Carabiners make everything better, right?  That seems to be the mantra of SnapGate, a company who builds a carabiner into products like tape measures, flashlights, and pens. They sell both plastic promotional products and a few real tools.

One of the real tools is an 6″ aluminum flashlight they claim to be waterproof (non-submersible) and shatterproof. Two AA batteries power the flashlight’s krypton bulb. The other real tools are the tape measures which they manufacture in 16′ and 25′ lengths. Both tapes feature a rubberized coating over an ABS plastic case.

If you’re into snapping things onto your belt loops, the tape measures will cost you either $7 or $9 shipped while the flashlight will set you back $6 plus shipping. Check out SnapGate’s contact information on their website if you’re interested in their promotional products.

SnapGate [Corporate Site]
Flashlight [Campmor]
Tape Measure [Harbor Freight]

Rather than get down on your hands and knees to remove leaves around your plantings and trellis work, pick up a steel adjustable-tine rake like this one from Bond Manufacturing. I used to dread cleaning out the garden every spring until a few years ago when I picked up a similar rake. It’s not something you use to rake the entire lawn, but the variable-size head lets you clean out areas where your normal rake won’t fit.

The head of this particular model expands from 7″ to 25″ wide and can be locked at any width in between. By contracting the head back down to 7″, you can store the 69″ rake in much less space than you would need for a full-sized one.

Shipping on this rake runs about $15, or you could probably pick up a knock-off for under $10 at a local store like I did.

Bond Manufacturing [Corporate Site]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

FastCap’s Joist Clip holds joist hangers in place, leaving your hands free to secure the hanger and out of the way of the hammer or nail gun. Even if you don’t have the joists in place yet, you can use the clip with a stub piece to help correctly align the hangers on the header.

Designed to work with hangers for standard 2x dimensional lumber, the Joist Clip slides over the joist hanger and squeezes against the joist, keeping the hanger in place.

FastCap claims there’ll soon be other sizes available for larger joist hangers, but for now you can purchase this set of two joist clips for $10 from Amazon.

Joist Clip [FastCap]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Do we really need more stuff in our pockets?  We already have keys, cell phones, knives, multi-tools, wallets, change, and even Pocket Chisels.  So now FastCap recently introduced yet another tool we can stuff into our bulging pants: a pocket diamond sharpener.  This double-sided 300 and 600 grit diamond sharpener sports the same folding handle FastCap uses on their pocket chisels.

Even if you don’t have room in your pocket, the folding handles do serve another purpose. They fold over the diamond stone on heavy-duty stainless steel pins to protect it from unintentional wear or, possibly, to protect everything else in your pants, pouch, or toolbox from the diamond stone.

Fastcap makes the Pocket Diamond Sharpener in the USA and claims it’ll last a lifetime. It’ll run you about $25, or you can buy it with a set of four pocket chisels for about $80.

Pocket Diamond Sharpener [FastCap]
Street Pricing [Google]
Sharpener only Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Pocket set Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Whenever you work with drywall, dust gets everywhere — ceiling, walls, and floor — and getting it off all those surfaces is a chore.  That’s where Wooster’s Drywall Dust Eater comes in.  It’s a triangular tool that looks like a mop but uses a specially-treated material that attracts and holds dust without water.

The 16″ Dust Eater head attaches to threaded extension poles with a 360° double-action pivot that keeps the head flat against whatever surface you use it on.  The triangular shape lets you clean large areas quickly and reaches all the way into corners.

You can pick one up for about $25.

Drywall Dust Eater [Wooster]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

The Fiskars Micro-Tip pruners are great for precision trimming jobs on small plants, flowers, and even vegetable gardens where a larger pruner would be unwieldy. The non-slip handles, blade cover, and blade lock also keep the sharp parts away from your soft parts. Looking at the 1-1/2″ blade, I can also imagine a host of uses in the shop where larger snips or cutters would be too big or clumsy for intricate cutting or trimming work - feel free to share your ideas in comments!

Street pricing runs about $10 from your local Home Depot.

Fiskars Micro-Tip Pruners [Home Depot]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

If you want to remove paint, rust, dirt, or welding slag without damaging the metal surface, you may need an air needle scaler.  This air-powered tool has a piston that drives a number of needles or small chisels back and forth very quickly.

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Who doesn’t need more space in their garage?  Whether it’s that extra car that sits outside, all your lawn care equipment, snowmobiles, or ATV’s, there never seems to be enough room for it all.  With these four-post lifts from Dannmar you can recover that wasted space above your vehicles to store your stuff.  Hell, you could even set up your shop on the lift and raise it out of the way when you need to park your vehicle — how sweet would that be?

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Can anybody tell us why you’d buy an 8-inch hatchet — what good is a hatchet this short?  You’re not going to get much of a swing with it, and you’re not really gaining much portability over a 14-inch hatchet.

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While they’re no replacement for a torque wrench, torque sticks are a pretty cool alternative.  When used with an impact wrench dialed to the appropriate setting, they start flexing when the desired torque is reached, absorbing the impact rather than transferring it to the fastener.  Because of the way they operate, you can’t just use one as an extension to your ratchet — they’ll only work with impact wrenches.

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The Parrot Vise swivels a full 360° like most bench vises, but you can also pull it from its base and replace it on its side to hold things vertically.  Shop Fox designed the vise so you only need to tighten the jaws to stop the vice from swiveling.

The jaws on the Parrot Vise measure 3-1/2″ wide by 2-1/8″ high, and they open to 5″.  Holes in the jaws allow you to mount custom faces, or you can buy the optional rubber-lined tilting jaws.

You can find a Parrot Vise for $40 to $50.

Parrot Vise [Woodstock International]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

You might not need a small ratchet like the Midget every day, but there are times when they’re indispensable — like when you’re lying on the floor of your vehicle trying to remove the fan speed resistor or another part that’s tucked up under the dash.

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The once-simple telephone is now so complicated that you need a manual to figure out all its functions, and you can’t just plug it into a phone jack anymore — it needs its own source of power.  Usually that means stretching the power cord to some distant outlet, but with Leviton’s Out-of-Site PowerJack you can get back that neat and clean look for your phone.

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If you can’t see what you’re doing or where you’re going on the work site, you’re asking for an accident. Rather than cluttering up the site with a bunch of stand-mounted lights, shed some light on the situation with a temporary string of lights like this one from Woods.

This string of work lights features ten protected light enclosures with standard light bulb sockets connected by 100 feet of yellow 14/2 wire. The string is rated for 1,500W at 120V, which means theoretically you could use ten 150W bulbs, but to be on the safe side you probably don’t want to exceed 100W bulbs.

Pricing for this string of lights start in the mid $70s.

Woods [Corporate Site]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Bent nail through a dowel, you better look out — Sport Mate is selling a product to replace you.  If you’ve ever gone rollerblading or ice skating, you may have used a homemade lace puller to get your laces tight, but who wants to carry around a bent nail in their pocket?

The Lace Puller is a pulling hook that folds into an aluminum carabiner clip for storage.  It comes in either red or blue and retails for $6.  If you can’t find it locally, you’ll probably pay as much again for shipping.

Lace Puller [Sport Mate]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

If you own a DeWalt miter saw but find yourself left out in the dark when trying to make detailed cuts, you may want to take a look at DeWalt’s miter saw work light system.  It fits on all DeWalt miter saws, and the angle of the heavy-duty 200W LED bulb allows you to use the blade shadow to easily measure for repeat cuts and angles, without removing the light.

DeWalt’s miter saw work light sells at Lowe’s for $60.

DeWalt Miter Saw Work Light [Lowe's]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

If you’re in the habit of forgetting your keys, you may find this Schlage LiNK Deadbolt with Keypad to be a sound investment.  Not only can you unlock your door by punching the numbered keypad on the deadbolt, you can also cause the latch to unlock from anywhere in the world using a computer or cell phone with Internet access.

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