Buck buck-up and resume production of these inexpensive masterpieces?
• Sean wrote one of my favorite headlines: “Jump-N-Carry: Better Than Push-N-Sweat.”  He was talking, of course, about JNCAir’s portable jump-start battery.  Thankfully there are now dozens of these on the market.  You should own one, especially if you have an, erm, unreliable vehicle.
• We bitched about Home Depot’s search engine, which pretty much sucked.  But guess what?  They felt our pain and made some modest improvements — about 11 months later.
• We also wrote about the first step of a project that’s still on hold: our BMW Airhead.  We launched into this with the best of intentions, but other more interesting projects took over, and the poor Bimmer still sits in our storage site in pieces.  We’ll get back to it one day.
• And, of course, we made fun of Harbor Freight’s stranger flyer items.

Good times.  See you here next year.